Through its notification dated 5 June 2017 the FSSAI has stated that it has finalised the standards for Table Olives. The FSSAI has reviewed the suggestions made by stakeholders and the standards are now finalised and can therefore be operationalized as of 25 May 2017. The FBOs will need to comply with these standards though they will be enforced either from 1 January or 1 July whichever date fulfils the 180 day minimum criteria of final notification in the Official Gazette.
In the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products and Food Additives) Regulations 2011 under the regulation dealing with FRUIT & VEGETABLE PRODUCTS in the category ‘Table Olives’ the following standards will apply.
Table Olives have been defined as the products prepared from sound fruits of varieties of the cultivated olive tree (Oleaeuropaea) having reached proper maturity for processing whose shape, flesh to stone ratio, fine flesh, taste, firmness and ease of detachment form the stone, make them suitable for processing and which have the characteristic, colour, flavour, odour and texture of the fruits.
Table Olives
- may be treated so as to remove the bitterness and preserved by natural fermentation, or by heat treatment, with or without the addition of permitted preservatives or by other means
- packed with or without brine
Types of Table Olives
- Green olives are harvested during the ripening period, but prior to the colour development and when they have reached normal size
- Olives turning colour means that they have been harvested before the stage of complete ripeness and just when there is a colour change
- Black olives are harvested when fully ripe or slightly before full ripeness is reached.
Types of processed olives
Natural olives any of the above mentioned three types of olives that are placed in brine and where they undergo partial or complete fermentation whether preserved of not by addition of permitted acidifying agents
Salad olives are whole broken or broken and stoned (pitted) olives with or without capers, plus stuffing material, where olives are the most numerous compared with the entire product marketed in this style
Olives with capers are whole or stoned (pitted) olives, usually small in size, with capers and with or without stuffing and where olives are the most numerous compared with the entire product marketed in this style.
Essential composition and quality factors
All types and classification of olives may contain permitted ingredients like
- Water (potable)
- Edible salts
- Vinegar
- Vinegar
- Olive oil or other edible vegetable oil as specified in the regulations
- Honey and nutritive sugars as specified in the regulations
- Any single or combination of edible material used as an accompaniment or stuffing
- Spices and aromatic herbs and natural extracts
Packing brine
Brine is the solution of salts dissolved in potable water with or without one or all the ingredients mentioned above.
- Brine must be clean, free from foreign matter and must comply with hygienic requirements as specified in Schedule 4 of the FSSA.
- Fermented olives placed in the packing medium could contain micro-organisms needed for the fermentation process and could include lactic acid bacteria and yeasts.
Physico-chemical characteristics of the packing brine
Types and preparation | Minimum sodium chloride content | Minimum pH limit |
Natural olives (by weight) | 6.0 percent | 4.3 |
Treated olives (by weight) | 5.0 percent | 4.3 |
Pasteurised treated natural olives | GMP | 4.3 |
Dehydrated or shrivelled olives (by weight) | 8.0 percent | GMP |
Darkened by oxidation with alkaline treatment | GMP | GMP |
Drained weight of the product shall not be less than the following weight
Whole olives | 50.0 percent of the net weight of the contents |
Stoned (pitted) and
stuffed olives |
40.0 percent of the net weight of the contents |
- When packed in rigid containers the product must occupy not less than 90.0 percent of the water capacity of the container
- Water capacity of the container is the volume of distilled water at 20ºC which the sealed container is capable of holding when completely filled
Food Additives product may contain additives specified in Appendix A of these regulations
Product must comply with the Food Safety and Standards (contaminants, toxins and Residues) Regulations 2011
Hygiene
- The product will be prepared and handled in accordance with the guidelines specified in Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations of 2011 and such other guidelines as specified from time to time under the FSS Act 2006
- Product must comply with microbiological requirement as specified in Appendix B
Labelling requirements
Labelling requirements must be according to the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations 2011.
In case of stuffed olives the style of the stiffing will be indicated as follows
- “Olives stuffed with ………………(name of single or combination of ingredients)
- Olives stuffed with …………….paste (name of single or combination of ingredients)
- The packing medium brine and its strength must be declared on the label.
The method for sampling and analysis of the product must be as specified in the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Manual of Method of Analysis of Food.
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