Rich spices are an essential ingredient of cuisines in India, and as per the India Brand Equity Foundation, the country produces 75 of the 109 kinds of spices listed in the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). India is also the world’s largest producer, consumer, and exporter of raw spices but, the rate at which the adulteration of grounded spices & masalas in the country has risen brings about genuine health concerns.
Adulteration in grounded spices is gradually turning into a pestilence, affecting human lives on a large scale. The use of colours, chemicals, pesticides, and additives is becoming satisfactory but turning into a hazardous practice in the country, frequently done for financial profits without understanding its terrible effect on health.
It is critical to be able to know whether the spices you have purchased have been adulterated or not. This came up as a topic for discussion when 3 friends met for a casual tea meeting on a fine evening.
The discussion took a turn into discussing how adulteration found its way into packaged masala powders and how it would impact the younger generations. Mainly, their own children.
One of the ideas that came out to switch their family’s diet to a healthier option was to procure commonly used spices such as Turmeric, Chilies, Coriander, etc. as a whole and grind them at home for personal purposes. They decided to move forward with the approach and got all the support from their family and friends. They traveled across Southern and Western regions of India to identify the areas from where the best quality spices can be sourced. Knowingly or Unknowingly, this was the juncture where these like-minded friends were turning themselves into entrepreneurs as they started to think about wider populations.
