Purchasing Spices as Tourist Souvenirs—A Risk Assessment in the Context of Sustainable Tourism Development

Abstract

Tourism plays an important role in the economic and social development of many countries and regions. Tourists buy food, such as canned food, alcohol, and spices, which increases the value of a trip, fulfilling a cultural, sentimental, educational, and marketing role whilst documenting the trip, or they become gifts for family and friends. However, spices may not be of the appropriate quality or may even be harmful to health due to contamination or adulteration. Therefore, the aim of the paper was to present spices as culinary souvenirs and to indicate some risks that may arise from their consumption. To date, only few such studies have been published in this area. A literature review was conducted and data from Eurostat, Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and Web of Science were used. The most serious hazards in spices are pathogens, pesticides, and mycotoxins in products from Asia. Adequate awareness needs to be built among tourists and tour operators about where to buy spices that are risk-free and not adulterated. It will contribute to the development of sustainable food tourism. Further research may look at specific types of spices and where they are purchased highlighting the issue of authenticity and traceability.

1. Introduction

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant development of tourism, especially international. Tourism is an important sector of the economy in many countries and regions of the world. This is especially true for underdeveloped areas, where tourism is often the only source of income and provides employment for local people. In addition, tourism directly and indirectly promotes other sectors of the economy, such as transport, hospitality, and retail [1]. Research by Li et al. (2018) [2] shows that the main purpose of inbound tourism is “leisure, recreation and vacation”, which accounts for almost 52% of all international tourist arrivals, followed by “visiting friends and relatives”, “health and religion”, which account for about 27%, and the next purposes “business and work”, which account for 14%. However, many studies draw attention to the various nuisances that tourism generates for the environment and inhabitants of tourist-attractive areas. The article in Nature Communications shows that tourism plays a key role in the global path of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Therefore, development strategies should take into account the decarbonisation of tourism and define demand thresholds in order to adapt global tourism to the Paris Agreement [3]. Research on sustainable tourism development is undertaken in various countries, in places particularly exposed to mass tourism [4,5,6]. The city that is particularly affected by overtourism in Europe is Barcelona [7]. Studies on the effects of overtourism have also been conducted in Egypt and Athens, as well as in high mountain regions [8,9,10]. In this context, it also concerns food safety in tourist destinations. Food-related threats relate to various aspects such as food consumption by tourists, food waste related to tourism, purchasing local food, and food terrorism [11,12].

Satisfaction with a tourist trip is manifested, among others, by purchase of souvenirs, which may be of different nature. Often, the purchased souvenirs are related to food and nutrition. Tourists returning from exotic destinations want to recreate the flavours and aromas of the dishes they experienced during the trip. Hence, they buy some products and spices, as well as dishes and culinary accessories, in order to recreate the dishes that they had the chance to taste during their travels.

1.1. Food as Souvenirs from Tourist Destinations

An important element of a tourist trip is the purchase of souvenirs, which are not only important for tourists but also play an important role in the development of the tourism industry. The purchase of various souvenirs made by tourists has recently also become the subject of research. Jin et al. (2017) [13] attempted to critically analyse the literature on tourist shopping and present its comprehensive synthesis. The article gives the definition of tourist purchases as well as the segmentation of these purchases. Tourist souvenirs can be an extension of the trip and a sentimental memory, they are also proof of travel and can be given as gifts to family or friends or be an incentive to travel again to this place. In this context, tourist souvenirs are a special form of marketing, the so-called “word of mouth marketing”, and can encourage others to make similar journeys [14].

Tourists most often buy clothes, collectibles, works of art and crafts, various trinkets (pens, key rings, stickers), jewellery, and food [15,16]. According to Bryła (2015) [17], food is often considered an ideal product to portray a specific culture and character of a destination. For many tourists, the food they consume in a tourist destination not only satisfies their hunger but intertwines with the identity of the place. The research conducted by Buczkowska (2014) [18] shows that Polish tourists most often buy for themselves sweets (64%), alcohol (52%), spices (44%), tea (44%), fruit in various forms (40%), coffee, cheese and oil (32% each), honey (28%), dried fruit and nuts (24%), and dried vegetables (20%). As gifts for other people, alcohol (83%), sweets (71%), spices and tea (42%), local fruit (33%), herbs (33%), coffee (29%), nuts and dried fruit (29%), honey (25%), cheese (25%), and oil (21%) were most often chosen.

Suhartanto et al. (2017) [19] demonstrated the existence of five dimensions of food souvenirs, namely brand and packaging, uniqueness, food quality, authenticity, as well as taste and value. Culinary authenticity is most often associated with the use of local raw materials and has strong ties to history, traditions, locality, culture and otherness, it can also affect the intention of tourists to visit the place again [20]. To these dimensions of culinary authenticity, Chaney and Ryan (2012) [21] add one more, namely ethnicity. Based on the event of the World Gourmet Summit in Singapore, they portray Singapore as a great ethnic melting pot. With Perankanan (Nonya), Muslim, Indian, Chinese, and Malay cuisines now mingling so freely that they are considered to belong to one group. The dishes of these cuisines are distinctive and expressive because of the ingredients and spices used. Singapore not only promotes Asian culinary tourism but it also thrives through collaboration with Michelin-starred chefs and Masterchef chefs, wine experts, and celebrities. Countries whose products are regularly presented at the Gourmet Summit in Singapore are France (cold cuts, cheese, truffles and wine), Norway (snorre foods—salmon and lobster), Italy (wine, small goods, and cheese), Scotland (whiskey), Japan (Kobe beef) and Malaysia (durian).

