Through a notification dated 15 July 2016, the FSSAI has announced that the proposed amendments for Silver Leaf (Chandi- ka- warq) have been approved. These amendments will now be called the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Fifth Amendment Regulations, 2016. All food business operators who deal in or use silver leaf will need to comply with these regulations by 1 August 2017, as that is the date they will come into force.
In the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, Silver Leaf is a sub-regulation (2.11.4) under the regulatory category OTHER FOOD PRODUCT AND INGREDIENTS. The previous standards had only two points in the standards for Silver leaf and these dealt with the form of the sheets and silver content.
These old standards will now be substituted with the new standards and these are more detailed. According to the new standards SILVER LEAF (Chandi-ka-warq): food grade shall,-
- be in the form of a sheet of uniform thickness, free from creases and folds
- the weight of silver foil will be up to 2.8 gm./Sq. meter
- minimum silver content will have a fineness of 999/1000
- will not be manufactured using any material of animal origin at any stage of the manufacturing process
- The silver foil will be in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins, and Residues) Regulations, 2011 and the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling), Regulations, 2011.
Something about Silver Leaf
Silver leaf (Chandi-ka-warq) is a thin silver foil used as decoration on mithai, paan, supari, chyavanprash, mukhwaas, biryani and even some candied fruits. One of the biggest objections to the manufacture of silver leaf was that the manufacturing process used animal intestines so silver leaf was not vegetarian. It seems that chandi- ka- warq was made by placing the silver strips between oxen intestines, which was then beaten to the required thinness with hammers. The new standards clearly mention that Silver leaf will not use any material of animal origin in the manufacturing process. This process can easily be handled with machines and most manufacturers now use German butter paper in place of animal intestines.
Another issue that Silver leaf faces are that of adulteration. Some manufacturers use aluminum instead of silver. Aluminum is a heavy metal that can cause health issues and therefore is not safe for human consumption. The problem of adulteration has also been addressed through the new standards as FSSAI has given the maximum weight of silver per square meter which is 2.8grams and aluminum cannot be beaten as thinly if the weight is as little as recommended for silver. The use of poor quality silver has also been addressed as silver used for making Silver leaf cannot be of less fineness than 999/1000 which is the purest form of silver. Only the purest form of silver is edible and that is why it has traditionally been used as a decoration on foods to prevent the growth of bacteria.
Also Read: Operationalization of Revised Standards for Silver Leaf Stayed by Delhi High Court
Nilesh S Bhavsar says
Availability of silver leaf . from which plant silvber leaf is obtained?
Dr. Saurabh Arora says
Hi, this is not a plant product. It is made from high purity Silver metal
Vaibhav K SIngh says
Pure Silver used is being used for production
for more details watch video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O2uZhAFXU0
Saba says
How much quantity of silver leafs can be used in a 1kg of sweets.?? Are there any particular regulation for it?
FSH Team says
You can go through the given url for information – https://www.fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Compendium_Food_Additives_Regulations_29_03_2019.pdf
Vaibhav says
SIR, if the content of purity is 99.12%, whether this is within limit?
In case it isn’t, who will be held responsible
– Manufacturer, trader or both???
hem says
Hello sir, Actually we want to add edible silver in our upcoming nutritional protein powder product. is this any side effect if we use edible silver with whey protein, BCAA, glutamine ????, Kindly reply. Also tel us that how much value safe for the human body. and what are the benefits of that.
Dr. Saurabh Arora says
Hi, silver reacts with proteins and might lead to color change in your product.