Salmonella in Spices

[Myrrh]

According to a report in the New York Times, around 7 percent of the spices tested by the US Food and Drug Administration were found to be contaminated with salmonella. They studied 20,000 food shipments and discovered that among the spices, coriander, oregano, and basil had the highest levels of contamination.

 

[StarGazer]

I wasn't aware of this. Do you have a link to that report? I'd like to find out more, like where the worst offenders are found. I don't use coriander, so I don't have to worry about that but I use a ton of basil and some oregano. Of course, right now I'm using my fresh grown basil and hope to continue that.

 

[Myrrh]

I read the article on Yahoo just last night, but I found another report on the same topic on the New York Times website. About the worst offenders, Mexico ranked first with 14 percent of its sample spices contaminated with salmonella. India came second with 9 percent.

 

[freshfoodie]

Wow, that is crazy. It makes me glad that I grow my own herbs, that's for sure. I will have to check the labels if I buy any and make sure that they aren't grown overseas or in Mexico.

 

[MissEm]

This just made me sick reading your post! I use all those spices, and it has me wondering now. How can you tell where the spices come from? Do it mention any brand names?