There are also large-scale food and nutrition events in Europe, such as the Beer Festival (Oktoberfest) in Munich, The Gouda Cheese Market, BIOFACH food fair in Nuremberg, Cambremer Festival Normandy, Slow Fish Festival Genoa, Austrian Honey Festival Hermagor, Copenhagen Cooking, and many more. Festivals usually attract local food producers, but with proper marketing, they can attract not only inhabitants but also tourists from very distant places. In the literature, the effects of these undertakings are most often examined in terms of regional development, economic effects, and social entrepreneurship. Research on the importance of food and nutrition tourism and its effects on participants is very rare. Organ et al. (2015) [22] conducted a study at ten food-related festivals in Wales. They assessed prior visitor engagement with local food, then followed by festival engagement, emotions evoked and future food purchasing intentions, as well as the behaviour six months later. The results indicate that commitment and positive emotions at the festivals are good predictors of a change in food buying patterns and consumption behaviour. Festival participants eagerly tasted food and drinks and then made purchases. The most popular purchased product was cheese; almost 50% of respondents mentioned some form of cheese, while other local food products were chutneys and jams, beer and cider, meat, fish, cakes, and eggs. Tourists coming from afar are not allowed to take food home, they can only eat it on the spot. So, they buy permanent food ingredients or preserves and spices, counting on the fact they will prepare similar dishes in their home kitchen.

Popular food souvenirs among tourists include teas and herbal infusions. Tourists buy these products in various countries, especially in Asia and Africa, as well as Europe. It has been observed that herbal mixtures, especially ones with edible flowers, are very popular. However, as research shows, edible flowers, in addition to their undeniable aesthetic and taste values, improve the appearance and palatability of herbal mixtures, yet they can also pose a threat to consumers if they come from uncontrolled crops or have been improperly processed [23]. However, culinary tourism trips are becoming increasingly popular, including to places where spices are grown. An example of such a destination are the spice plantations in Zanzibar [24].

1.2. Spices as Tourist Souvenirs

What are spices and what makes them different from other foods? There are many definitions of spices in the specialist literature. Most scientists define spices as products of plant origin. Śmiechowska et al. (2021) [25] highlighted significant differences between spices and spice herbs (Figure 1). According to these authors, spices are most often plant-derived products added to dishes mainly to improve sensory properties. Medicinal herbs, on the other hand, are plants whose main importance is to act on the body and are generally used in greater amounts than spices. They are subject to the same supervision as all medicinal compounds and products. In turn, spice herbs are two-way ingredients, i.e., they affect both the human body and improve the sensory and preserving properties of dishes. These types of products are not considered drugs but are food products and are subject to the same controls as all food products. Martínez-Graciá et al. (2015) [26] emphasise those additional properties of spices and their positive effect on the human body and preserving food.

The spices can be single-component or mixtures of plants and other ingredients. Two groups can be distinguished in spice mixtures: blends and seasonings. Blends are composed only of herbs and spices selected in the right way. Such requirements are met by, for example, Provencal herbs, which are among the oldest seasoning mixtures in Europe with a well-defined composition. The second group are seasonings, which, apart from plant parts, include other ingredients such as salt, monosodium glutamate, citric acid and others [25].

Codex Alimentarius, on the other hand, enumerates substances added to food to enhance the aroma and taste, including salts, spices, soups, sauces, salads and protein products. They are classified as salt and salt substitutes, herbs, spices, vinegars, mustards, soups and broths, sauces and similar products, salads, sandwich spreads, yeast and similar products, soy-based spices, and protein products from sources other than soy [27]. The concept of spices is, thus, broader as it includes not only spices such as plants and/or parts thereof, but also salt, bouillon cubes, soy sauce, fish sauce or ketchup used to improve palatability [28].

Spices can be produced in various forms, and the most common are as follows:

• loose spices of varying degrees of fragmentation—cut, broken, powders;
• spices in liquid and emulsion form and liquid extracts;
• spices in the form of pastes and dry extracts.

The tourism development, especially culinary tourism, is responsible for curiosity in food from other regions of the world, including spices [29]. Among other things, it results in the development of gastronomy and the emergence of restaurants with Chinese, Thai, Korean, Turkish, Georgian, Italian, Spanish, and French cuisine around the world. The interest in the cuisines of other nations, regions, and dishes from different parts of the world is also the result of the migration of people who move to other regions and transfer their culture and eating behaviour [30].

1.3. Justification for Undertaking the Topic and the Aim of the Research

It was found that in recent years, only few works have been published on tourist souvenirs, especially souvenirs related to food and nutrition, including spices. One of the reasons was undoubtedly the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown introduced in many countries, which resulted in a reduction in tourist traffic [31,32,33,34] as explicitly confirmed by Eurostat data. The inspiration for undertaking this research was also the large number of border rejections reported in the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), which related to spices. Many of these spices come from tourist destination countries [35].

