Chemical Perspectives on Some Readily Consumed Spices and Food Condiments: A Review

Abstract

Social changes, including food diversification, the desire for new flavours, increasing importance of “ethnic” food and the increased importance of processed food, which requires condiments and aromatic herbs for its preparation, are driving an increase in the demand for spices and food condiments. In recent years, there has been growing interests in monitoring heavy metal contamination of spices and food condiments. Research results on heavy metal contamination of spices in selected countries (Nigeria, Ghana, and Saudi-Arabia) were closely studied. The concentrations of lead, zinc, nickel, copper, iron, and mercury in some common spices available at local markets in these countries were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The heavy metal levels in Ghana spices were acceptable, except for lead which was above the standard limit approved by World Health Organization (WHO) and FAO for some of the samples. Consumers of these spices would not be exposed to any risk associated with the daily intake of 10 g of spices per day for zinc, nickel, copper, iron and mercury. In Nigeria, the levels of lead and cadmium in the samples were generally low and below detection limit < 0.22 µg/g and demand periodic surveillance to avoid contamination.

Keywords: trace metals, spices, food condiments