Cold Patent Thwarted, Nepalese Ginger, Oil Price Fall & Taste Test

Well, it didn't take long. When I was writing the first post of the year last week I wondered how long would it be before Crabbie's made an announcement. Just four days later, off licence news reported that Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer will open a ski lodge at the Outdoors Show at ExCeL London, the international exhibition and convention centre, from January 12-15. Visitors will be able to rest and sample Crabbie's products at the 1950s-inspired lodge.

The Times of India carried the story that India has thwarted an attempt by a British pharmaceutical company to patent the use of ginger as a cold treatment. The company, revealed by IBN Live to be Nicholas John Larkins (I don't know if this is correct), wanted to patent a pharmaceutical composition containing ginger and kutki (the Picrorhiza kurroa rhizome) to treat cough, bronchial asthma and lung diseases. Two august Indian bodies, the Department of Ayush and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, responded by presenting texts from the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library showing centuries of evidence that ginger and kutki are traditional remedies. Back to the drawing board.

Last April I reported on the 30-60pc markup which Pakistani retailers charged for their Chinese ginger. Now we read of a similar situation in Nepal where retailers are charging up to 45pc above the wholesale price for products such as ginger compared to the normal 10-15pc markup. The report in Fresh Plaza stated that retailers are blaming rising transportation costs.

I have wondered why Nepal exports most of its own ginger to India but then imports large amounts from China. Is it anything to do with cost or quality? Apparently, the reason is quite straightforward according to one story I've read. Transport links in rural Nepal are so inadequate that it is cheaper to import than it is to bring the produce in from the countryside. About 96pc of ginger imports come from China with the balance from Ethiopia and, surprisingly, India.

Still in Nepal, farmers from the Khotang district are switching to cultivating ginger following an improvement in the transport network, according to The Himalayan Times. As I mentioned previously, ginger is a major export crop.

If you are an importer of Chinese ginger oil you will be pleased to read in agra-net.com that the price has fallen again and is now 21pc lower than the record high set early last year.The versatile oil is used in a wide range of products from food seasoning and condiments to cosmetics, perfumes and medicines.

A report appeared last week featuring the McCormick's global Flavour Forecast for 2012. Pleasingly, one of the 12 entries is a ginger and coconut combination. I can't show you the report as it seems to have disappeared from the hosting website (not mccormick.com). Did I dream it?

Indian farmers, in a desperate bid to make windfall profits, are now adopting a risky monocrop strategy. A report in Business Standard says that farmers are putting all their eggs in one basket and allowing their traditional business instincts to be dictated solely by crop prices and margins. Now, prices and margins are important elements in any business decision but to concentrate on one crop only and then face the vagaries of the weather, pests and international competition does seem to be a little foolhardy.

I know that I'm a little bit late with this news but I thought that you would still like to read it. Buderim Ginger commissioned a survey last year which found that 89pc of Australians ate, snacked, drank or cooked with ginger products. In addition, a third of Australians consumed ginger baked goods or ginger beer at least once a month or cooked with fresh ginger at least once a month. Buderim Ginger said that ginger's versatility was one of the reasons for its success.

The South African news site, iol, conducted a ginger beer taste test and came up with the rather interesting finding that only two of the five beers tested actually contained ginger. It's not just interesting, it's frightening really. So always check the ingredients and go for the real thing. If nothing else, you will be supporting farmers in developing countries.

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.