SOP: Extraneous Matter in Spices and Herbs

GIFSQ — Global Institute for Food Safety & Quality

Principle

Extraneous matter is removed by hand picking from a weighed quantity of the material and weighed, giving the percentage by weight of extraneous matter. For whole spices, the organic extraneous matter (chaff, stem, straw, etc.) and the inorganic extraneous matter (dust, dirt, stones, lumps of earth, etc.) can be reported separately.

Apparatus required

• Sheet of white paper
• Dry tared watch glass

Procedure

Mix the material thoroughly

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Weigh 100–200 g of the material, depending upon its nature

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Hand pick the extraneous matter from the material

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Transfer the picked matter to a dry tared watch glass and weigh

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The difference between the two weighings gives the extraneous matter

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Report the extraneous matter content as per cent by weight

For whole spices, to report organic and inorganic extraneous matter separately:

Weigh 100 g of the material

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Hand pick the organic extraneous matter (chaff, stem, straw, etc.) and the inorganic extraneous matter (dust, dirt, stones, lumps of earth, etc.) on a sheet of white paper

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Transfer each fraction to a tared watch glass and weigh

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Report the result as a percentage of the relevant fraction

References

Ranganna, S., Handbook of Analysis and Quality Control for Fruit and Vegetable Products, 2nd edition.