Food Quality of Seeds
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Sandra
Posted on: March 20, 2005

I was going to order some whole nutmeg and cardamon seeds from a fairly expensive ‘seasoning’ supplier and then remembered that Richters sell these seeds whole too, so I am wondering if these two seeds if purchased from Richters are acceptable for grinding for human consumption... do you know?

Richters sells seeds both for growing and for consumption. Seeds intended for growing are designated with a "S" at the beginning of the catalogue number, while those designated with an "H" are meant to be used for food, medicine or aromatic purposes. Of the products designated with an "H", those normally used in food such as fennel, caraway, and nutmeg are food grade quality.

It is a little known fact that seeds for growing are often cleaner than seeds for consumption! That’s because government and industry purity standards for seeds used in horticulture and agriculture are higher than the food standards. In some cases, seeds for growing must be better than 99.99% pure in order to ensure that no weed seeds are present. However, I must hasten to add that for legal and regulatory reasons we cannot recommend that you use our "S" seeds for human consumption.

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