Through a notification dated 26 July, 2016 the FSSAI has proposed some amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011. The amendments have been proposed in the regulation related to SWEETS & CONFECTIONERY in the category ‘chocolates’ (2.4.7). Suggestions and objections by stakeholders can be sent to the FSSAI within 30 days of the above mentioned date. After the amendments are notified in the Official Gazette these amendments will come into force and will be called Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulation 2016.
The definition of chocolates in the amendment regulations remain the same as in the original regulations but the FSSAI has proposed the addition of vegetable fats and Isomaltulose in chocolates and says that if
- Vegetable fats other than cocoa butter are added to chocolates then this addition of vegetable fats must not exceed 5 per cent of the finished product. The weight of the final product will be calculated after the deduction of the total weight of any other added edible foodstuffs and without reducing the minimum contents of cocoa materials
- The product contains Isomaltulose then it must at 50 per cent. (Max) of the total sugars without adversely affecting the stability of the product
This amendment applies to all categories of chocolates and includes milk chocolate, milk covering chocolate, plain chocolate, plain covering chocolate, blended chocolate, white chocolate, filled chocolate and composite chocolate. The definition of these chocolates remains the same as in the previous regulation. Chocolates were already permitted to have ingredients like
- Edible salts
- Spices and condiments
- Permitted emulsifying and stabilizing agents
- Permitted sequestering and buffering agents
If vegetable fats are added to chocolates then the standards are as follows
The vegetable fats may be added singly or in blends but to be in compliance they must be
- non–lauric vegetable fats, which are rich in symmetrical monounsaturated triglycerides of the type POP (palmitic acid -oleic acid- palmitic acid), POSt (palmitic acid -oleic acid-stearic acid) and StOSt (stearic acid -oleic acid- stearic acid)
- miscible in any proportion with cocoa butter, and are compatible with its physical properties (melting point and crystallization temperature, melting rate, need for tempering phase)
- obtained only through the processes of refining and /or fractionation, which excludes enzymatic modification of the triglyceride structure. In conformity with above criteria
- vegetable fats, obtained from the following plants, may be used: Sal (Shorea robusta), Kokum gurgi (Garcinia indica), Mango kernel (Mangifera indica), Barneo tallow (Shorea spp.), Palm oil (Elaeis guineensis and Elaeis olifera) and Shea (Butyrospermum parkii) cocoa butter substitute
Proposed Standards for Chocolates
Sr.No. | Characteristic | Requirements for | |||||
Milk Chocolate | Milk covering chocolate | Plain chocolate | Plain covering
chocolate |
White chocolate | Blended
chocolate |
||
1. | Total Fat (on
dry basis) per cent by weight. Not less than |
25
|
25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
2. | Milk fat (on dry basis) Per cent by weight. Not
less than |
2 | 2 | – | – | 2 | – |
3. | Cocoa solids (on
Moisture-free and fat free basis) per cent by weight |
2.5 | 2.5 | 12 | 12 | – | 3.0 |
4. | Milk Solids (on Moisture
-free and Fat-free Basis) percent by weight (Minimum) |
10.5 | 10.5 | – | – | 10.5 | 1-9
(Range) |
5. | Acid insoluble
ash (on moisture fat and sugar free basis) per cent by weight, Not more than |
0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Chocolates may also contain other additives as specified in Appendix A of the FSSAI regulations.
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