Quality Standards — FSSAI & ISO 22000 Certified Spice Exporter
Every Batch Lab Tested. Every Shipment Certified.
Quality Built Into Every Step
At UnitedSpices, quality assurance begins not in the laboratory — but in the field. Our procurement team works directly with registered farms across India’s premium spice-growing regions, evaluating crops at source before a single kilogram is accepted into our supply chain, the same sourcing discipline that underpins every product in our spice range, from turmeric to dried ginger.
Once at our Coimbatore facility, every lot passes through a structured multi-stage process — cleaning, grading, testing, packing — all governed by our ISO 22000:2018-certified Food Safety Management System. No batch leaves our warehouse without a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis, and all export consignments are backed by third-party laboratory reports from accredited testing facilities.
Our Quality Promise
- Every export batch tested at an accredited third-party laboratory before shipment
- Batch-specific Certificate of Analysis (CoA) provided with every consignment
- Pesticide residue screening covering 500+ compounds per EU & US MRL standards
- Aflatoxin, mycotoxin and heavy metal profiling on every lot
- No artificial colourants, fillers or adulterants — zero tolerance policy
- No ETO (ethylene oxide) treatment on any product — clean, natural sterilisation only
- Complete farm-to-port traceability for all export orders
- Custom specifications and dual CoA (company + third-party) on request
Certified
From Farm to Shipment — Our Quality Journey
Every spice passes through 8 structured checkpoints from sourcing to dispatch. No shortcuts. No compromises.
Farm Selection & Procurement
Our agronomists visit and evaluate farms in India’s prime spice-growing regions each season. Only farms registered with FSSAI and verified for adherence to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) are empanelled. Soil tests, crop history and pesticide usage records are reviewed before procurement.
Incoming Lot Inspection
Every incoming lot at our Coimbatore facility is sampled and tested for moisture content, purity, foreign matter and key quality parameters before being accepted into inventory. Lots failing our acceptance criteria are rejected outright — no rework on out-of-spec material.
Multi-Stage Cleaning
Accepted lots pass through a multi-stage cleaning line: pre-cleaning aspiration to remove dust and light particles, vibrating graders for size separation, gravity separators for density-based cleaning, and optical colour sorters that reject discoloured, damaged or foreign seeds with laser-level precision.
Third-Party Laboratory Testing
Cleaned lots are sampled and submitted to accredited third-party laboratories for comprehensive analysis — chemical parameters (curcumin, volatile oil, oleoresin), microbiological testing (TPC, Salmonella, E. coli), aflatoxin, heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Hg) and full pesticide residue screening covering 500+ compounds.
Controlled Milling & Processing
For ground spice products, milling is done fresh to order in our GMP-compliant milling unit. Temperature is controlled during milling to prevent volatile oil loss. Powder fineness (mesh size) is verified post-milling. Equipment is deep-cleaned and allergen-swabbed between product runs.
Packing Under Controlled Conditions
All packing operations are carried out in a dust-free, temperature-controlled environment with food-grade packaging materials. Each bag or unit is labelled with lot number, production date, best-before date and batch reference for full traceability. Metal detection is performed on all packed units.
Documentation & CoA Issuance
Before dispatch, a complete export documentation package is prepared for each consignment: Certificate of Analysis, Certificate of Origin, Phytosanitary Certificate, Lab Report, Allergen Statement, and optionally Halal, Kosher or Organic certificates. Dual CoA (company + third-party) available on request.
Export Dispatch & Port Clearance
Packed goods are stored in our temperature-monitored warehouse until containerisation. FCL and LCL shipments are handled from Chennai, Cochin, Mundra and JNPT ports. All export clearances, phytosanitary inspections and Spices Board of India registrations are managed in-house.
What We Test For
Our testing protocols are designed to meet the most stringent importing country requirements — EU, US, Japan and Middle East markets simultaneously.
Chemical & Biochemical
Key quality markers specific to each spice variety
Microbiological
Pathogen and spoilage organism testing per EU standards
Pesticides & Contaminants
500+ compound screening — EU, US & Japan MRL compliant
Our Certifications
UnitedSpices holds internationally recognised certifications that give our buyers confidence in the safety, authenticity and traceability of every product we export. See the full list on our certifications page.
FSSAI
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India certified facility. Compliance with Indian food safety regulations for all processed and exported spices.
Active CertificationISO 22000:2018
International Food Safety Management System standard. Covers the entire supply chain from procurement to dispatch, ensuring systematic hazard identification and control.
Active CertificationOrganic — NPOP & NOP
National Programme for Organic Production (India) and USDA National Organic Program (NOP) certified organic spice lots. Full chain of custody documentation provided.
