As of 9 August 2017, the FSSAI has notified the final gazette on FSS (Food Product Standard and Food Additives) Seventh Amendment Regulation 2017 related to standards for fruits and vegetables. The regulations will come into force once they are published in the Official Gazette. This regulation has been amended for as to prescribe a new set of quality parameters and standards for
- Table Olives
- Vanilla
- Coconut Milk and Coconut Cream
- Dried Apricots
- Cocoa beans
- Arecanuts or Beatnuts (supari)
- Seasoning
- The coumarin content of cinnamon
The standard for Table Olives has been amended in relation to brine content. This has been revised for various types of Table Olives so as to accommodate preservation technologies using much less sodium chloride content. It is well known that excessive use of salt can become a health hazard and the use of less salt is in keeping with FSSAI’s goal of reducing sugar, salt and fat content in foods.
The FSSAI has also prescribed the coumarin content for cinnamon so as to be able to differentiate cinnamon from cassia. Cassia is a common adulterant in cinnamon and most consumers are unaware that it is more often than not marketed as cinnamon. The new parameters will go a long way in curbing this malpractice in adulteration of cinnamon.
Amendments have been carried out in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 in regulation related to FRUIT & VEGETABLE PRODUCTS (2.3) where the category ‘Table Olives’ has undergone extensive changes so as to become more inclusive seeing how table olives have become a popular food item with consumers. The categories of table olives include:
- types of table olives
- types of processed table olives
- treated table olives
- dehydrated of shriveled table olives
- olives darkened by oxidation
- styles of table olives
FSSAI has outlined the ingredients that can be used, the standards for packing brines and the minimum sodium chloride content according to the weight of the olives
New standards have also been formulated for SEEDLESS TAMARIND as there were no previous standards for this category.
Standards for Vanilla have also been prescribed according to various definitions like vanilla pods, cut vanilla and vanilla powder. The FSSAI has emphasised that the vanilla products must not undergo any treatment that could induce changes in the natural vanilla content or flavour and all vanilla products must also be free of added colour. This will help to curb adulteration in vanilla
In the category of Coconut Milk the FSSAI has differentiated the standards for
- Light coconut milk
- Coconut milk
Similarly there are two separate standards for the two different styles of coconut cream
- Coconut Cream
- Coconut Cream Concentrate
FSSAI has made new standards for Dried Apricot separately as there were previously no standards for this category. The various styles of apricot have been described as
- whole unpitted
- whole pitted
- halves
- slabs – which consist of portions of sound, ripe apricots of characteristic colour, irregular in shape, size and thickness and excluding whole fruit
The standards for Cocoa Beans include the definition for beans that are not up to the standard like mouldy, germinated, etc. cocoa beans
In the standards SEASONING has been described as a product that is used to enhance the flavour of foods. Seasoning is used with a number of packaged products and ready –to –cook foods and there were no standards for seasoning earlier. Seasoning may contain ingredients such as spices, condiments and herbs including their extracts, salt, fruits and vegetables or their products or extracts, dry fruits, nuts and raisins or their products, edible starches, yeast and its product including yeast extract, soya and its products, hydrolysed protein or their products, meat, poultry, marine, aquatic and their products, edible vegetable oils and fats, cereal and cereal products, milk and milk products, nutritive sweeteners or any other suitable ingredient whose standards are prescribed in Food Safety and Standards(Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
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