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Imported decaffeinated coffee products get a boost with new FSSAI stds
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Tuesday, 12 November, 2019, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ranjana Sharma, Mumbai
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Paving the way for introduction of innovative and imported coffee products in the country, FSSAI, in a recent amendment, has gazette notified new standards for decaffeinated ground and roasted coffee, decaffeinated soluble coffee powder and revision of standards for packaged drinking water. The new regulations have been introduced by amending the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.The amended regulations will be called the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Fourth Amendment Regulations, 2019. The new standards specify the physical characteristics of the decaffeinated coffee products. They specify the standards for decaffeinated ground and roasted coffee and decaffeinated soluble coffee powder.
The industry has received the amendment positively. Ritesh Mathur, director, F2F Food and Beverage Consultants, averred, “This is a positive move. It will help in bringing new innovative products in the market. So far decaffeinated based products came under proprietary route. But with regulation, it will be level playing field for all FBOs as products will be standardised. Also, this will help to facilitate trade and bring in imported products in the market.” The academics also lauded the new regulation. Dr Tahir Sufi, professor & deputy director, Amity School of Hospitality, Amity University, said, “The FSSAI’s amendment of food products standards to include decaffeinated products is a welcome step towards informing the customer precisely what they are consuming. The new guidelines intend the manufacturers to specify whether the decaf coffee is roasted, grounded and is free from artificial colouring, flavouring and other extraneous measures.”
He pointed out the significance of the additional information, “The major contribution of new guidelines in ensuring that manufacturers specify the weight of the different constituents of the decaffeinated coffee by weight. This information shall be of great value to the customers in making better purchase-related decisions.”
Sufi stated, “However, given the various methods of producing decaffeinated coffee available for the manufacturer, it would be better if in future the decaf coffee brands inform the customers about the decaf methods used in processing. The superior methods of producing decaffeinated coffee ensure superior taste with low caffeine. International coffee shops like Starbucks and Costa Coffee always look for such coffee but it is difficult for them to access such information.”
The amended regulations
1. (1) These regulations may be called the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) fourth Amendment Regulations, 2019. (2)They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. In the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, in regulation 2.10,- (a) in sub-regulation 2.10.2 relating to Coffee,- (i) after clause 1 relating to “Coffee (green raw or unroasted)” the following clause shall be inserted, namely:
1A. Decaffeinated Roasted and Ground Coffee 1A.1The draft stated, “Decaffeinated coffee means, the dried seeds of Coffea arabica, Coffea liberica, Coffea excelsa or Coffea canephora (Robusta) or with their husks (mesocarp and endocarp) removed and decaffeinated to remove nearly all the caffeine from the beans. Decaffeination is carried out while the beans are in green form, before they are roasted.” 1A.2 Roasted decaffeinated coffee means properly cleaned green coffee which has been decaffeinated, roasted to a brown colour and has developed its characteristic aroma. 1A.3 Ground decaffeinated coffee means the powdered products obtained from 'roasted decaffeinated coffee' only and shall be free from husk. 1A.4 The standards have been revised with this amendment. The draft stated that the products should be free from artificial colouring and flavouring and shall be in dry and fresh condition and free from rancidity. It shall conform to the following standards on dry weight basis, namely,-(i) Moisture, per cent by mass, max 5.0,(ii) Total Ash, percent by mass 3.0 to 6.0,(iii) Acid insoluble ash, per cent by mass, max 0.1,(iv) Water soluble ash, percent by mass, min 65.0 ,(v) Alkalinity of soluble ash in ml of 0.1 N hydrochloric acid per gram of material, percent by mass, ml 3.5 to 5.0, (vi) Aqueous extracts, per cent by mass 26.0 to 35.0 ,(vii) Caffeine (anhydrous) per cent by mass, max 0.1. The amended regulations further described: After clause 2 relating to “Soluble Coffee Powder” the following clause shall be inserted, namely: 2A. Decaffeinated Soluble Coffee Powder 2A.1It is defined as coffee powder obtained from freshly roasted and ground pure coffee beans from which most of the caffeine has been removed. The product shall be in the form of a free-flowing powder or shall be in the agglomerated form (granules) having colour, taste and flavour characteristic of coffee and free from impurities and should not contain chicory or any other added substances.
2A.2 Decaffeinated Soluble Coffee powder or granules shall conform to the following standards on dry weight basis, namely: (i) Moisture, per cent by mass, Max 4.0 ,(ii) Total Ash per cent by mass, Max 12.0 (iii) Caffeine (Anhydrous,) per cent by mass, Max 0. 3, (iv) Solubility in boiling water Dissolves in 30 seconds with moderate stirring, (v) Solubility in cold water at 16+/- 2°C Dissolve in 3 minutes. Revising the TDS (limits of Ca and Mg content) packaged drinking water (other than mineral water) in the table for general parameters concerning substances undesirable in excessive amounts, the limits for the calcium and magnesium have been added as 20-75mg/l and 10-30mg/l, respectively.
Packaged Drinking Water (b) In sub-regulation 2.10.8 relating to “Packaged Drinking Water (other than Mineral Water),” in Table 3, relating to “General parameters concerning substances undesirable in excessive amounts,” for Sr. nos. 15 and 16, and the entries relating thereto, the following shall be substituted, namely:
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