Habanero deepens protection with Mexican accreditation body

By Becerril, Coca & Becerril, S.C.

There are currently 15 products with Denomination of Origin (DO) in Mexico, but only three of them are certified by the Mexican Accreditation Entity (EMA, by its Spanish acronym): Tequila, L Talavera and Mezcal. Next year, along with 12 other Mexican products, Yucatan's Habanero chili pepper will enter the DO accreditation process. José Manuel López Campos, Secretary General of the Mexican Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism, explained that the habanero accreditation will allow to limit unfair competition by preventing other chili varieties similar to Habanero chili, or Habanero chili cultivated in other countries, such as China, to be sold in other parts of the the world as Mexican Habanero, but with no certification of origin and with lesser quality than the original product from Mexico. EMA is the first non-government body in Mexico for the accreditation of the Conformity Assessment Bodies, which comprise testing laboratories, calibration laboratories, medical laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies. The Habanero is a variety of chili pepper, with orange and red as its most common color variants although the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. The chili was disseminated by Spanish colonists to other areas of the world, and todays’ largest producer is the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico. Because of its different properties, habanero chili is used in different areas such as gastronomy, in medicine, where its components are used to make ointments that relieve the severe pain caused by arthritis, and within the chemical industry where it is used to make the base of some paintings, as well as to make tear gas.