Demand for spices has long been the stimulus for exploration, alliances and intrigue. Ian McMurray discovers that the spice market remains as lively as ever
“Cinnamon and ginger
Nutmeg and cloves
And that gave thee
Thy jolly red nose
Nose nose nose nose
And that gave thee thy jolly red nose”
That’s an English drinking song that can be traced back to the sixteenth century – a clear indication, if one were needed, that spices (in this case, as added to beer) and seasonings have been an integral part of human life for hundreds and, more likely, thousands of years. Food, and the way we eat it, may have changed almost beyond recognition since then – yet the majority of spices and seasonings we use today will have been familiar to our ancestors well back in time.
But that’s not to say that the market for spices and seasonings is one that hasn’t changed, or that isn’t continuing to change. Not in the ingredients themselves, but the market itself, which is now influenced by a variety of factors from healthy eating and sustainability to wars, from global warming to developing consumer palates across the world, from macro-economics to the growing demand for ‘authentic’ foods. For the unwary, it is a potential minefield!
The topic that is mostly exercising the industry is that of rising costs. At a time when rapid increases in almost all ingredient costs – and thus finished product cost – is making headlines, it comes as no surprise to find that spices and seasonings are not immune from the same factors.
"Prices have continued to rise over the past 12 months," says Dominic Forty, managing director of FoodBlenders in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, UK, which manufactures and supplies specialised convenience mixes and ingredients for the food manufacturing and catering industries, "because of adverse weather conditions around the world and because of increasing demand from countries such as India and China, whose populations are beginning to develop more westernised tastes. That's a trend we see continuing – which means any relief in product shortages is unlikely." His company produces regular reports for its customers detailing movements and trends in spice and seasoning pricing, and the underlying reasons for those – such as fluctuations in exchange rates, reduced crop output and even changes in tax laws in originating countries.
“Yes, prices are rising – for a whole host of reasons,” echoes Raf Nonneman, managing director of European Spice Services, headquartered in Temse, Belgium. “Global consumption is increasing – but production has stabilised. The crops are very susceptible to changes in weather. Biofuels are driving farmers to shift to that segment rather than processing spices. If we look at countries like Turkey, farmers who once collected wild grown bay and oregano are no longer prepared to do so: there just isn’t enough money in it for them, or they’ve found better paid jobs elsewhere. And all the costs associated with growing and processing spices are increasing: you just need to look at China, for example, where the average salary of a worker has increased sixfold in the past two years.”
Inevitably, in a market where prices look set to continue to rise on the back of uncertain availability, there are those who are prepared to speculate. “It’s not uncommon,” says Hedwig Mertens of Belgian company Caldic Belgium, “for major groups to buy up all – or a large part – of a harvest in the hope of making a profit at a future date.”
Rising prices and limited supply are the most visible trends in the spice and seasoning market, but they’re not the only ones.
“Our customers are asking us to help them create products that respond to consumers’ desire for healthier foods – foods with less salt and less fat, for example,” says Marie Verhaeghe, marketing manager at French sauces and seasonings producer Cap Diana. “We are also responding to our customers’ growing need for clean labelling by eliminating artificial preservatives and colourings, and to increasing demand for ethnic flavours, such as African and Asian.”
Giorgio Araujo is general manager of Colombian spice and seasoning processor Comexa. He sees similar trends. “There is more demand for stronger spices and more challenging flavours,” he notes. “That’s especially true in Europe where, apart from perhaps the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, there has not been so much interest in, for example, Mexican, Thai, Caribbean and Indian cuisine. That is now changing.”
“And,” he continues, “consumers and food manufacturers are waking up to the fact that one way of consuming less salt, yet continuing to eat and manufacture tasty food, is through the judicious use of spices. Pepper, for example, is perfect for this.”
Mr Mertens notes a similar trend. “Spices themselves don’t add salt to a recipe,” he says, “but the thickeners and flavourings that we combine them with do, and we’re seeing a big change with low salt versions of recipes increasingly being offered.”
Mr Forty, ‘though, sounds a cautious note. “Salt is a flavour enhancer, and removing it from seasonings can lead to an end product that tastes like cardboard – they can taste truly awful,” he says. “That’s why we’re doing a lot of work on salt replacers in a wide range of applications.”
There is evidence, however, of another trend that has already established itself in areas such as cheese – where manufacturers increasingly want, not just generic cheese but regional cheeses that have a provenance. “For example, we’re seeing customers who once used to ask us for just pepper – but now they’re specifically asking for Malabar black pepper,” says
Mr Nonneman. “We expect this trend to continue to develop: soon, spice passports will exist where suppliers will be obliged to deliver proof of the product’s origin.”
It’s not just about the trend towards provenance, ‘though, continues
Mr Nonneman. It’s also about the pressure of spiralling prices, and what that can lead to. “Today, adulteration of spices is, unfortunately, still a major issue,” he says. “For example, there is more oregano blended with cistus and other green leaves than there is pure oregano in the European market. Although many customers ask for a pure product, the price-driven approach forces suppliers to be ‘creative’. We also see black pepper corns milled with exhausted spent pepper after extraction: the same happens with paprika or other spices. The most common form of adulteration – and, in fact, the one that raises fewest objections from the industry - is blending different origins of spices. An example is Vietnam pepper being blended with Malabar pepper – but being sold as a single origin product. We’re looking for a substantial change in attitudes on this topic in the spice industry in the coming years, with much more emphasis being placed on origin-controlled products.”
