Schezuan pepper ban?

David Hare-Scott said:

I have seen mentioned here that Schezuan pepper imports
have been banned in the USA. I am curious to know why.

Szechuan peppercorns are said to carry Citrus canker that
can be dangerous to citrus crops, so the USDA has banned
them from import into the US.

Victor

[email hidden] (Victor Sack) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

David Hare-Scott said:

I have seen mentioned here that Schezuan pepper imports
have been banned in the USA. I am curious to know why.

Szechuan peppercorns are said to carry Citrus canker that
can be dangerous to citrus crops, so the USDA has banned
them from import into the US.

We have restrictions here (Australia) also on Xanthoxylum
spp. - Szechuan pepper and related species. They are
considered citrus canker hosts - the Xanthoxylum (also seen
as Zanthoxylum) genus belongs to the same family as the
Citrus genus. There are conditions under which they can be
imported - requiring permits and mandatory treatment.

Rhonda Anderson Cranebrook, NSW, Australia

Rhonda Anderson said:

[email hidden] (Victor Sack) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

David Hare-Scott said:

I have seen mentioned here that Schezuan pepper imports
have been banned in the USA. I am curious to know why.

Szechuan peppercorns are said to carry Citrus canker
that can be dangerous to citrus crops, so the USDA has
banned them from import into the US.

We have restrictions here (Australia) also on Xanthoxylum
spp. - Szechuan pepper and related species. They are
considered citrus canker hosts - the Xanthoxylum (also
seen as Zanthoxylum) genus belongs to the same family as
the Citrus genus. There are conditions under which they
can be imported - requiring permits and mandatory
treatment.

Rhonda Anderson

Rhonda, what sort of treatment is used? I know the pepper I
brought from the UK had been irradiated. Is that sufficient
or is something else used?

Arri London <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Rhonda Anderson said:

[email hidden] (Victor Sack) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

David Hare-Scott <[email hidden]> wrote:

> I have seen mentioned here that Schezuan pepper
> imports have been banned in the USA. I am curious to
> know why.

Szechuan peppercorns are said to carry Citrus canker
that can be dangerous to citrus crops, so the USDA has
banned them from import into the US.

We have restrictions here (Australia) also on Xanthoxylum
spp. - Szechuan pepper and related species. They are
considered citrus canker hosts - the Xanthoxylum (also
seen as Zanthoxylum) genus belongs to the same family as
the Citrus genus. There are conditions under which they
can be imported - requiring permits and mandatory
treatment.

Rhonda Anderson

Rhonda, what sort of treatment is used? I know the pepper
I brought from the UK had been irradiated. Is that
sufficient or is something else used?

Arri, there are 3 treatment options listed in the import
conditions for dried Xanthoxylum fruit (the public listing
for which can be seen here - aqis.gov.auaqis.gov.auOpen ↗ - click
on ICON link - just under and to the right of Steve Irwin's
ugly mug. Then click on ICON search, and enter xanthoxylum
in the search field)

Initially a permit is required, then inspection and then
mandatory treatment

The treatments are -

a. heat treatment at 85°C for 8 hours (T9569); or (that's at
least 8 hours once the core temperature has reached 85C)

b. fumigation with ethylene oxide under initial minimum
vacuum of 50 kilopascals at 1500g/m³ for 4 hours at 50°C
or 1500g/m³ for 24 hrs at 21°C (T9020); or

c. gamma irradiation at 25 kGray (T9651);

However, in practice heat treatment would be the only
treatment used, in particular for commercial consignments.
The use of ethylene oxide on foodstuffs has been prohibited
(it's a carcinogen). It's definitely prohibited under the
Food Standards Code, and our instructions are that it's not
to be used on any foodstuffs.

The use of gamma irradiation on foodstuffs for sale is
controlled by the Food Standards Code. There is very
little irradiation of foodstuffs allowed in Australia.
There is an overall prohibition on irradiation of food
unless specifically permitted in the code. Irradiation of
spices is permitted, but according to ICON, the levels
permitted in the code are lower than those required for
quarantine purposes.

