Why chilli needs a kill step at all
Sun-drying on open fields is what gives Guntur chilli its colour and price, but it is not a sanitation step. Field-dried spices carry soil flora, including Salmonella and high total plate counts, and no serious importer accepts sun-drying alone as a control. Every export lot going into food manufacturing therefore passes a validated microbial reduction step, or is sold to a buyer who has one.
Three routes are used in India: saturated steam under controlled time and temperature, fumigation with ethylene oxide gas, and irradiation, which is rare for chilli and unacceptable to most buyers. Which route is right is decided by the destination market's law and the buyer's own policy, not by the exporter.
European Union
Ethylene oxide is not approved as a biocide or pesticide on food in the EU. Residue limits under Regulation (EC) 396/2005 are set at the analytical limit of quantification; for dried chilli the limit applied is 0.02 mg/kg, expressed as the sum of ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol, and for many other spices 0.1 mg/kg. Any detection above the limit makes the consignment non-compliant, and since the 2020 sesame incident member states treat ETO findings as a serious risk requiring withdrawal and recall.
Dried, crushed or ground Capsicum from India was placed under the EU's increased-controls regime (Implementing Regulation 2019/1793) in January 2022 because of repeated ethylene oxide findings. Until February 2026 it sat in Annex II, meaning every consignment needed an official certificate with sampling and analysis results from India plus border checks. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/194 of 28 January 2026, applying from 18 February 2026, recorded improved compliance and moved the entry to Annex I: the certificate requirement is gone, but identity and physical checks continue on 20 percent of consignments entering the Union.
Practically, an EU importer of Indian chilli should specify steam sterilisation, require an ETO and 2-chloroethanol test on each lot with the limit written into the specification, and expect one consignment in five to be sampled at the border. Sudan dyes (zero tolerance), aflatoxins (5 µg/kg B1 and 10 µg/kg total for dried Capsicum under Regulation 2023/915) and pesticide residues are tested at the same time.
United Kingdom
Great Britain retained the EU's ethylene oxide position after Brexit and runs its own list of high-risk food not of animal origin with increased checks. For a UK importer the practical rule is the same as the EU's: steam, tested, certified.
United States
The United States permits ethylene oxide fumigation of dried spices under EPA tolerances for ethylene oxide and its reaction product ethylene chlorohydrin. ETO remains the most common treatment for spices entering the US, and it is effective. Steam is equally accepted, and many US brands now specify it for label or export reasons. FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act asks the importer to verify that the foreign supplier's process controls the hazard, so a validated treatment with a certificate matters as much as the choice of method.
The trap for exporters is not the US rule but cross-contamination: an ETO-treated US lot handled on the same line or stored next to a steam-treated EU lot can carry residue into the EU lot. Separate lines, separate zones and separate documents are the safeguard.
Gulf, Australia, Southeast Asia and Africa
Gulf Cooperation Council states, Australia, New Zealand and most Southeast Asian and African markets accept both steam and ETO treatment, with their own microbiological and aflatoxin limits. Australia and New Zealand also require attention to phytosanitary import conditions for whole pods. Buyers supplying multinational food groups in these markets increasingly specify steam anyway, because a single specification across their plants is simpler than two.
What steam sterilisation does to the product
Properly run, saturated-steam treatment reduces total plate count and eliminates Salmonella with limited effect on colour and pungency. There is a small loss of volatile aroma and, if the powder is not dried and cooled correctly afterwards, a risk of moisture pick-up and caking. The controls that matter are validated time and temperature, post-treatment drying back to below 10 percent moisture, cooling in a low-humidity area and immediate packing in lined bags. A treatment certificate should state the facility, date, parameters and lot.
Richvane treats EU and UK orders at a validated external facility, tests the treated lot at a NABL-accredited laboratory, and ships the treatment certificate and the laboratory report with the shipping documents. ETO lots for markets that permit them are handled on a separate line. Untreated, sun-dried material is supplied only to extractors and processors with a kill step of their own, and is labelled as such.
Questions on this topic
Is ETO-treated chilli powder allowed in the EU?
No. Ethylene oxide is not approved for use on food in the European Union, and the residue limit applied to dried chilli is 0.02 mg/kg for the sum of ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol. Dried Capsicum from India has been under increased EU border controls for ethylene oxide since January 2022; since 18 February 2026 the per-consignment certificate is no longer required but 20 percent of consignments are still checked. Richvane steam-sterilises all EU and UK orders.
What changed for Indian chilli in the EU in February 2026?
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/194, applying from 18 February 2026, moved dried, crushed or ground Capsicum from India from Annex II to Annex I of Regulation 2019/1793 for ethylene oxide. Consignments no longer need an official certificate with sampling and analysis results, but identity and physical checks continue on 20 percent of consignments entering the EU.
Is ETO allowed in the United States?
Yes. Ethylene oxide fumigation of dried spices is permitted in the US under EPA tolerances for ethylene oxide and ethylene chlorohydrin, and it remains widely used. Steam sterilisation is equally accepted. Richvane supplies either for the US, on separate lines.
Does steam sterilisation damage chilli powder?
Run correctly it has a limited effect on colour and pungency and a small effect on volatile aroma. The main risks are moisture pick-up and caking if the powder is not dried back below 10 percent moisture and cooled in a low-humidity area before packing. Richvane's EU lots are treated, dried, cooled and packed under those controls and tested afterwards.
Can I buy untreated sun-dried chilli?
Yes, if you have a validated kill step of your own. Oleoresin extractors and large processors routinely buy untreated pods or powder. Richvane supplies untreated sun-dried Teja and Sannam to such buyers and labels the lots as untreated.
Sources
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/194 of 28 January 2026 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, recital 12: entry for peppers of the genus Piper and dried, crushed or ground Capsicum or Pimenta from India transferred from Annex II to Annex I, frequency of identity and physical checks 20 percent
- Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides, ethylene oxide entries
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food (aflatoxins in dried Capsicum)
- US EPA, 40 CFR 180.151, ethylene oxide tolerances for residues
- Spices Board of India, mandatory sampling and testing of export consignments