Irradiation and Sterilisation, and Cleanliness
One should not be surprised to find that many spices once carried abnormally high levels of bacteria transmitted by soil, manure and human contact. Irradiation involves exposing the food to a low dose of ionising radiation that kills most bacteria and insect larvae. It is widely used to sterilise medical products and it is permitted for food sterilisation in many countries.
Consumers are generally not comfortable with the idea of consuming irradiated food, and no Herbie’s Spices are irradiated. A common method of reducing the bacteria in spices in Australia is by steam sterilisation, in which the whole spice is subjected to enough heat to kill most micro-organisms without damaging the flavour. The spice is then ground in a very clean environment.
The very best way to achieve cleanliness is naturally at farm level, and the spice industry is making significant advances in this area, as the result is a better product produced more efficiently without the need for chemical controls. All spices coming into Australia are inspected by Australian Quarantine (AQIS) and Tested. They are then further processed in Australia, cleaned to eliminate any extraneous plant material, treated with super-heated steam to ensure there are no pathogens, then ground or sold as whole.