Therefore, the aim of the article was to present spices as culinary souvenirs and to indicate some of the risks that may result from their consumption. Using data from various sources and the results of own research, attention has been paid to the risks that may be faced by tourists when buying and consuming spices. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the following research questions were asked: (i) Which continents are most frequently visited by Europeans and what are the costs they incur for trips according to Eurostat? (ii) What food and spices do tourists most often buy as culinary souvenirs? (iii) What hazards were notified in herbs and spices in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and where did these products come from? (iv) What could be the health implications of the hazards in spices? (v) What are the links between the keywords “tourism” and “spices” and other words in scientific works?

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. A Review of Scientific Papers and Extraction Data from Databases

A review of scientific papers was carried out to identify which foods and then also which spices (as food products) are purchased by tourists as tourist souvenirs. For this purpose, a search of the databases of the following scientific publishers was carried out: Elsevier [36], Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) [37], Springer [38], Taylor & Francis [39], and Wiley [40]. The search used a combination of different keywords such as tourism, tourists, tourist, food, spices, souvenirs and logical operators such as AND and/or OR. Initially, this search covered the most recent years, i.e., 2020–2025, but due to the small number of scientific papers from this period on the issues analysed, it was subsequently extended to earlier years as well. The retrieved works were then analysed by first paying attention to the abstracts and conclusions, and then also to the texts of the works themselves. The selected papers falling within the scope of the issues raised were then used as references in the present study in three sections: Introduction, Results and Discussion.

In turn, in the Results and Discussion sections, data obtained from various databases were also used. To obtain these data, it was necessary to indicate the relevant search criteria in the particular databases, to carry out searches to obtain results and finally to export the data (

Table 1. Databases used and data obtained from them.

Database (and Source)		Indicated Criteria (and Data Obtained)	Period	Extraction
Eurostat	Trips by detailed country/world region of main destination [41]	Time: 2012–2023; time frequency: annual; unit of measure: number; purpose: total number of trips, i.e., personal reasons, visit to friends and relatives and professional, business; duration: total number of trips, i.e., 1 night or over, 1 to 3 nights and 4 nights or over; geopolitical entity (reporting): each of 28 current or former UE countries, i.e., including also the United Kingdom; country of destination: Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South America, Northern America, Oceania (number of trips made by European Union residents by continent)	2012–2023	Export to Excel file
	Expenditure by detailed country/world region of the main destination of the trip [42]	Time: 2012–2023; time frequency: annual; unit of measure: euro; statistical information: total; purpose: total number of trips, i.e., personal reasons and professional, business; duration: total number of trips, i.e., 1 night or over, 1 to 3 nights and 4 nights or over; geopolitical entity (reporting): each of 28 current or former UE countries, i.e., including also the United Kingdom; country of destination: all countries of the world; Expenditure and investment: expenditure on accommodation, expenditure on transport, other expenditure on tourism trips, expenditure on restaurants/cafés, expenditure on package arrangement, expenditure on durables and valuable goods (data on expenditures of European Union residents per trip by type of expenditure)	2012–2023	Export to Excel file
Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF)	Restored RASFF database [45]	No need to indicate criteria due to directly accessible files (data on year, notification type, hazard category, country of origin and notifying country in product category “herbs and spices”)	1983–1921	Downloading Excel files
	Officially available RASFF database [43]	Data: 1 January 2022–31 December 2023; countries: notifying-any, origin-any; type-any; status-any; product: product category-herbs and spices; hazard-any (data on year, notification type, hazard category, country of origin and notifying country in product category “herbs and spices”)	2022–2023	Export to Excel file
Web of Science	Documents [44]	Keywords “tourism” and “spices” in the search field (data on scientific papers containing these keywords)	1996–2024	Export to text file

Source: Own elaboration.

). In the case of Eurostat, after searching for data according to the indicated criteria and then saving the address of the generated website, it can be reopened with the same results [41,42]. This is not possible, however, with the official Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASSF) database [43], as well as with the Web of Science database [44], where each time the page is opened the data search criteria must be re-entered. In turn, the data on the restored (archived) RASFF database [45] are saved in files, so the above remarks do not apply to it.

2.2. Processing of Data from Databases

Data from Eurostat covered the number of trips made by Europeans to particular continents [41], as well as the types of individual trip-related expenditure [42]. When processing the extracted data, the sorting and “subtotal” functions in Microsoft Excel 365 (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, DC, USA) were used. Unfortunately, it should also be added that some data were not available (e.g., for the United Kingdom from 2014 onwards), and with some other data there was a mention of a break in the time series, or they were described as low reliability.

Data from RASFF databases [43,45] were merged after extraction and finally yielded information on 5773 notifications for herbs and spices reported in the RASFF between 1983 (the first notification) and 2023. They were placed in a Microsoft Excel 365 file in five columns, i.e., year, notification type, hazard category, country of origin and notifying country. Then, these data were processed using the following functions: vertical search, pivot tables, filtering, sorting, and transposition. Data for the years were used to show the trend in the number of notifications reported in the RASFF over the period 1983–2023, while the remaining data types were arranged in descending order to highlight the most frequently reported notification types, hazard categories, countries of origin, as well as the countries that notify hazards most commonly.