Hope that answers your question.

Rhonda Anderson Cranebrook, NSW, Australia

Rhonda Anderson said:

Arri London <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Rhonda Anderson said:

[email hidden] (Victor Sack) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

> David Hare-Scott <[email hidden]> wrote:
>
>> I have seen mentioned here that Schezuan pepper
>> imports have been banned in the USA. I am curious to
>> know why.
>
> Szechuan peppercorns are said to carry Citrus canker
> that can be dangerous to citrus crops, so the USDA
> has banned them from import into the US.
>

We have restrictions here (Australia) also on
Xanthoxylum spp. - Szechuan pepper and related species.
They are considered citrus canker hosts - the
Xanthoxylum (also seen as Zanthoxylum) genus belongs to
the same family as the Citrus genus. There are
conditions under which they can be imported - requiring
permits and mandatory treatment.

Rhonda Anderson

Rhonda, what sort of treatment is used? I know the
pepper I brought from the UK had been irradiated. Is
that sufficient or is something else used?

Arri, there are 3 treatment options listed in the import
conditions for dried Xanthoxylum fruit (the public listing
for which can be seen here - aqis.gov.auaqis.gov.auOpen ↗ -
click on ICON link - just under and to the right of Steve
Irwin's ugly mug. Then click on ICON search, and enter
xanthoxylum in the search field)

Initially a permit is required, then inspection and then
mandatory treatment

The treatments are -

a. heat treatment at 85°C for 8 hours (T9569); or
(that's at least 8 hours once the core temperature
has reached 85C)

b. fumigation with ethylene oxide under initial minimum
vacuum of 50 kilopascals at 1500g/m³ for 4 hours at
50°C or 1500g/m³ for 24 hrs at 21°C (T9020); or

c. gamma irradiation at 25 kGray (T9651);

However, in practice heat treatment would be the only
treatment used, in particular for commercial consignments.
The use of ethylene oxide on foodstuffs has been
prohibited (it's a carcinogen). It's definitely prohibited
under the Food Standards Code, and our instructions are
that it's not to be used on any foodstuffs.

LOL We used EtO-sterilised plastics in the lab; even some
of those items were not to be used for certain types of
cell research.

Quoted message said:

The use of gamma irradiation on foodstuffs for sale is
controlled by the Food Standards Code. There is very
little irradiation of foodstuffs allowed in Australia.
There is an overall prohibition on irradiation of food
unless specifically permitted in the code. Irradiation of
spices is permitted, but according to ICON, the levels
permitted in the code are lower than those required for
quarantine purposes.

Hope that answers your question.

Rhonda Anderson Cranebrook, NSW, Australia

It does indeed. TYVM!

Arri London <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Rhonda Anderson said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

However, in practice heat treatment would be the only
treatment used, in particular for commercial
consignments. The use of ethylene oxide on foodstuffs has
been prohibited (it's a carcinogen). It's definitely
prohibited under the Food Standards Code, and our
instructions are that it's not to be used on any
foodstuffs.

LOL We used EtO-sterilised plastics in the lab; even some
of those items were not to be used for certain types of
cell research.

A few years back when I worked in the Imported Foods Program
within AQIS, rather than on the quarantine side, and the
rules were a little different, EtO was the only treatment
that could be used to sterilise black pepper found to be
contaminated with salmonella (black pepper was routinely
tested, considered to be high risk for salmonella due to the
way the pepper is left outside to dry etc.). However, before
the pepper could be released after treatment, we had to test
for EtO residues, and the permitted limit was 0. Some of
those companies spent an awful lot of money grinding the
pepper, aerating the pepper, mixing the pepper with other
pepper (allowed at first, but later stopped), and getting it
tested again and again!

Rhonda Anderson Cranebrook, NSW, Australia