“…Recently, two independent studies have shown that at least one third of the analyzed cumin and green anise spice seeds samples surpassed the set threshold value of 400 µg/kg ( Kaltner et al, 2020 , Picron et al, 2021 ). Moreover, the predominant type of PA/PANOs present in these samples belonged to the heliotrine-type PA/PANO, suggesting a contamination with a plant species belonging to the Heliotropium genus of the Boraginaceae plant family ( El-Shazly and Wink, 2014 , Mädge et al, 2020 , Picron et al, 2021 ). This hypothesis was confirmed by DNA metabarcoding which demonstrated the presence of DNA of a plant species belonging to the Heliotropium genus in these seed samples ( Picron et al, 2021 ).…”