A source table was then constructed where the columns contained the numbers of notifications relating to the ten most frequently notified hazard categories in the RASFF, and the rows contained the numbers regarding the ten highest reported countries of origin. Next, a two-way cluster analysis was carried out in Statistica 13.3 (TIBCO Software Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA) to identify similarities between hazard categories and countries of origin for notified spices. This type of cluster analysis is useful when the data contained in both columns and rows can be expected to yield meaningful cluster patterns simultaneously. Although the structure of the generated clusters is not homogeneous by nature, two-way joining cluster analysis is considered a powerful tool for data mining [46]. The results of this analysis were presented in the form of a contour/discrete chart, where the different clusters were shown as squares: green (smallest clusters) or brown (largest). The shortcoming of this method is that it automatically generates numerical intervals and assigns colours to them in such a way that they were indicated in the legend of the chart, but did not appear on the chart itself.

Data obtained from Web of Science (WoS) database concerned 165 records (results) [44]. These records were then analysed in VOSviewer 1.6.20 (Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands) with the following settings: co-occurrence (as a type of analysis), author keywords (as a unit of analysis), full counting (as a counting method), 1 as minimum number of occurrence of a keyword, and finally exclusion of words not related to the main visualisation (map). In the end, the resulting network visualisation included 99 keywords (elements). Each of the coloured automatically generated clusters contained words that were indicated by authors more frequently together, i.e., next to each other (among the keywords) in the various scientific works than grouped in other clusters. In the visualisation, it is also possible to see how a given keyword connects to others within the same cluster, as well as to elements from other clusters. It is also worth noting that the larger an element was in the visualisation, the more times the given keyword was indicated. Due to the high density of keywords in the visualisation, some parts of it have been enlarged and analysed separately.

3. Results

3.1. Trips of Europeans by Continent and Expenditure

Figure 2 shows the number of trips (in millions) made by European Union residents in 2012–2023 by continent according to Eurostat.

As can be seen data for trips within Europe are not presented here, as the number of such trips averaged around 2 billion per year and, therefore, data for other continents would not be visible. Despite some shortcomings and low reliability (see Section 2), these data present a picture in which clear trends can be observed. Europeans travelled the most in 2017–2019 to Asia (blue line) and Africa (brown), and it was about 25–30 and 20–25 million trips per year, respectively. Importantly, a clear decline in the number of trips can be seen in 2020–2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an upward trend from 2022 onwards. The average expenditures of European Union residents per trip (in euro) in 2012–2023 by type of expenditure according to Eurostat are presented in Figure 3 (all countries in the world were taken into consideration).

The largest expenditure in relation to trips was incurred by Europeans on accommodation. These amounted to an average of 140 euros in 2019, i.e., already before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 150–160 euros in 2022–2023, so they have increased (blue line). In turn, the average expenditure on transport, both before and after the pandemic, was around 120 euros, which means that it remained at a similar level (brown line). However, two other types of expenditure are worth noting in particular, namely, other expenditure on tourism trips (orange line) and expenditure on durable and valuable goods (black). The total Europeans spent on these, both before and after the pandemic, averaged around 110 euros. These expenditures may include purchases related to souvenirs, including food-related purchases such as spices.

3.2. Food and Spices as Culinary Souvenirs

There is little detailed research on culinary souvenirs in the specialist literature. According to Lin and Mao (2015) [47], many tourist destinations in the world have specific culinary specialties that best reflect their unique identity and are popular among tourists (

Table 2. Culinary souvenirs from around the world.

Continent	Country	Culinary Souvenirs
Africa	Kenya	Coffee, tea
	Morocco	Argan oil, harissa, saffron
	South Africa	Spices, wine
	Zanzibar	Spices
Asia	China	Cookies, dried shiitake, others mushrooms, dried and smoked Bonito fish, rice wine, soy sauce, spices, tea
	India	Tea, black salt, spices
	Japan	Tea, sake, dried seaweed
	Korea	Kimchi, jeotgal-frutti di mare in salt, doenjang (fermented soy paste)
	Taiwan	Spices (such as fish sauce), pineapple cake
	Thailand	Curry sauce, fish and shrimp sauces, spicy pastes for roasted meats and fish
Europe	Austria	Mozart Kügel, pumpkin oil, wine
	Belgium	Beer, mayo sauces
	Finland	Fazer chocolates, salted licorice, reindeer meat preserves
	France	Foie Gras, spices
	France—Dijon	Anise candies, Burgund wine, cheese, ginger cake, mustard
	France—Provance	Herbs, lavender, spices—mustard
	Germany	Beer, grey salt, herbs
	Great Britain	Alcohols (whisky, cider), tea, Worcestershire sauce
	Great Britain—Bakewell (Derbyshire)	Bakewell tart
	Great Britain—Scotland	Haggis
	Great Britain—Stilton (Cambridge-shire)	Blue cheeses
	Greece	Alcohols (wine, Metaxa, Ouzo), raisins, thyme honey
	Hungary	Pepper, Salami, wine—Tokay
	Ireland	Cider, Guinness beer
	Italy—Capri	Lemon sugar
	Italy—Sicilia	Honey, sea salt, spices
	Italy—Tuscania	Balsamic vinegar, truffle olive oil
	Netherlands	Cheese
	Norway	Fish and fish products (salmon, herring)
Central America	Cuba, Columbia, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Mexico, Peru	Coffee, rum, spices, tequila
Northern America	Canada	Mapple syrup, whiskey
	USA	Sauces

Source: Own elaboration based on [16,29,47,48,49,50,51].

).

