The cooking spice found on an envelope in the Laura Lee Blanton Building last Friday was identified as Bergamot, which comes from a citrus plant in Africa and is used to make tea.

It’s not toxic, but it is capable of causing itching and irritation said Assistant Director of News & Communications Robert Bobo in an e-mail.

The envelope came from the West African country Ghana.

An employee in the Blanton mailroom fell ill last Friday, which sparked an evacuation of the building. The suspicious envelope, which turned out to be filled with Bergamot, was tested on-site by the Garland Health Department mobile lab.

According to SMU officials, the male employee was going through the mail and had a substance fall out of an envelope. The employee had a small cut on his hand that became irritated when the Bergamot came in contact with it.

The employee did not require hospitalization, and his reaction was temporary.

The mailroom handles 3.5 million pieces of mail a year according to Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Patti LaSalle.