The Spice Merchant

Hmmm . . . makes me wonder what I've been buying that was labeled as Szechuan peppercorns all this time!

[Robin Garr]

Hmmm . . . makes me wonder what I've been buying that was labeled as Szechuan peppercorns all this time!

I think there may be a little confusion ... Szechwan/SIchuan peppercorns were barred from import for a year or two recently, then came back, but they've been around U.S. kitchens forever. The recent ban wasn't a "narcotics" thing, I don't think, but had to do with some kind of contamination at the source. Pesticides? Something like that.

According to Wikipedia: (facts not included, sometimes )

From 1968 to 2005, the United States Food and Drug Administration banned the importation of Sichuan peppercorns because they were found to be capable of carrying citrus canker (as the tree is in the same family, Rutaceae, as the genus Citrus). This bacterial disease, which is very difficult to control, could potentially harm the foliage and fruit of citrus crops in the U.S. It was never an issue of harm in human consumption. The import ban was only loosely enforced until 2002 [3]. In 2005, the USDA and FDA lifted the ban, provided the peppercorns are heated to around 70 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Fahrenheit) to kill the canker bacteria before importation.

[Robin Garr]

[i]From 1968 to 2005

Interesting! I believe it because I see it on the internet , but to my recollection, they were still widely available in the US until a "crisis" hit in the early '00s. Maybe there was a very large supply in the country from before the import ban? I know I was buying them often when we lived in NYC in the early '90s.

Oh, duh, there it is ... I should really read posts all the way through before I respond, d'oh!

>> The import ban was only loosely enforced until 2002 (3). In 2005, the USDA and FDA lifted the ban, provided the peppercorns are heated to around 70 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Fahrenheit) to kill the canker bacteria before importation. <<

Thanks for the info Amos

I suppose I shouldn't believe everything I am told! The backstory did make sense to me, though, because it seemed similar to the absinthe tale.

'If I haven't seen it, it's news to me.'