Alleppey Finger Turmeric

3.5–5.5% curcumin — the extraction grade

Alleppey turmeric is defined by curcumin content, and at 3.5–5.5% it carries roughly double the curcumin of the common culinary grades. That single number is why it exists as a separate trade line: an oleoresin extractor's economics run on yield per tonne of raw material, so a lot at 5% curcumin is worth substantially more than one at 2.5% even after paying a premium for it. The fingers are deep orange to orange-red rather than the bright yellow of the Tamil Nadu grades, moisture runs ≤ 10%, with total ash ≤ 7%, acid-insoluble ash ≤ 1.5%, and lead and aflatoxin controlled to the destination's food limits. Grown around Alappuzha in Kerala, it is supplied as whole finger, and increasingly as ASTA-cleanliness-compliant sortexed material for regulated markets.

Buy Alleppey where curcumin is the product: oleoresin and curcumin extraction, natural food colourants, nutraceutical and supplement manufacture, and premium culinary applications where the deeper colour is wanted. Buy Erode or Salem finger instead where turmeric is a culinary ingredient rather than a feedstock — those run 2.5–3.5% curcumin with the bright yellow that retail powder buyers expect, and paying an extraction premium for a kitchen application is money wasted. The recurring compliance issue on turmeric generally is adulteration: lead chromate has historically been used to brighten colour in some supply chains, and it is a serious food-safety failure rather than a quality quibble. We test for it. CBIL supplies against SGS or Intertek certification of curcumin content, moisture, ash, acid-insoluble ash, lead, aflatoxin and pesticide residues, in 25 kg and 50 kg bags, container-load, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms.