Turmeric Pesticide Contamination
In 2026, the FDA issued a warning that chlorpyrifos, a prohibited pesticide, was detected in turmeric powder exported from India to Austria and Germany.
Sensient’s Certasure™ program is built to address the intricacies of natural color food safety. The FDA and other regional regulatory bodies have differing standards and quality testing expectations across borders, leading to uncertainty and inconsistency. Certasure™ identifies the highest safety standard for each metric globally and holds botanically sourced colors to that level, regardless of regional acceptance.
Maintaining a risk-based food safety approach during a natural conversion movement is critical because naturally derived colors can introduce additional variability in composition, microbiological load, and supply chain complexity compared to synthetic alternatives. These changes may impact product safety, stability, processing parameters, allergen considerations, and overall product performance.
By continuing to apply Certasure™ as a comprehensive risk assessment and mitigation strategy, potential hazards can be identified and controlled proactively through the entire process from farm to extraction to standardization of the color. Enhanced supplier verification, raw material monitoring, process validation, environmental controls, and lot-by-lot testing based on risk assessment help ensure that the transition to natural colors does not compromise food safety, product quality, or regulatory compliance.
This approach supports consistent product integrity while providing confidence that all products continue to meet establish safety, quality and customer expectations despite change in formulation or color sourcing.
We are always on high alert, and current market conditions have surfaced several examples already reinforcing our commitment to the importance of vigilant attention to safety. The following five examples highlighted by Sensient’s Quality Team highlight the importance of food safety standards in natural color:
