A few months ago, some lead-contaminated turmeric turned up in a wide variety of retailers, and also in batches of curry powder from Oriental Packing Company sold under a variety of brands. Now the potentially contaminated turmeric has turned up in more curry powder, this batch all sold under the Ocho-Rios and Oriental brands. [More]
spices
Jolly Green Giant Goes Shopping, Picks Up Some Spices
By 9.21.16
B&G Foods owns familiar supermarket brands like Cream of Wheat, Emeril’s, Ortega, and Polaner. Now it’s picked up a few ingredients to spice up the rest of its pantry with the purchase of the spice brands of ACH Foods for $365 million. That’s another company whose name you probably don’t recognize, but you probably know the spice brands that have been sold: Durkee, Spice Islands, and Tone’s. [More]
Turmeric Sold At Target, Big Lots, Supermarkets Recalled For Possible Lead
By 8.9.16
Turmeric is a spice that’s essential in South Asian Cuisine, and sometimes also used to make foods look more yellow or orange. If you’ve bought a jar of turmeric recently, heads up: bulk turmeric from distributor Gel Spice, Inc. that was repackaged under multiple brand names, including bottles sold at national retailers like Big Lots and Target, has been recalled because it may be contaminated with lead. [More]
Watkins Sues McCormick Over Pepper, Makes Federal Case Out Of Grocery Shrink Ray
By 6.10.15
You know what a McCormick ground pepper tin looks like if you’ve ever bought pepper or browsed an American spice aisle. They’re rectangular and have spouts on each end for sprinkling or pouring the contents. Yet have you noticed how much pepper there is in the container? Competing spice-seller Watkins is paying attention, and it’s accusing McCormick of shrinking all sizes of its pepper containers by 25%. [More]
FDA Warns That Undeclared Peanuts Could Lurk In Food Containing Cumin
By 2.19.15
Life with a severe food allergy can be scary enough, but knowing that sometimes labels are inaccurate and that not all allergens are identified is even scarier. The situation right now where a batch of ground cumin was contaminated with peanuts shows that even spices and spice blends can be dangerous to people with severe enough allergies. [More]
Don’t Put Your Bread In The Fridge & Other Important Food Storage Tips
By 3.29.14 — Updated: 10.26.16
We’ve all got a somewhat innate sense of where to store the foods we eat in our modern cultures — you’re not going to stick your ice cream in the pantry and expect it to stay frozen, or freeze your fresh apples. But what about butter — countertop or refrigerator? Should I really use that “eggs” slot on the inside of my fridge door? Answer us, oh kitchen gods! [More]
FDA: There Are Gross Things (Like Bug Parts) In 12% Of Imported Spices
By 10.31.13
It’s never going to be a fun read when a report from the Food and Drug Administration includes the words “pathogen,” “filth” and “insects.” Unless your idea of fun includes learning that 12% of the spices we import for food purposes are contaminated. [More]
Have A Spice Trading Party
By 1.15.07
- First, get friends to commit and submit a list of spices they want. Then, have one or two people go to the store and purchase all of the spices on your friends’ list. They should also buy a bunch of the smallest Gladware (or similar cheap tupperware) containers you can find and some labels. Then get everyone together to divide up the spices and pay their fair share.
This is a great idea. The days of being hit on the head with a huge sack of bay leaves are over. —MEGHANN MARCO
