Spices and Condiments (1+1)

Commercial grades and standard specifications

Grades and Specifications

Commercial grades of pepper

• Malabar Black Garbled - light green in colour with 11.7% oleoresin content.
• Malabar Black Ungarbled - light green in colour with 10.1% oleoresin content.
Standard specifications for pepper

• The Indian Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, has prescribed the obligatory grading and standardization of agriculture products under the label "AGMARK".
  
• This specifies limits for extraneous matter, light berries and moisture content.
  
• They provide a compulsory quality control and pre-shipment inspection apart from meeting the requirements of importing countries.
  
• For export, the American Spice Trade Association standards are generally followed adulterants like phellandrene, dipentene and caryophyllene, which are also natural components of the oil itself.