FSSAI has gazette notified the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2019, for food product standards and food additives, wherin standards for coconut water, dried oregano, dried mint and dried rosemary are included. This is the second amendment to the particular standards.

“All food business operators shall comply with all the provisions of these regulations by July 1, 2020,” said the notification.

According to the notification, in Regulation 2.3, related to fruit and vegetable products, -

    (a) In Sub-regulation 2.3.51, in Clause (1), for Sub-clause (e), the following sub-clause shall be substituted, namely:

“(e) Coconut water, maltodextrin and sodium caseinate may be added. The product shall have a characteristic colour, flavour and odour. It may be processed by heat, in an appropriate manner, before or after being hermetically sealed in a container, so as to prevent spoilage.”

(b) In Sub-regulation 2.3.52, in Clause (1), for Sub-clause (e), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:

“(e) Coconut water, maltodextrin and sodium caseinate may be added. The product shall have a characteristic colour, flavour and odour. It may be processed by heat, in an appropriate manner, before or after being hermetically sealed in a container, so as to prevent spoilage.”

The notification also guides about Section 2.9 regarding salt, spices and condiments, which includes oregano, mint and rosemary, amongst others.

Commenting on the notification, Suresh Annapure, joint commissioner, Amravati, Maharashtra, said, “With this draft, new standards for coconut water, dried oregano, dried mint and dried rosemary will be implemented. FSSAI has done a good job, making it easy to understand the ingredients.”

He added, “Our team will make sure all FBOs (food business operators) comply with the same within the given time duration.”

Giving details on the new norms, Milind Deshpande, assistant commissioner (food), FDA Maharashtra, Nagpur, stated, “Earlier, there was no specific standards for coconut water and fruits which come under Appendix B.”

He added, “If any company wants to sell coconut water, it has to know what are the limits for maltodextrin and sodium caseinate or what quantity has been mentioned as permissible. Canni seal is a preservative process which helps to preserving fruits.”

According to the notification, dried oregano whole means the leaves of the Origanum genus, species and sub-species, excluding Origanum majorana, belonging to the Lamiaceae (Labiatae) family. The colour of the dried leaves shall be light greyish green to olive green. It shall be free from yellow or brown leaf, and from dust and fine particles.

It shall have a characteristic odour and flavour. It shall be free from mustiness and other foreign flavours. It shall be free from living and dead insects, moulds, insect fragments and rodent contamination visible to the naked eye.

For dried mint, the notification said, “Dried mint means dried leaves or broken or crushed leaves of Mentha spicata Linnaeus syn/Mentha viridis Linnaeus. It shall have characteristic odour and flavour, and shall be free from mustiness and other foreign flavours. It shall be free from living insects, moulds, dead insects, insect fragments and rodent contamination visible to the naked eye.”

Further, the notification described dried rosemary as the dried leaves of the species Rosmarinus officinalis L, belonging to the family Lamiaceae. It shall have characteristic colour, odour and flavour. It shall be free from any foreign taste or odour, including rancidity or mustiness. It shall be free from living and dead insects, moulds, insect fragments and rodent contamination visible to the naked eye.