Sunday 8 May 2011

Consumer Testing, Convict Transportation, Health Claims and Germplasm

When you buy fresh produce it is not unusual to visually inspect, feel and smell the items before purchasing. What you are doing is using your senses or, to use the scientific term, testing organoleptically. Researchers from McGill University in Canada wanted to find a way of drying ginger for a longer shelf life whilst retaining an acceptable surface colour and aroma. They concluded that the most energy efficient way to dry ginger was to microwave at 60 degrees C and this had the additional benefit of minimal aroma loss.

On the 6th December 1738, James Winstanly went on trial at the Old Bailey charged with stealing 15lb of white ginger (peeled and dried Jamaica ginger) from the home of Joseph Broad. He was found guilty of Theft From A Specified Place and sentenced to transportation. Until 1776 transportation was to America so it is quite likely that Winstanly was sent to either Maryland or Virginia.

In late April the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a letter warning Diaspora Tea & Herb Company that the way that their Rishi Tea was being advertised on the company website implied that the teas had medicinal properties. For a product to have medical benefits it must be classed as a drug and be licensed by the FDA. The FDA ruling covered a number of teas including organic botanical ginger. The website stated that "[G]inger is used in food and drinks as a preventive medicine against colds [and] flus.” The FDA response was "The therapeutic claims on your website establish that these products are drugs because they are intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease." The ruling also stated that Diaspora Tea & Herb must review its website and make the necessary changes. The All Things Ginger website takes great care to ensure that no unauthorised claims are made to the medicinal efficacy of consuming ginger.

Frequently when researching ginger I come across the word germplasm. As it's not a word I use in everyday conversation and didn't know what it meant anyway, I decided to satisfy my curiosity. According to Wikipedia "A germplasm is a collection of genetic resources for an organism. For plants, the germplasm may be stored as a seed collection or, for trees, in a nursery." So for ginger we must be talking about rhizomes and tissue samples. Did you know that one of the world's largest collections of ginger germplasm is held at the Germplasm Conservatory of the Indian Institute of Spices Research. If you want to get into ginger farming, this is the place to go.

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