The role and importance of food as travel souvenirs have rarely been discussed in the literature. Compared to handicrafts and crafts such as mugs, T-shirts, commemorative stickers and key rings, food is more closely related to local area, geography, climate, and the historical backdrop of tourist attractions. The specialties and food souvenirs are linked to local industries such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, and food industry. Therefore, it is possible that the development of local food products may attract tourists, promote a given destination, and increase consumption.

Staphit (2018) [16], conducting research on the purchase of gifts visiting Rovaniemi in Finland, noticed that tourists willingly buy Fazer chocolate products, because of its Finnish origin. The study confirmed that tourists choose unique and characteristic products of the area. According to Sims (2009) [51] local food has impact on tourism on three levels. Firstly, the increased consumption of local food supports the local economy. Secondly, buying local produce reduces its carbon footprint. Thirdly, local food products promotion differentiates the region from the competition and attracts a steady stream of visitors.

Dishes from some African countries with unique ingredients, e.g., spices, create an unusual cuisine as a result of influence from various cultures. This multiculturalism is visible, for example, in South Africa, where we can observe the culinary influences of India and Pakistan, countries which once colonised this region like Germany, the Netherlands, and even France. Many ingredients of African cuisine spread across the world with explorers and slaves [50]. However, it should be kept in mind that many food-related souvenirs are prohibited for transport. Some countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA or Switzerland forbid tourists transport meat across their borders. The import ban on dairy products and honey applies to New Zealand and Switzerland. The import of plant-based material is forbidden in, e.g., Australia and New Zealand. In general, processed food is allowed with exception of alcoholic products, as many countries have restrictions on the amount of alcohol imported.

Table 3. Examples of spices from different parts of the world that are of interest to tourists.

Continent	Country	Spice
Africa	Central African Republic	Anise, black pepper, coriander, hot peppers, salt
	Egypt	Basil, cumin, coriander, dill, fenugreek, marjoram, mint, rosemary
	Morocco	Cumin, cayenne pepper, chilli, coriander, ginger, harissa, mint, oregano, pepper, peppers, rosemary, saffron, sage, thyme
	Nigeria	Anona, basil, curry leaf, ginger, guineense pepper, nutmeg substitute, paradise seed, pepper substitute, turmeric
	United Arab Emirates (UAE)	Basil, mint, oregano, sage, thyme
	Zanzibar	Black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, chilli, cumin, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, turmeric, vanilla
Asia	Bangladesh	Black pepper, cardamom, chilli green and red, cinnamon, cloves, coriander leaves and seeds, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, laurel, nutmeg, mustard, tamarind fruits
	China	Cassia cinnamon, pepper—yellow, green and red, red peppers
	India	Anise, black pepper, cardamom, cassia, cumin, chilli, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, curry leaves, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, lemon grass, mustard seeds (black and white), nutmeg, pandan, tamarind, turmeric
	Japan	Sea salt, wasabi, rice vinegar
	Korea	Fish sauces, soy sauce
	Nepal	Herbal spices
	Sri Lanka	Black pepper, cardamom, chilli, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry leaves, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, lemon grass, mustard (white and black), nutmeg, pandan, tamarind, turmeric
	Thailand	Fish sauces, soy sauce
	Turkey	Anise, basil, black pepper, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, laurel, marjoram, mint, mustard seeds, oregano, saffron, sumac, tarragon, thyme
Europe	France	Basil, savory, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano, mint, sage, tarragon, chervil, parsley, bouquet garni
	Greece	Anise, oregano, thyme, rosemary
	Hungary	Hot peppers, sweet peppers
	Italy	Basil, oregano, parsley, laurel, balsamic vinegar, savory, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, sumac
	Spain	Peppers, saffron
Central America	Costa Rica, Columbia, Cuba, Hawaii, Mexico, Peru	Chilli, chilli sauces, hot pepper sauces, peppers, pepper sauces with fruits vanilla, vanilla extract

Source: Own elaboration based on [52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64].

shows the spices that are grown or harvested naturally. They are specific to particular countries and can be of interest to tourists as culinary souvenirs from natural sites.

Among these spices, the most interesting are sumac, saffron, cumin, and very exotic sauces from Thai or Caribbean cuisine. However, it is crucial to pay attention while buying spices so that they are authentic products which are safe for life and health.

3.3. Notifications on Herbs and Spices in the RASFF

The RASFF has been established in the European Union to support the exchange of information between Member States when a risk to public health arises in the food chain. In such situations, food safety supervisory authorities have a legal obligation to notify hazards to the European Commission, which manages the RASFF and shares the information provided with other countries in order to protect consumers on the common market [65]. The first notification in product category “herbs and spices” was made in the RASFF in 1983, and by 2023 a total of 5773 notifications have been recorded in this category. The number of notifications reported in the RASFF on herbs and spices in 1983–2023 was presented in Figure 4.

It can be noticed that the number of these notifications fluctuated significantly, exceeding 400 in 2004–2005, and it was at around 300 in 2010–2012 but reached its highest value in 2021, i.e., around 600. Details of notifications on herbs and spices reported in the RASFF in 1983–2023 are presented in

Table 4. Notifications on herbs and spices reported in the RASFF in 1983–2023.

