Herbs and spices are only used in small amounts, yet their significance should not be underestimated. Hardly any food, whether prepared on your own or produced industrially, can go without it. Even the most expensive food item, saffron, is a spice. The regions where they are produced are diverse, the path to the finished product can be long, and the risks that can affect the quality of herbs and spices are numerous. Residues from pesticides, microbiological exposure, and a wide variety of contaminants such as mycotoxins, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, tropane alkaloids, and heavy metals have to be tested for so that you can put a safe food product on the market. It is just as important to test the authenticity of the products, regardless of whether you are dealing with the content of characteristic substances such as capsaicin, curcumin, or piperine, or you are concerned about the ever more important topic of food fraud. In this case we can check for the presence of prohibited coloring or flavoring, or if specific quality indications or the country of origin are falsely stated.

The GBA Group provides a team of experts who intensively deal with the constantly changing requirements in the herbs and spices sector every single day and have access to both local and international networks. Furthermore, drawing upon long-term experience, our experts can support our customers with all of their questions concerning planning, sampling, and analysis, as well as provide detailed legal assessments and consulting.

Read more about how we tackle food fraud in our Q&A with food chemist Vera Montag: Q&A Food Fraud