FSA: Reminder About Eating Curry Leaves

04 Jul 2013 --- The Food Standards Agency is reminding those who eat or use fresh curry leaves in their dishes, to ensure that the leaves are washed thoroughly before use. Cooking provides further assurance that these leaves are safe to eat.

The use of uncooked fresh curry leaves, which were contaminated with several different bacteria including salmonella, was the cause of a food poisoning outbreak which affected more than 400 people at the Street Spice festival in Newcastle. Further information on the recent Newcastle City Council and Public Health England investigation into this incident can be found on the PHE website. See 'External sites' links.

When using fresh curry leaves and other fresh herbs, it is important that they are sourced from a reputable supplier and are handled and stored correctly. If there are instructions for storage, preparation, handling and use on the label, these should be carefully followed.

If the packaging does not carry any instructions, food business operators should take particular care, especially if the leaves are intended to be used as ready-to-eat or as an ingredient. The leaves should be washed thoroughly before use, although cooking would provide further assurance that the product is safe to eat.

As with all food preparation, hands should be washed thoroughly before handling food, while chopping boards, knives and other utensils must be cleaned between preparing raw and ready-to-eat foods, to prevent cross-contamination.