Data Type	Number of Notifications
Notification type	Border rejection (2112), Information (1997), Alert (1664)
Hazard category	Pathogenic micro-organisms (1385), Pesticide residues (1216), Mycotoxins (1106), Composition (891), Microbial contaminants (other) (244), Food additives and flavourings (172), Adulteration/fraud (146), Allergens (101), Natural toxins (other) (92), Biological contaminants (other) (75), Other hazard categories (345)
Country of origin	India (1375), Brazil (535), Turkey (370), Thailand (369), China (227), Germany (202), Vietnam (197), Spain (178), Egypt (168), Indonesia (168), Other countries of origin (1984)
Notifying country	Germany (1372), United Kingdom (739), Netherlands (528), France (424), Italy (349), Spain (295), Belgium (267), Finland (251), Norway (240), Poland (174), Other notifying country (1134)

Source: Own elaboration based on [43,45].

.

Primarily border rejections (this refers to the external border of the European Union) were reported; however, information notifications and alerts were also made. Border rejections concerned consignments of herbs or spices that were examined and rejected at the external borders of the European Union (and more specifically, the European Economic Area, EEA) when a risk to public health was found. In such cases, notifications are sent to all EEA posts to prevent such food from entering the common EU market via any other border post. Information notifications were sent when a risk was identified, but RASFF members do not need to take rapid action because the herbs or spices have not reached their market, are no longer on their market, or the nature of the risk did not require rapid action. In turn, alert notifications were sent when herbs or spices presenting a serious health risk were already on the market and rapid action (e.g., a withdrawal from the market) was needed. In such a case, the surveillance authority of the RASFF Member State triggered the alert and forwarded it to the other members of the system so that they could check whether the product in question was also on their market and, if so, take appropriate action as well [66].

Herbs and spices were mainly contaminated with pathogenic micro-organisms (a more detailed analysis points mainly to Salmonella spp.), pesticide residues (mainly: chlorpyrifos, triazophos, profenofos and ethylene oxide), as well as mycotoxins (aflatoxins and ochratoxin A). The reported notifications related mainly product from Asia (India, Turkey, Thailand, China) and Brazil and were predominantly submitted by those countries that import and re-export herbs and spices within the common European market, i.e., Germany, the United Kingdom (until Brexit in 2020), and the Netherlands. It should also be mentioned that hazards notified in the RASFF are communicated by the food safety supervisory authorities of countries of the European Union countries (not consumers). However, the hazard categories and countries of origin of herbs and spices reported in this system can give some general picture of the hazards to which tourists are exposed. Meanwhile, the study carried out using two-way joining cluster analysis makes it possible to see which countries the hazards originate from (Figure 5).

The results of the cluster analysis indicate that the biggest problems were pesticide residues and mycotoxins from India and pathogenic micro-organism from Brazil. However, it is also worth noting that herbs and spices contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms also came from India, Turkey, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Egypt, Germany, and Spain. Products with pesticide residues originated from Turkey, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Egypt, and, in turn, mycotoxins were reported in herbs and spices from Turkey, China, Indonesia, and Spain.

4. Discussion

4.1. Threats Connected with the Purchase and Consumption of Spices

A lot of work has been devoted to the importance of spices, not only in shaping the palatability of dishes and in food technology but also to their health values [67].

4.1.1. Microbiological Contamination

Herbaceous plants and the raw material for spices may pose a threat to the life and health of consumers. This may result from various reasons, both natural, related to the toxicological aspects of plants, as well as hazards that may arise during technological, gastronomic, and culinary processes or during the storage of spices. The life and health hazards associated with spices were demonstrated in an analysis of epidemic events by [68]. This review identified fourteen outbreaks of disease attributed to the consumption of pathogen-contaminated spices between 1973 and 2010. Countries reporting outbreaks were Canada, Denmark, England and Wales, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia, and the United States. The causative agent in ten cases was the pathogens of Salmonella enterica and in four cases Bacillus spp. The spices responsible for these events were black pepper (Piper nigrum), red pepper (Capsicum spp.), white pepper, curry (mixture), anise seeds, fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare), turmeric (Curcuma longa), and spice blends. The affected spice countries and regions were Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, South America, Turkey, and Vietnam. These incidents are all the more worrying that imported spices should be supervised and controlled for quality and safety. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to establish in all of these cases where the contamination of the spices has occurred in the supply chain. The authors also note, analysing the various sources available, that not all such incidents are reported to sanitary authorities.

The situation in terms of microbiological purity and the presence of other impurities in spices did not improve. As a consequence, in 2013, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft risk profile “FDA Risk Profile: Pathogens and Filth in Spices”, which aims to improve the quality of spices [69]. Such activities aimed at increasing the quality and safety of spices are justified in the light of the European RASFF notifications in the product category of food “herbs and spices”. In fact, in 2015–2019, the most contaminated spices with aflatoxin B1 included chilli and mixtures of various spices, mainly from Asian countries. There were as many as 220 such notifications in the RASFF database. Over 200 notifications were reported due to the presence of Salmonella spp. in various spices and blends. Several dozen notifications regarding the presence of Salmonella spp. in black pepper from Brazil also draw attention [25]. In fact, the problem of microbiological contamination of food, including herbs and spices, is discussed by many authors [70,71,72].

Research carried out in many countries and regions of the world indicated a strong contamination of herbs and spices with pathogenic microflora and mycotoxins. Such studies were carried out in Morocco where black pepper, ginger, red pepper, and caraway were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin B1. Morocco is a popular tourist destination and a place where tourists like to buy spices [73]. Similar studies were carried out in Bangladesh, where the presence of Escherichia coli, moulds, and yeasts was found in red pepper, turmeric, and coriander [61].

