Cumin from farm to port: why sortex cleaning changes the price and the aroma
Sortex, purity and pesticide residues — the three specs that explain the spread between roadside cumin and export cumin.
Cumin looks uniform in a heap and very different under a lab's eye. Here is what we pay for and why it matters to the importer.
Sortex is aroma protection
Colour sorters lift discoloured grains and stalks that carry bitterness; the clean lot keeps its volatile oils longer in a sealed bag.
Purity is shelf life
- Admixture under 0.5% keeps the lot stable in transit
- Moisture under 9% prevents heating inside the container
- Food-grade packing prevents recontamination
We retain a sealed pre-shipment sample from every lot for six months — if a question arises at destination, the audit trail is on the shelf, not in a story.