Canada rejects Indian pickles

Canada is understood to have withheld a shipment of mixed vegetable pickle by a Haryana-based company on account of this issue and has asked the company to furnish separate bacteria-free certificate for all the vegetables present in the pickle, not a regular technical requirement, A K Sachdev of city-based Achar and Murabba Association said.

The Canadian problem is slightly unique in nature as it has issue only with 'mixed vegetable pickle' as it feels the high ph content in it may provide atmosphere for breeding of bacteria.

However, this problem is not felt in the individual vegetable pickle. Sacheva said pickles like lemon, mango have a low ph being high on acidic content but presence of vegetables like carrot, cauliflower and lotus stem in mixed vegetable pickle leads to its high ph value.

Canadian authorities' contention is that high ph value of the pickle can lead to breeding of bacteria in it, a charge refuted by Sacheva who has taken up the matter with government here saying that basic fundamental of the age-old recipe has been killing of bacteria by following various traditional methods.

These methods like drying, salting and keeping the vegetable in oil under sun for several days rules out such a possibility, he said.