UNECE adopted a new international standard for whole dried chilli peppers on 18 June 2013 at the sixtieth session of the Specialized Section on Standardization of Dry and Dried Produce. The adoption of this new standard will facilitate international trade of dried chilli peppers for both exporters and importers of the good. It will add to the existing 22 standards already developed since 1970 under the aegis of UNECE to facilitate international trade of dry and dried produce.
The new standard, for which preparatory work was initiated by Mexico, primarily seeks to outline the quality requirements of whole dried chilli peppers at the export-control stage, after preparation and packaging. These requirements include provisions concerning quality (such as minimum requirements for whole dried chilli peppers to be intact, sound and clean, etc.), sizing, tolerances for defects, presentation (such as packaging specifications), and marking.
Product quality is of utmost importance for producers, consumers, and the agriculture and food industries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), worldwide production of dried chillies and peppers was valued at over US$3 billion in 2011.
The explanatory brochure on whole dried chilli peppers is available at: http://www.unece.org/DAM/trade/agr/meetings/ge.02/2013/PrePrint-Brochure_DriedChilliPeppers.pdf
For more information on dry and dried produce standards, please see: http://www.unece.org/trade/agr/standard/dry/ddp-standards.html