Spice and explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Regulations 2.9.1 to 2.9.29 give a standard for each major spice, usually in two forms: whole and powder. The spices covered run from caraway, cardamom, chillies, cinnamon and cassia to cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, mace, mustard, nutmeg, pepper, poppy, saffron and turmeric, followed by curry powder, mixed masala, aniseed, ajowan, dried mango, garlic, celery, dehydrated onion and asafoetida. Spice packers and masala brands can start with FSSAI registration for food manufacturers.
This article reads the text as amended up to 21 October 2024 (FSSAI chapter compendium consolidated to amendment 83; the amendment of 10 July 2025 does not change this chapter). Later notifications should be checked on fssai.gov.in. A compendium is a reference consolidation; the Gazette text prevails.
Each spice has a table with moisture, total ash, acid-insoluble ash, volatile oil and defect limits, and most spices also have a negative-adulterant requirement such as no added colouring matter. For example, turmeric powder must test negative for lead chromate and have colouring power, as curcuminoid content, of not less than 2.0 per cent. All spices and condiments from 2.9.1 to 2.9.29 must meet the microbiological requirements in table 3 of Appendix B.
The general note at the start
Chapter 2.9 opens with a note. Extraneous matter, wherever a standard prescribes it, is classified as organic (such as chaff, stems and straw) or inorganic (such as dust, dirt, stones and lumps of earth), and inorganic matter shall not exceed 2 percent by weight of the total extraneous matter. A second part of the note says all spices, condiments and related products from 2.9.1 to 2.9.29 shall conform to the microbiological requirements given in table 3 of Appendix B. Our article on Appendix B explains that table scheme.
How each spice standard is built
A spice entry usually opens with the botanical definition of the whole spice, describes the product (characteristic flavour, no mould, no living or dead insects, insect fragments or rodent contamination, no added colouring matter), then prints a table. The powder entry repeats the pattern with fewer parameters. The standard words say the powder is obtained by grinding the named spice, often "without addition of any other matter".
| Clause | Spice | A few parameters exactly as printed |
|---|---|---|
| 2.9.1 | Caraway (siahjira): whole, black, powder | whole caraway moisture not more than 13.0; volatile oil on dry basis not less than 2.5 percent (v/w) |
| 2.9.2 | Cardamom: small and large, whole, seeds and powder | whole small cardamom moisture not more than 13.0; volatile oil not less than 3.5 percent |
| 2.9.3 | Chillies and capsicum: whole and powder | powder moisture not more than 11.0; crude fibre not more than 30.0; non-volatile ether extract not less than 12.0 |
| 2.9.4 | Cinnamon: whole and powder | volatile oil not less than 0.7 percent (whole); coumarin content on dry basis not more than 0.3 percent by weight |
| 2.9.5, 2.9.6 | Cassia; cloves | cloves volatile oil on dry basis not less than 17.0 percent (whole) |
| 2.9.7 to 2.9.14 | Coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, dried ginger, mace, mustard, nutmeg | each with moisture, ash, volatile oil or fixed oil, and defects |
| 2.9.15 | Black, white and green pepper | black pepper whole: moisture 13.0, piperine minimum 2.0, bulk density minimum 400 g/l |
| 2.9.16, 2.9.17 | Poppy; saffron | saffron whole: moisture and volatile matter not more than 12.0; safranal not less than 20.0 and not more than 50.0 |
| 2.9.18 | Turmeric: whole and powder | powder moisture not more than 10.0; total starch not more than 60.0; test for lead chromate negative |
| 2.9.19 | Curry powder | spices not less than 85.0 per cent by weight; salt not more than 5.0 per cent; lead not more than 10.0 p.p.m |
| 2.9.20 | Mixed masala: whole and powder | spice content by grade, from 85.0 to 25.0 minimum |
| 2.9.21 to 2.9.24 | Aniseed; ajowan; dried mango slices; dried mango powder (amchur) | amchur acidity as anhydrous tartaric acid not less than 12 per cent and not more than 26 percent |
| 2.9.26, 2.9.28 | Dried garlic; dehydrated onion | moisture 5.0 for powder and 8.0 otherwise; peroxidase negative |
| 2.9.27 | Celery | moisture not more than 10.0 percent |
| 2.9.29 | Asafoetida (hing, hingra, compounded) | total ash not exceeding 15 per cent for hing |
The standards worth reading closely
Chilli powder (2.9.3). The powder must be dry, with no extraneous colouring or flavouring matter or mineral oil. It may contain edible vegetable oil to a maximum of 2.0 percent by weight, with a label declaration of the amount and nature of the oil. See our sister article on conditions for sale, clauses 11 to 20, under the Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales Regulations for the sale-side rule on powdered spices.
