FSSAI Guidelines On Synthetic Syrups and Edible Ices

The Food Safety and Standards Association of India, or FSSAI, continuously updates its guidelines to ensure that the food products sold follow optimal safety standards. As regards artificially sweetened foods, FSSAI has set the latest benchmarks and permissible limits for their ingredients as below.

Synthetic Syrups

Synthetic syrup, commonly called sherbet, is prepared by blending syrup from sugar, liquid glucose or dextrose. It may be a combination of fruit juice and other suitable ingredients for the product.

FSSAI guidelines for synthetic syrups

According to FSSAI, synthetic syrups must fulfil the following standard requirements:

• It should be free from artificial sweeteners, burnt or objectionable materials, extraneous material, and crystallisation.
• Permitted colours, permitted flavours, and permitted preservatives, and citric acid may be present.
• Total soluble solids in synthetic syrups should not be less than 65% by weight.

Crushes, squashes, fruit syrups or sherbets, and barley water are products that are prepared from fruit juices or puree from any fruit blended with sweeteners and water. Other ingredients like salt, aromatic herbs, peel oil, and other suitable materials that are stable with the product and, thus, suitable for it may be added.

The products containing nutritive sweeteners should comply with the following FSSAI guidelines:

Name of the product	Minimum content of fruit juice in the product (%)	Minimum amount of total soluble solids (%)	Acidity expressed as citric acid max
Cordial	25	30	3.5
Squash	25	40	3.5
Crush	25	55	3.5
Barley water	25	30	2.5
Fruit syrups	25	65	3.5

Synthetic syrups in various products

Synthetic syrups for use in dispensers for carbonated waters: Carbonated water of this type can be obtained by blending water with nutritive sweeteners and other suitable ingredients. The total soluble solid content in such carbonated water should not be more than 30%.

Jam: This is another product that contains nutritive sweeteners like sugar, invert sugar, dextrose or liquid glucose. It can be prepared from either a single fruit or a combination of fruits along with the sweeteners. The following are the FSSAI guidelines specified for jams:

• It should be free from burnt and objectionable odours.
• It should be free from crystallisation.
• The total soluble solids should not be less than 65%.
• Jams should be made of not less than 45% of fruit, exclusive of any external sugars. Strawberry and raspberry are the exceptions where the fruit content should not be less than 25%.

Fruit jelly: This product containing nutritive sweetener is prepared by boiling fruit juice or fruits of sound quality. The total soluble solids should not be less than 65%. It should hold not less than 45%, by weight, of original fruit without added sugar or any other ingredients that may be present in the final product.

Edible Ices

Edible ices, also called ice lollies, are foods made of ice that may have syrups, colours, permitted flavours, citric acid, cocoa, fruit juice, sugar, and fruit in it. Synthetic syrups are not allowed to be used in ice lollies.

FSSAI guidelines for edible ices

Ice candy is made by freezing a pasteurised mixture of water and nutritive sweeteners like liquid glucose, dextrose, dried liquid glucose, honey, fruits and fruit products, coffee, cocoa, ginger, nuts and salts.

Edible ices must comply with the following standards given by FSSAI:

• Permitted stabilisers and/or emulsifiers should not be more than 0.5% by weight.
• Total sugars expressed as sucrose should not be less than 10%.
• Isomaltulose should not be more than 50% of the total sugars. Isomaltulose should only be used if it does not affect the stability of the product.

FSSAI specifications for sweetening ingredients in synthetic syrups and edible ices

Sugar: The following are some types of sugars and their specifications:

• Plantation white sugar: It is commonly known as sugar. It should not contain more than 0.5% of moisture by weight after heating at 105±1°C for three hours. It should not contain less than 98% of sucrose by weight.
• Refined sugar: The refining of plantation sugar gives white crystallised sugar. It should not contain more than 0.5% of moisture by weight after heating at 105±1°C for three hours. It should not contain less than 99.5% of sucrose by weight.

Honey: It is a natural sweetener, which when visually checked, should be free from foreign materials like scum, dirt, mould, pieces of beeswax and other external matter. It should comply with the following standards:

• The specific gravity determined at 27°C should not be less than 1.35.
• Total reducing sugars should not be less than 65% by mass. For Carbia colossa and Honeydew, total reducing sugars should not be less than 60% by mass.
• Total moisture content should not be more than 25% by mass.
• Sucrose content should not be more than 5% by mass. For Carbia colossa and honeydew, it should not be more than 10% by mass.
• Fructose-glucose ratio should not be less than 0.95% by mass.
• Ash content should not be more than 0.5% by mass.
• Acidity should not be more than 0.2% by mass (expressed as formic acid).
• Hydroxy methyl furfural (HMF) should not be more than 80 mg/kg.
• Fiehe’s test should be negative. Positive Fiehe’s test and HMF content higher than 80 mg/kg indicate that the glucose ratio should be ≥0.

Dextrose: It is a white or light cream coloured odourless granular powder with a sweet taste. It should conform to the following standards:

• It should not have more than 0.1% of sulphated ash, calculated on a dry basis.
• It should not have less than 99% of glucose, calculated on a dry basis.
• 1% solution of dextrose in freshly boiled and cooled water should require not more than 0.2 ml of 0.1 N sodium hydroxide solution to phenolphthalein indicator.

References

1. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006:360,364-365,430-435. Accessed on Oct 25, 2018.