The industry is also seeing increased focus on food safety. “A few years ago, irradiation was a common tool to ensure the microbiology of the products,” says
Mr Mertens, “but this has completely disappeared now and has been replaced by the steam sterilization method – a method we adopted several years ago.”
As Mr Araujo points out: sun drying may seem an attractive approach because it is perceived as ‘traditional’, but it takes a long time and is prone to contamination. “Sun dried spices generally require further sterilization,” he says, “with ethylene oxide or irradiation.”
“From my twenty years in the industry, I know that irradiation is an excellent way of getting rid of bacteria without any trace of contamination – but people regard irradiation as a bad thing,” he adds, “so we need alternative methods. Now, we dry our peppers in hot air tunnels that use natural gas, for periods of up to 10 hours at temperatures around 70°C. Products are also steamed in huge autoclaves before dehydrating, and the process gives us impeccable – close to zero - bacterial counts. There is no need for further sterilisation.”
Mr Forty points out that irradiation, as a method of treating foodstuff, is now illegal in the UK, and Mr Forty adds that freeze drying can be used for some applications.
Even steam sterilisation may no longer be enough. “Once upon a time, it was considered that a product that had been sterilised by steam would be fine,” says Mr Nonneman. “But now, food safe spices are routinely tested for pesticides, heavy metals, aflatoxins and illegal colours and dyes. Food safety concerns will continue to be of paramount importance in the industry.”
That's a point emphasized by Mr Forty. "A lot of herbs and spices are allegedly heat treated and screened for metal and so on at source - but analysis sometimes proves that not to be the case, or that product has been irradiated to achieve acceptable microbiological levels," he says. "Ignorance is no defence for anyone in the industry. One needs to be aware that not all countries or companies apply the same rigorous standards that we have in the UK, and that a 'guarantee' of purity from certain countries can be worthless.
"That's why we only purchase herbs and spices from reputable European processors who can physically and scientifically demonstrate that they can support their claims that a product is free from contamination," he continues. "We visit and audit the processing facilities regularly to ensure that the very highest standards are maintained at all times."
Inevitably, discussion of food safety leads to discussion of GM – and it is as unacceptable in spices and seasonings as it is in other areas of the food industry. “When the first GM trials were carried out on crops in the United States, our customers immediately insisted that we provide a statement confirming that none of our products contain any Genetically Modified material,” says Mr Forty. “We therefore had to make the same demand from our suppliers - and within a couple of weeks, the bulk of the UK food industry could guarantee that their products were GM free.”
If these are the trends that are occurring in the market, how are spices and seasonings companies reacting to them? For
Mr Nonneman, the important thing is to ensure that his customers are appropriately informed about availability, such that they can make better long term decisions about new product development.
“Our customers’ R&D people need to be aware that using a special seasoning ingredient may result in availability issues later if the volume required is relatively small,” he says. “If the project they’re working on is volume driven, then specifying a particular unique ingredient will probably make sense. For example, it’s reasonable for a recipe to call for a specific oregano type from Turkey if volumes are expected to be high, because the source can be secured at a reasonable price – but if volumes are low, it would be better for the customer to choose a more generic oregano type which is always available. The alternative is likely to be that he’ll end up paying premium prices – or may need to adjust the recipe sooner or later.”
The point is echoed by Mr Forty. “It’s vital to our customers’ planning that the necessary ingredients will be available in bulk,” he notes. “Making two million steak and kidney pies per week is a very different proposition from making one per fortnight at home!”
That same consultative approach is applied to other aspects of a customer’s new product development. “We use our in-depth knowledge of spices and seasonings to help our customers ensure that sauces and seasonings have the correct mouth-feel balance,” continues Mr Forty. “For instance, white pepper stimulates the front of the mouth and tongue, black pepper stimulates the back of the mouth. We use a combination of many ingredients including peppers, chilli, ginger, garlic sage and cloves to achieve the correct mouth-feel and heat level, then start to work on other flavours to get the taste right and then use some of the dozens of different starches that we stock to ensure that the end product has the correct functionality and appearance.”
“Understanding our customers’ application, their price targets and their processing capabilities and constraints enables us to offer good advice,” adds Mr Verhaeghe.
What becomes apparent is that any food manufacturer whose products rely on spices and seasonings needs, first and foremost, a supplier who knows the business – and one who brings real value in terms of guiding a manufacturer through the potential pitfalls of a planned new product development. Volatile pricing and limited availability are having a profound impact on the spices and seasonings market. It’s an impact which affects new product development, product purity, product safety and profitability – the latter for food manufacturers as well as companies in the spices and seasonings market. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves are no longer merely the stuff of antique drinking songs – they’re elements within a worldwide market that is undergoing significant change.
www.caldic.be
www.cap-diana.com
www.comexa.com |