Turmeric (2.9.18). Whole turmeric is cured rhizomes (bulbs and fingers) that may be machine polished, with defective rhizomes not more than 5.0 percent. Neither the whole nor the powder may contain lead chromate, added starch or other colouring matter, and the powder's total starch (the naturally occurring starch) is capped at 60.0 percent.
Pepper (2.9.15). Black pepper has an unbroken pericarp and a diameter of minimum 2.0 mm; white pepper has the pericarp removed and a minimum diameter of 1.8 mm; green pepper is dried under controlled conditions. The table runs from moisture and ash to piperine, bulk density, light berries, extraneous vegetable matter and foreign matter.
Saffron (2.9.17). The standard measures floral waste (not more than 10.0 percent) and spectrophotometric readings for bitterness (picrocrocine), safranal and colouring strength.
Curry powder and mixed masala (2.9.19, 2.9.20). Curry powder is a powder from clean, dried and sound spices with spices not less than 85.0 per cent by weight and no colouring matter or preservatives other than edible common salt. Mixed masala powder, as substituted by amendment, has three grades (A, B and C) with spice content minimums of 85.0, 40.0 and 25.0 per cent by mass and volatile oil minimums of 0.4, 0.2 and 0.1, with moisture and acid insoluble ash limits. The minimum percentage of spice content must be on the label, a salt content above 5 per cent must be declared, and the name of the specific product, such as chana masala or sambar masala, may be mentioned.
Asafoetida (2.9.29). Hing may not contain colophony, galbanum or ammoniacum resin. The standards give total ash, ash insoluble in dilute hydrochloric acid, alcoholic extract and starch limits for hing and hingra, and a separate list for compounded asafoetida, or Bandhani Hing, made with gum arabic, edible starches or cereal flour.
A gap in the numbering
The compendium text prints 2.9.25 only as an omitted entry; no requirement can be read under that number. The overview of spice standards and adulteration gives the wider picture.
A practical example
Masala Mandi packs chilli powder with a little groundnut oil for colour retention. Under 2.9.3 edible vegetable oil is allowed to a maximum of 2.0 percent by weight, and the pack must declare the amount and the nature of the oil. If the same company packs turmeric powder, the batch must test negative for lead chromate and keep total starch within the 60.0 percent cap.
Need help with spice standards?
Our team can compare your lab report with the printed table for each spice and prepare the licence application through FSSAI registration for food manufacturers. The second half of the chapter, on salt and seasonings, is in our article on salt, seasonings, oleoresins and dried herbs.
Key takeaways
- Every spice from 2.9.1 to 2.9.29 must meet the microbiological requirements in table 3 of Appendix B.
- Each spice has a whole and a powder table, with ash, moisture and volatile oil as the common parameters.
- Turmeric must test negative for lead chromate; chilli powder may carry up to 2.0 percent declared vegetable oil.
- Mixed masala must declare the minimum percentage of spice content on the label.
- 2.9.25 is printed only as omitted.
Read next
- Regulations 2.9.30 to 2.9.45: salt, seasonings, oleoresins and dried herbs
- Spice standards and adulteration
- Appendix B: microbiological requirements
- Conditions for sale, clauses 11 to 20: Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales Regulations
Disclaimer: Based on the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 as consolidated in FSSAI's chapter-wise compendium (to amendment 83 of 21 October 2024) and the First Amendment Regulations, 2025, as consulted on fssai.gov.in on 2-3 October 2026. Later notifications and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provisions referred to should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.