India occupies a leading position among the countries that grow and export spices and are called the “Land of Spices”. Research by Banerjee and Sarkar (2003) [74] showed that more than 50% of the samples of spices such as ajmud, anise, cumin, black pepper, ground black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, fenugreek, ginger, mustard, red chilli, tamala, cinnamon, and turmeric contained mesophilic aerobic bacteria at an unacceptable level (>106 CFU g–1), and mould was found in 97% of the samples.

High levels of contamination with pathogens and toxins have been found in spices used in Turkey for meat and cereal dishes. The presence of Salmonella spp. was found in 34% of the spice samples, Staphylococcus aureus in 80% of the samples, Listeria monocytogenes in 58%, Echerichia coli O157: H7 in 8–20%, and Bacillus cereus in 40% [75].

When investigating the causes of high spice contamination in Benin, Africa, it has been found that the processing of spice raw materials often took place under very unsanitary conditions that could cause potential contamination on both microbiological and toxicological terms. The packaging materials mainly consisted of primitive containers which could also be a source of contamination. Based on the observed hygiene practices, there is an urgent need to change the processing and storage technology of spices to determine the impact of processing on the quality of end products commonly consumed in African countries. This will ensure an improvement in the microbiological, physicochemical and toxicological quality of spices [76]. High levels of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica bacteria were also found in spice mixtures sold in Senegal [77].

Tourists often buy culinary souvenirs at random bazaars or street stands, where spices are prepared in conditions that are often not able to protect the product from the possibility of contamination. Often, spices are already contaminated early in the food chain, e.g., during cultivation, collecting, and transport.

4.1.2. Pesticides Contamination and Allergic Reactions

A study by Mörtl et al. (2018) [78] showed that the pesticides used in the protection of red pepper influenced the content of bioactive substances and the content of the pigment. The results also indicated contamination of paprika with plant protection products even outside the grace periods. This experience shows that the intensive use of pesticides affects not only the level of pesticide residues in vegetables but also leads to the deterioration of their composition.

Another threat to tourists is the possibility of different types of allergic reactions when consuming food containing various types of spices. A tourist often does not know what ingredients and spices were used to prepare a meal. Symptoms of allergies or intolerances may appear immediately or be delayed. One of such substances is monosodium glutamate, often used in Asian cuisines, responsible for the formation of the characteristic bouillon flavour. It is also responsible for some allergic type reactions, the so-called “Chinese cuisine syndrome”, manifested by burning in the mouth, itchy skin, sometimes atopic lesions, and increased sweating [79,80]. Estimates of the prevalence of food allergy vary with age, geographic location, and survey methodology, but the overall conclusion is that the disease is common, and its incidence is increasing [81]. Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of some populations are affected [82]. The most common food allergens are peanuts, nuts, cow milk, chicken eggs, fish, crustaceans, wheat, soybeans, and spices [81].

A tourist often purchases herbs without even knowing the composition that determines their mixture. Additionally, the language barrier means that the tourist is not able to determine precisely which plants or other non-plant components are contained in such a mixture. The process of drying and composing spice mixtures is of great importance. If plant pollen and trichomes are not fully removed, they are irritating and may cause allergenic reactions, the effects of which can be very serious for the consumer.

Nutrition during tourist trips can have a very diverse character. If a tourist is on a stay, where they have full board provided, they usually have the opportunity to obtain information about the dangers of food allergens, the information may be included with each dish included in the so-called Swedish buffet or marked on the menu. Such possibilities are usually not available to a tourist feeding, for example, in street bars [83]. There is also a lack of hygiene and sanitation standards in the preparation of street food. Tourists travelling to developing countries may be exposed to food poisoning and contact with parasites [84,85]. However, a study conducted in Norway shows that educated tourists with an innovative approach to tourism make thoughtful purchases of food souvenirs [86].

4.1.3. Lack of Authenticity and Adulteration

Another issue related to tourist purchases of food, including spices, may be their lack of authenticity and adulteration. Spices, especially when finely ground in powdered form, are an easy product to counterfeit, in which some of the very expensive ingredients can be replaced with much cheaper counterparts. A tourist is not able to identify such falsification, because the detection of falsifications often requires the involvement of a very complicated research apparatus [87]. At the time of purchase, tourists do not think about whether the purchased spice or other food product is authentic.

Another example of this type is the change in the composition of the valued mixture of spices, the Provencal herbs. Research conducted by Newerli-Guz (2011) [88] showed that Provencal herbs from different producers available on the Polish market had a different composition. The basic herbs in this mixture are thyme, rosemary, basil and, savory. Other herbs like marjoram, oregano, mint, sage, and tarragon were irregular ingredients in this spice mixture. This type of adulteration in the composition of the mixture affects the palatability of the dishes, as in a consumer study it was shown that Provencal herbs with a traditional composition were rated the highest, which proves the sensory memory of consumers who have encoded taste of authentic herbs.

Consumers are only impressed by the spectacular events of food adulteration, such as the incident of adulteration of horse meat with the addition of beef, spirit fraud in the Czech Republic, and adulteration of Spanish olive oil and Austrian wines [89]. Currently, countries whose income sources are agriculture and tourism face new serious problems, namely, on the one hand, climate change is leading to a decline in agricultural production, including herbs and spices, and, on the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to the decline in tourist traffic [58,90,91,92].

