STARRING NUTMEG, MACE:

The field publicity campaign on nutmeg initiated by the Spices Board during 2011 with the active support of the exporters under the aegis of the World Spice Organisation in the growing areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu turned out to be a new experience for the nutmeg farmers.  It is for the first time that nutmeg farmers were given the opportunity to come together and interact on an issue concerning the very existence of the crop.
The issue of aflatoxin and other impurities in nutmeg and mace had been a point of concern since these contributed to the deterioration of quality.  The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) notifications by the European Union had called for immediate measures to counter the great challenge in enhancing quality of nutmeg and mace exported devoid of aflatoxin.
Nutmeg and mace are becoming spices of major importance in the country's export basket of spices.  The Indian nutmeg and mace which had uninterrupted trade across the seas is now facing quality issues in the international market especially from the West. The European Union which is a major market for Indian nutmeg and mace had issued a rapid alert recently expressing concern over presence of aflatoxin in nutmeg and mace. 
 European Spice Association (ESA) comprising of the members of the European Union has prescribed limits for aflatoxin as five ppb for B1 and l0 ppb for the group. Member countries and others have fixed individual limits ranging from one to 20 ppb. The situation warranted immediate steps to make the Indian nutmeg and mace qualify the European quality specifications.
Addressing the major issue of aflatoxin affecting the quality of spices, the Spices Board had launched a nationwide Field Publicity Campaign to reach the farmers, traders and exporters in the major growing areas. The Field Publicity Campaign focussed on quality of nutmeg and mace produced in India .  The campaign was undertaken in the principal growing areas in Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Calicut and Wyanadu districts in Kerala and in Pollachi in Tamil Nadu. Campaign meetings were held in Ponkunnam and Erattupettah in Kottayam district, in Adimali in Idukki district, in Edakunnu and Kanjoor in Ernakulam district, in Pariyaram in Trichur district, in Koorachundu and Thiruvambadi in Calicut district and in Pollachi in Tamil Nadu during June 2011 where hundreds of farmers assembled. These areas had thick population of nutmeg trees and the farmers really make out a living out of nutmeg and mace.

The campaign  featured a total presentation of the issue, remedial measures besides opportunities for the farmers to interact with the scientists on growing and rearing of the crop and on post harvest operations.
The campaign well attended by farmers including progressive farmers shared the concern and understood the call the hour.  While a majority of the farmers were not aware of the grave situation, many of the farmers were left in lurch on how to get over this problem.

The campaign meeting created awareness on the issue of aflatoxin and the necessity to resort to proper drying and storage during rainy season when the harvesting is at its peak. The major cause for the presence of aflatoxin in nutmeg is due to the poor primary processing followed. As the crop is harvested during monsoon season, sun drying is not possible and most of the farmers adopt traditional methods to dry the harvested nutmeg. This results in inadequate drying and during storage it is very easily susceptible to fungal attack. Thus drying of the produce at the farmer’s level to a safe moisture level at which growth of fungi and mould will be inhibited becomes an important step in processing of nutmeg.
Aflatoxin contamination does not affect crop productivity but it makes the produce unfit for consumption as toxins are injurious to health. The marketability of contaminated produce, particularly in international trade is considerably reduced due to stringent standards of permissible limits on aflatoxin contamination set by the importing countries. 

Progressive farmers who attended the meetings and interactions shared their good processing practices. The measures advocated to farmers included drying of nutmeg and mace to safe moisture content of less than  10 per cent, use artificial driers during raining season and proper storing in  moisture proof room.

Nutmeg and mace are important spices that find wide application in food industry and medicine and hence the paramount importance in monitoring quality. Countries in the European Union, Middle East , South Africa , and Japan have been importing good quantities of these products in whole form besides in the form of oils and oleoresins also.
 Indian exports of nutmeg and mace have gone up substantially from 1530 tonnes valued at Rs 31.17 crore in 2005-06 to 3276 tonnes valued at Rs 91.87crore in 2009-10. The exports declined to 2100 tonnes in terms of quantity and but improved in terms of value to Rs 97.77 crore.
ACTIVE NOTES ON LAZY MAN’S CROP                             ( box)

Approximately 75 per cent of the world’s nutmeg production of around 20,000 tonnes is produced by Indonesia and Grenada . India , Malaysia , Papua New Guinea , Sri Lanka and a few Caribbean countries are also producing and exporting nutmeg and mace.

Meanwhile, the European countries, specifically the Netherlands and Germany , import substantial quantities of around 60 per cent of total world production.  Grenada exports mostly go to the European Union on account of the maintenance of quality in terms of flavour and sanitary issues.  The Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association is strictly scrutinizing the quality aspects of the nutmeg and mace exports.

The laxities in qualities have its tale telling effects on the exports from Indonesia . Mainly attributed to the incidence of aflatoxin in nutmeg, exports from other countries including India is facing grave challenges.

The global market is steady and trade sources expect the market to go up on account of more usages and consumption by other allied industries. EU demand for high quality nutmeg is very high and it is said that Grenada alone cannot meet that demand. Hence there is an immediate opportunity for other producing countries to start scientific post harvest operations in upgrading the quality of nutmeg and mace exported.

Nutmeg trees bear an apricot like fruit, which consists of a husk that contains a seed, the nutmeg, which is surrounded by a thin layer called mace. Nutmegs contain 20 percent to 40 percent of fixed oil called nutmeg butter and eight percent to 15 percent of essential oil. Generally traded in whole form, nutmeg is mainly used in ground form by the food processing industry in meat products, sausages, soups, baked good and spice mixes.

Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring mycotoxin produced by two types of mold: Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Aspergillus flavus is common and widespread in nature and is most often found when certain grains are grown under stressful conditions such as drought. The mold occurs in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains undergoing microbiological deterioration and invades all types of organic substrates whenever and wherever the conditions are favourable for its growth. Favourable conditions include high moisture content and high temperature. At least 13 different types of aflatoxin are produced in nature with aflatoxin B1 considered as the most toxic.

While the presence of Aspergillus flavus does not always indicate harmful levels of aflatoxin it does mean that the potential for aflatoxin production is present.

Exports of nutmeg oil and nutmeg oleoresin, which cannot be affected by aflatoxin, could be envisaged as a way to bypass aflatoxin and quality problems. Furthermore, non-traditional sectors should be investigated like the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries where new uses of nutmeg can be found and developed in various preparations as balms or syrups.

GRENADA STRICT IN NUTMEG PROCESSING
Grenada, the tri island state, is the world champion in nutmeg trade and commerce.  It is nutmeg tress all the way in Grenada . The quality of their produce has been acclaimed world over. The Grenada Co-operative Nutmeg Association (G.C.N.A.) is the principal player in the Nutmeg Sector of Grenada. Formed under the Nutmeg Industry Act the Association has the mandate to be the sole marketing agent for Grenada ’s nutmegs. The G.C.N.A. manufactures and exports nutmeg and mace oil.
The G.C.N.A. has also started two projects to address the Nutmeg Wilt situation, improve the capacity of its laboratory, resolve the pest problem at the Processing Station and improve techniques for determining the sex of nutmeg trees. In the near future, the Association plans to invest more in the value added products in an effort to generate new revenue streams and allow for better compensation to the farmers.
Nature plays truant in Grenada often and the devastating hurricanes have damaged nutmeg trees and brought down production of nutmeg and mace. After the hurricane in 2004 and 2005, around 80 percent of their trees toppled. The volume of nutmegs exported from Grenada decreased significantly from 2,300 to 1,100 tonnes in 2006. By 2008 it was further reduced to 250 tonnes and by 2009 to approximately 200 tonnes reflecting the impact of the Hurricanes of 2004 and 2005. In the post hurricane period, many nutmeg trees were left to dry and die, as the crop remained uncollected in the fields.

There are splendid plantations growing nutmeg amidst bananas, nutmeg, cocoa and vegetables. The nutmeg tree flowers after six to seven years and can bear fruit for more than 50 years. A typical plantation has 50-200 female trees and one male tree. Nuts are usually harvested in three crops. One tree produces up to 100 kg of nutmeg and 10 kg of mace per year.
Around 7,000 nutmeg farmers on Grenada depend on Nutmeg processing stations to process their produce. There is great deal of pride among farmers in relation to growing and harvesting nutmeg. The majority of the farmers are in their sixties and have in average five to seven acres of land. A typical farmer pays others to collect nutmegs every other day. However, there are many part-time farmers or occasional nutmeg collectors who collect nutmegs once per week or based on cash needs.

There are now fewer “pure stand nutmeg farms”. Unlike cocoa which generates income once or twice per year, nutmeg gives farmers a continuous income throughout the year. Some say that nutmeg is the perfect “lazy man’s crop” based on the easy requirement of picking up nutmegs from the ground.
In Grenada , processing is done centrally at the G.C.N.A. Processing Plant. Grenada has always been a more quality-driven in its picking and drying (in-house) than Indonesia . Also the selection (testing in water, sinkers are of good quality) is more careful than in Indonesia . Careless processing produces more defected nuts, which can only be used for extraction.

In Indonesia , farmers bring the kernels (hard shell with nutmeg inside) and dried mace to regional collectors. There, the hard shell is removed, by first cracking (either in a machine, or by letting it fall on the ground) and then by hand. The nutmeg is then dried down to 14 percent moisture content, packed in 50-75 kg bags (with collector ID) or in containers and shipped for further cleaning and selection. Selecting nutmegs is labour intensive (done by hand), usually carried out by women.

There are around 20 receiving stations in Grenada .  The farmer receives an advance.  At the time of bringing their produce, the produce is examined to discard defective ones. The nutmegs are then transported to one of the three processing stations.  Visitors to these facilities will have to pay a fee to take a tour with one of their knowledgeable guides.  The process is labour-intensive in Grenada also.


POST HARVEST OPERATIONS
AND MARKETING NUTMEG IN GRENADA
Nutmegs are left to dry for six to eight weeks, and the mace is aged from four to six months. Mace is graded into three categories. Prime quality mace is used for culinary seasoning and fetches a premium price. The second and third grades are used in food preservatives and cosmetics respectively.
After drying, the nutmegs are put through the de-shelling machine. This merely cracks the nut, which is then removed by hand. Women complete this process and take out damaged and infected kernels or any that are not yet open. The defective nutmegs are bagged and sent to the oil distillery. The good nutmegs are given the water test. Placed in water, nutmegs with desirable high-oil content will sink. Floaters contain less oil and will be sold to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The wet nutmegs are left to dry for another 24 hours.
The next step for the top-grade nutmegs is sorting by size; 110 small nutmegs will equal one pound in weight, the same as 80 large nutmegs. Each sack for export contains a total of 140 pounds of nutmegs. The gunny sacks are sewn and the name of the destinations is stenciled onto the sacks by hand. In the course of one year, Grenada processes roughly one quarter of the world’s supply.
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