Paprika and pepper

All biosecurity requirements must be met before Imported Food Inspection Scheme requirements apply.

Check our Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON) for biosecurity import conditions.

We classify imported food that presents a potential medium or high risk to public health as risk food. All risk food is listed in the Imported Food Control Order 2019.

Paprika and pepper that is dried are classified as risk food

This includes paprika, dried pepper, dried capsicum and dried chilli that are whole, crushed or ground and:

• is ready-to-eat
• may be a mixture of paprika, dried pepper, dried capsicum or dried chilli only.

These spices and spice mixes are (derived) from:

• dried pepper or peppercorn of the genus
  • Piper spp.
  • Zanthoxylum spp. (Xanthoxylum), or
  • Schinus spp.
• dried fruits of the genus
  • Capsicum spp., or
  • Pimenta spp.

Exclusions

• Retorted products.
• Products such as refillable kitchen appliances and spice racks, which contain small quantities of paprika, dried pepper, dried capsicum and dried chilli.
• Food that will undergo further processing involving heat treatment, if accompanied by a written declaration from the importer. For example, pepper imported in bulk containers that will only be used as an ingredient in manufactured foods that will be cooked.
• Food from New Zealand.

Community Protection (CP) questions

You will need to answer these CP questions when lodging your full import declaration:

IFIS: Are the goods pepper or peppercorn?

IFIS: Are the goods paprika, dried chilli, dried capsicum or other dried fruits of the genus capsicum or pimenta?

Inspection and testing

We refer consignments of paprika, dried pepper, dried capsicum and dried chilli for analytical testing. During inspection, we will also conduct a visual and label assessment.

Table 1 shows the test that will be applied and permitted result.

Table 1: Test applied and permitted result

n = the number of samples to be analysed from a lot of food.
c = the maximum number of sample units that can be greater than ‘m’.
m = the acceptable microbiological level in a sample unit.

Food safety risks

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has given us advice about the risk of dried paprika and dried pepper. These products present a potential medium or high risk to public health for Salmonella.

Glossary

Ready-to-eat

Food is ready-to-eat if it is ordinarily consumed in the same state as that in which it is sold.

To avoid doubt, food is not ordinarily consumed in the same state as that in which it is sold if, before it is consumed, it requires further processing (such as cooking) to reduce any pathogenic microorganisms potentially present in the food to safe levels.

Retorted

Goods (other than animal products) heated in a hermetically sealed container for a time, and to a temperature, sufficient to make the contents commercially sterile.

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