However, it should be noted that after the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism is entering a new stage of development. The analysis conducted by Yepez and Leimgrube (2024) [93] shows that, among other things, interest in domestic tourism and in cross-border zones has increased.

4.2. Visualisation of Links Between Keywords in VOSviewer

The topic of buying spices as tourist souvenirs has not yet been addressed in scientific papers. A search of works based on the words “tourism”, “spices”, and “souvenirs” carried out in Web of Science (WoS) did not yield results. A repeat search was, therefore, performed, but only for the words “tourism” and “spices”, and it gave 165 results [44]. Figure 6 shows the network visualisation generated in VOSviewer 1.6.20 using these results, which were exported from WoS. Keywords indicated by the authors of the papers were considered, with unrelated words excluded.

In the visualisation, ten clusters are shown, marked with different colours. It should be reminded that within a given cluster, there are keywords that are close to each other in the number of mutual links. The keywords with the highest number of links are “tourism” (yellow cluster), “spices” (light blue), and “gastronomy” (pink). Attention needs also to be paid to elements related to culture, i.e., “culinary culture”, “food culture”, and “cultural history”, as well as those that relate strictly to culinary tourism in the region, i.e., “hatay cuisine” and “mevlevi cuisine” (both from Turkey), “georgian culture”, and “food montengero” (red arrows). Due to the overlap of many elements, some parts of Figure 6 that may be significant to the topic under consideration (red frames) have been enlarged and presented in Figure 7.

In the yellow cluster, one can see the link between tourism and such general ideas as tourist management and tourist destination. In the purple cluster, there are elements closest to the subject under analysis, namely “spice tourism”. However, aspects such as folk cuisine and spicy and aromatic herbs (very often discussed together with spices) can also be seen here. The orange cluster specifically refers to the contamination of herbs, indicating the presence of pesticide residues in them and the maximum limits of these residues. In turn, the light blue cluster signals the problem of heavy metals in herbs, as well as the associated risk assessment. However, it needs to be noted that hazards such as mycotoxins and pathogenic micro-organisms have not been highlighted. As a final note, it should be stated that the aspects presented do not directly indicate the purchase of spices as tourist souvenirs (this can only be implied indirectly). However, they certainly point to culinary tourism related to the consumption of regional dishes prepared using spices from the area.

5. Conclusions

Tourism is an industry that in many countries is a significant source of national income. For organisers of tourist trips and tour operators, it is very important to satisfy the tourist with the trip, as they may decide to go on another trip in the future and encourage their family and friends to travel. The article shows that the tourist’s satisfaction with the trip also manifests itself in the form of purchases of souvenirs and gifts. Among these souvenirs, those related to food and nutrition occupy a significant place. Tourists most often buy preserved food products, alcohol and spices, which comes from the restriction of luggage in air transport. Unfortunately, so far only a few research results have been published on the risks associated with the buying of spices. Therefore, to identify the risks that may be present in spices purchased by tourists, carried out was a review of scientific articles published by Elsevier, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Springer, Taylor & Francis and Wiley using the following keywords: tourism, tourists, food, spices and souvenirs. An analysis of notifications reported in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) under the category “herbs and spices” was also carried out using cluster analysis and, based on scientific papers registered in Web of Science, a network visualisation of the words most frequently indicated by authors linked with the keywords, “tourism” and “spices”, was generated.

The greatest attention concerns microbiological risks (presence of pathogenic bacteria) and chemical risks (mycotoxins and pesticides). Also of note are the risks related to the adulteration of the composition of spice mixtures, in which very expensive ingredients are replaced by less valuable equivalents. It should be noted that particularly spices of unknown composition can cause allergies, intolerances, and food-related disorders. The risks mentioned were most prevalent in products from Asia, which is especially worrying as this is the continent most visited by Europeans, according to Eurostat. For this reason, more consideration should be paid to building the awareness of tourists and showing them the proper places to buy spice souvenirs. This task rests primarily with the organisers of such trips, tour guides, residents, and representatives of travel agencies. The tourist should buy safe and authentic, and not counterfeit spices to prevent incidents that may occur when food spoils on the way to place of residence and may become a threat to the life and health of the tourist and other people.

A significant limitation for the conducted research was the interruption in studies on tourism traffic caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, because after 2019 research works in the field of tourism were mainly devoted only to losses incurred by countries for which tourism is an important source of national income. Future research should include survey interviews with tourists on the countries (areas) of origin of specific spices purchased, where they were acquired, in what quantity, in what form and/or how they were processed/preserved, how they were packaged, stored, and transported, and if possible also be linked to sampling, and they could be carried out in cooperation with tourism agencies. The results of the research into the detailed purchasing habits of spices will help to draw the attention of tour operators and/or tourists themselves to buying these products in the right places and then handling them in an appropriate manner to avoid risks to health and life. This kind of action regarding the authenticity and traceability of spices will be able to contribute to the development of sustainable tourism.

On the other hand, it would be necessary to raise awareness of spice producers and sellers in terms of compliance with hygiene and sanitary conditions in the logistics chain from the producer to the consumer, i.e., tourist. Appropriate regulations regarding the conditions of obtaining and processing spices should be implemented. Such actions will increase the health safety of spices and minimise any potential waste of raw materials and work put into their acquisition and processing. Improving food safety and preventing waste is part of the sustainable development strategy.