A new EU law on spices is currently being worked out in Brussels to regulate acceptable levels of the fungus ochratoxin. There are two opposing proposals regarding Hungary’s undisputed number one spice: a strict Hungarian one, which would allow no more than 10 micrograms per kilo, and a soft Spanish one, which would allow five times as much. The former is currently in effect in Hungary, although a brief paprika scare in in 2004 showed that many producers have trouble complying. Experts say paprika growers in the Carpathian Basin are insisting on the strict Hungarian law being adopted by the EU to prevent low-cost, low-grade paprika grown in tropical regions from flooding the market. The Spanish law would protect the interests of importers, who re-package South American paprika and mix it with their own before selling it on to the EU. Some Hungarian companies and growers, however, support the Spanish suggestion, and are now being considered “traitors.”
Among them is András Bartos, CEO of Szeged Paprika Spice and Canned Food Manufacturer (Szegedi Paprika Fűszer- és Konzervgyártó Zrt) and chairman of the National Paprika Product Committee (Országos Fűszerpaprika Terméktanács). According to Népszabadság, Szegedi Paprika Zrt is no longer a member of the consortium to protect the rights of Szeged paprika growers within the EU, citing a changes in the global market. All the same, one of the reasons the 2004 “paprika scandal” broke out was the level of ochratoxin in the products, which exceeded the strict 10mg limit. As a consequence, criminal proceedings were started against heads of several paprika processing plants, including Bartos, whose court case will be among the first to be heard in Szeged next month. It’s little wonder he is jumping ship.