Available on RequestHalal Certified
Halal certification available for buyers in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other markets requiring Islamic dietary compliance documentation for all spice products.
Available on RequestKosher Certified
Kosher certification available for the US, Israel and European Jewish market segments. Documentation provided for qualifying product batches on buyer request.
Available on RequestSpices Board of India
Registered exporter with the Spices Board of India — the statutory body governing spice export quality, grading and traceability under the Ministry of Commerce.
Active RegistrationMeeting Global Standards
Different export markets have different regulatory requirements for spices — and our testing protocols are designed to meet all of them simultaneously. Whether your country follows EU Regulation 2023/915, USDA guidelines or Japan’s Positive List pesticide standards, we maintain the same rigorous testing framework for every shipment, whether it’s chili powder, cumin seeds or any other product in our range.
Our quality team stays updated with evolving MRL (Maximum Residue Limits) regulations across key import markets and proactively adjusts our testing panels to ensure our products remain fully compliant. We have consistently zero non-conformance reports from any of our export markets.
European Union
EU Reg. 2023/915 for mycotoxins, EU MRL for pesticides, EC 396/2005
United States
US FDA FSMA, USDA Organic, US MRL pesticide standards, NOP compliance
Middle East (GCC)
GSO standards, Halal compliance, Emirates Authority for Standardization
Japan
Japan Positive List pesticide system — the world’s most stringent MRL standard
Key Standards We Comply With
Documents Provided with Every Shipment
Complete, accurate and shipment-specific documentation accompanies every consignment we export — no delays, no missing paperwork.
Certificate of Analysis
Batch-specific CoA covering physical, chemical and microbiological parameters.
Every shipment — StandardCertificate of Origin
Issued by the Chamber of Commerce, confirming Indian origin for duty-benefit compliance.
Every shipment — StandardPhytosanitary Certificate
Plant health certificate issued by the Indian government confirming freedom from pests and disease.
Every shipment — StandardThird-Party Lab Report
Full analysis report from an NABL-accredited external laboratory — pesticides, metals, micro.
Every shipment — StandardMSDS / SDS Sheet
Material Safety Data Sheet for all spice products, required for pharma and industrial buyers.
Every shipment — StandardAllergen Statement
Formal declaration of allergen status for each product — compliant with EU and US labelling laws.
Every shipment — StandardHalal / Kosher Certificate
Issued by the relevant certifying bodies for markets requiring religious dietary compliance.
On RequestOrganic Certificate
NPOP or NOP organic certification with chain of custody for organic-grade spice lots.
On Request (Organic Lots)Quality FAQs
What buyers want to know about our quality standards, testing and certifications
Can you provide a Certificate of Analysis before we place an order?
Yes — we can provide a recent CoA for any product from our standard catalogue as part of the pre-order evaluation process. For custom orders, we issue a fresh batch-specific CoA after processing. Sample CoAs are available on request to any verified buyer.
Do you offer ETO (ethylene oxide)-free spices?
Absolutely. We have a strict no-ETO policy across all our products. ETO treatment is not used at any stage of our processing. Our spice sterilisation (where required for pharmaceutical buyers) uses steam or other approved physical methods. An ETO-free declaration is provided on request.
Can you meet EU pesticide MRL requirements for the spices we want to import?
Yes. EU MRL compliance is a standard part of our quality process. We screen for 500+ pesticide compounds per EU Regulation EC 396/2005. Our procurement team specifically sources from farms with a clean pesticide history, and all lots are tested before export. We have an excellent track record with EU border inspections.
Do you use third-party labs or only in-house testing?
We use both. Our in-house quality team performs primary checks (moisture, purity, foreign matter, colour) during processing. For export shipments, we mandatorily engage accredited third-party NABL laboratories for comprehensive chemical, microbiological, pesticide and heavy metal analysis. Third-party lab reports accompany every consignment.
Can you source organic certified spices?
Yes. We maintain a supply chain for NPOP-certified (India) and NOP-certified (USDA) organic spice lots for our key products including turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel seeds and fenugreek. Organic lots are processed on dedicated cleaning lines to prevent commingling, and full chain of custody documentation is provided with each shipment.
What is your policy on Sudan dye and artificial colour adulteration?
Zero tolerance. Sudan dye testing is part of our standard testing protocol for all chilli, paprika and turmeric products. We test for Sudan I, II, III and IV as well as Para Red by HPLC. No artificial colourants are used or tolerated at any stage of our supply chain, and a Sudan-free declaration is included in our standard documentation package.
Let’s Build a Partnership You Can Trust
Quality documentation, transparent testing and responsive support — get in touch with our export team to discuss your requirements.