Product Standards for Cinnamon, Cassia and Cloves

The product standards for Cinnamon, Cassia, Cloves and Ginger are defined under the FSSAI Food Products Standards & Food Additives Regulations, 2011. All three of them are categorized as Whole and Powder for which the standards vary.

Cinnamon (Dalchini)

Cinnamon (Dalchini) whole is the inner bark of trunks or branches of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Blume. It must have characteristic odor and flavor and must be free from foreign flavor and mustiness. It must be free from mold, living and dead insects, insect fragments, rodent contamination, added coloring matter, foreign vegetable matter and other harmful substances.

The standards are based on:

• Extraneous matter
• Moisture, Total ash on dry basis
• Ash insoluble in dilute HCl on dry basis
• Volatile oil content on dry basis
• Insect damaged matter and Coumarin content (on dry basis).

Cinnamon (Dalchini) powder is the powder obtained by grinding inner bark of trunk or branches of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Blume. The powder must be yellowish to reddish brown in color with characteristic odor and flavor and must be free from off flavor and mustiness. It must be free from mold, living and dead insects, insect fragments, and rodent contamination, added coloring matter, foreign vegetable matter and other harmful substances.

The standards are defined on the basis:

• Moisture
• Total ash on dry basis
• Ash insoluble in dilute HCl on dry basis
• Volatile oil content on dry basis and Coumarin Content (on dry basis).

Cassia (Taj)

Cassia (Taj) Whole is the bark of trees of Cinnamomum Cassia (Nees) ex Blume, Cinnamomum aromaticum (Nees) Syn, Cinnamomum burmanii (C.G. Nees) blume and Cinnamomum loureini Nees. The product shall have characteristic odor and flavor and shall be free from off flavor and mustiness. It shall be free from mold, living and dead insects, insect fragments, rodent contamination, added coloring matter, foreign vegetable matter and other harmful substances.

The standards are based on:

• Extraneous matter
• Moisture
• Total ash on dry basis
• Ash insoluble in dilute HCl on dry basis
• Volatile oil content on dry basis.

 

Cassia (Taj) powder is the powder obtained by grinding bark of trees of Cinnamomum Cassia (Nees) ex Blume, Cinnamomum aromaticum (Nees) Syn, Cinnamomum burmanii (CG Nees) Blume and Cinnamomum loureini Nees without addition of any other matter. The powder shall have characteristic odor and flavor and shall be free from off flavor, mustiness, mold, living and dead insects, insect fragments, rodent contamination, added coloring matter, foreign vegetable matter and other harmful substances.

The quality parameters must conform to the limits set for Moisture, Total ash on dry basis, Ash insoluble in dilute HCl on dry basis and Volatile oil content on dry basis.

 

Cloves (Laung)

Cloves (Laung) Whole means the dried unopened flower buds of Eugenia Caryophyllus (C. Sprengel) Bullock and Harrision. It shall be of a reddish brown to blackish brown color with a strong aromatic odor free from off flavor, mustiness, mold, living and dead insects, insect fragments, rodent contamination and from added coloring matter.

Its quality parameters must conform to the standards limits set for Extraneous matter, Tendrils, Mother Cloves, Khokar Cloves, Moisture, Volatile oil content on dry basis, Headless cloves and Insect damaged cloves.

Few parameters are explained as below:

Headless Cloves: A Clove consisting of only the receptacle and sepals and which has lost the dome shaped head.

Khoker Cloves: A Clove which has undergone fermentation as a result of incomplete drying as evidenced by its pale brown colour whitish mealy appearance and other wrinkled surface.

Mother Cloves: A fruit in the form of an ovoid brown berry surmounted by four incurved sepals.

Cloves (Laung) powder means the powder obtained by grinding the dried unopened flower buds of Eugenia Caryophyllus (C. Sprengel) Bullock and Harrision without any addition. It shall be of a brown color with a violet tinge and shall have a strong spicy aromatic odor free from off flavor and mustiness. It shall be free from mold, living and dead insects, insect fragments, rodent contamination and added coloring matter.

The quality parameter for clove powder must conform to Moisture, Total ash on dry basis, Ash insoluble in dilute HCl on dry basis, Volatile oil content on dry basis and Crude Fibre standards.

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Reference

1. FSSR Food Products Standards & Food Additives Regulations, 2011