No longer the sole domain of chefs in posh restaurants, herbs have found their way to the masses and are becoming ever more popular with food manufacturers. But supplying them is by no means a straightforward process, as demonstrated recently by a Food Standards Agency (FSA) investigation into how fresh basil imported from Israel ended up in supermarkets with an unhealthy sprinkling of salmonella.

A range of new spice blends for poultry, meat and fish has been launched by Bart Spices and join the existing range of speciality blends.

Scottish-based herbs and spices blender Scobie & Junor has just completed a £3M refurbishment and a move to new premises.

The fresh culinary herb sector is set for a makeover. Five of the UK's major fresh herb suppliers - R&G and Fresh Herb Solutions, HumberVHB, Lighthorne Herbs, Arava and Scotherbs and Swedeponic - which between them represent 90% of fresh culinary herbs to the nation's supermarkets, have united to create the new Fresh Herbs marketing campaign.

Adding to its range of blends inspired by cooking styles (Mediterranean, Barbecue and Indian), Steenbergs Organic has launched a range of organic American-inspired flavours.

The Sudan 1 incident alone reportedly cost the UK food industry over £100M, so it's hardly surprising that changes to operating systems and inspection programmes had to be made in its wake. But how much have things really changed? And what have the implications been for manufacturers and suppliers? According to British Pepper and Spice md Ian Kelland the scandal didn't create the anticipated downturn in the use of red spices. "People are just very much more aware of the potential risks with herbs and spices. The onus is now on the manufacturer to test them and ensure traceability, which can be costly and time consuming."

Essex-based spices and seasonings supplier Unbar Rothon has carried out a major product flow redesign to ensure 'clean' supplies to its customers in the wake of recent changes to allergen labelling requirements.

A light touch helped freezing and chilling systems specialist Eurotek beat off the competition to win an order from Flex Foods, India.

With an increasing number of checks being carried out on suppliers, the issue of cleaning herbs and spices has never been more important.