Halle (dpa/sa) - Olive leaves in oregano, rice in turmeric and foreign fats in paprika: During official examinations of 309 spice samples in the years 2019 to 2021, consumer advocates in Saxony-Anhalt found a number of impurities or mixed foreign material. It also happened that an alleged thyme mix contained no thyme at all, said the State Office for Consumer Protection in Halle on Tuesday.
However, cases where a designated spice was missing as a key ingredient were rare, it said. According to the consumer advocates, there are always "fraudulent practices in the marketing of herbs and spices."
In 2019, around 1900 samples from 21 EU member states, Norway and Switzerland were examined as part of a control program. According to its own statements, the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for Consumer Protection contributed ten samples. A total of 17 percent of all samples were "suspicious". However, a clear distinction must always be made between possibly unintentional contamination and possibly intentional admixture.
