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| May 2009 |
Insight/Opinion |
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Will swine flu affect your curry?By Dr Garth Cambray
At present nobody knows exactly what the effects of Swine Flu will be on the world. One effect which is however most likely is that in the wake of this current scare there will be a demand for antiviral medication. And that means a demand for a spice used in Indian, Chinese and African dishes which use star anise. The small tree which produces the seed pods which are dried and sold as the spice star anise, is native to southern China and Indochina and is also cultivated in Japan. The pods are similar in taste, but stronger, than anise, hence the name star anise. The spice is an essential ingredient in many traditional dishes of China, Indochina, Japan and India. With the spice route to Zanzibar and into Africa, the spice was introduced into the African continent prior to the 1700’s and incorporated into the curries and traditional dishes of regions which are now Ethiopia and Tanzania. With the expansion of the spice route around the Cape, star anise was introduced into Europe in the 1700’s. The Cape Colony resulted in the establishment of a Malay population in Africa and the resultant Cape Malay cooking style with the signature dish, bobotie, which uses star anise. Later migrations of Chinese and Indian people into Africa resulted in the entrenchment of star anise as an important ingredient in the culinary traditions of our continent. But what does this have to do with Swine Flu?Swine flu is an influenza virus, and as such, one of the more effective medications likely to reduce its severity is Tamiflu, manufactured by Roche and their partners. Currently there is a trend where major countries are stockpiling doses of this treatment to prepare for a flu pandemic. There are reports of personal stockpiling of the treatment as well. Hundreds of millions of doses of Tamiflu are currently held by various governments around the world as part of their preparedness plans for a global flu pandemic. The drug, whether used or not, will be consumed – either by people or by it reaching its expiry date. This current mass buying of Tamiflu will mean that a lot more has to be made to replenish Roche’s stockpiles and ensure continued market presence. This will require huge amounts of the ingredients to produce it. The active ingredient of Tamiflu is oseltamivir, which is synthesized from shikimic acid. The first commercially viable developed source of this organic acid is the star anise pod. During the 2005 fears surrounding avian flu, and the cycle of Tamiflu stockpiling that ensued, star anise supplies were nearly exhausted globally resulting in a shortage of Tamiflu. Since then, other sources of shikimic acid have been developed, such as production with genetically modified Escherichia coli bacteria, but these technologies are not likely to be able to supply the total demand for shikimic acid for Tamiflu production. This means that ehe spike in demand for star anise precipitated by arrival of
the swine flu of April 2009 will consequently have an effect on star anise
supplies, and hence your curry, bobotie and any Chinese dishes which use
the traditional five spice powder. The relationship between sweet and sour pork
and flu has never been more strained it would appear.
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