Ginger in a new product category - with consequences

: Published: 10 February 2020

In accordance with EU Regulation 2018/62 "Restructuring of product types", ginger (Zingiber officinale) is reclassified from the category of spices (code 0800000) to the category of vegetables (code 0200000), group root and tuber vegetables.

This also entails an adjustment of the MRLs. Since 01.01.2020 the same MRLs for pesticides apply for ginger roots (code 0213040-006) as for horseradish (code 0213040).

The regrouping indirectly results in a new maximum content for lead for ginger roots of 0.1 mg/kg. This is because ginger roots are now listed in section 3.1 of the Contaminant Regulation (EU Regulation 1881/2006). This can lead to problems with dried ginger, which has been pointed out by the European Spice and Tea Association (THIE), the European Spice Association (esa) and also the German Fruit Trade Association (DFHV) and they are jointly campaigning for an exemption.

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger

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