FSSAI, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has reviewed the definition of Coconut water and asked FBOs producing the same, to reconsider. According to new reconsiderations, food businesses involved in coconut water production can use the matured coconut fruit for the production of coconut water.
According to the definition notified in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Tenth Amendment Regulations 2020 notified in December last year, the product, ‘coconut water’ is obtained from ‘tender coconut’ without expressing the coconut meat.
The direction says, “Representation was received from stakeholders stating that both the tender and matured coconuts are used for processing coconut water and the difference being just based on the maturity. Hence the source of coconut water shall be from mature coconut or a blend of tender and mature coconut, which meets the standards specified for the ‘Coconut Water’ as the (notified) regulations.”
These regulations were expected to came into force from July 1, 2021 under which FSSAI removed ‘Tender’ from the definition of Coconut water.
This definition was improvised after a thorough discussion among heads of Food businesses involved and authorities of FSSAI.
Now the definition would be, ‘The product ‘coconut water’ which is obtained from coconut without expressing the ‘coconut meat’.
According to the standards notified in December last year, Coconut should have minimum Total Soluble Solids in °Brix -4.5 and Acidity expressed as Citric Acid Max.(%)- 3.5.
After putting this is public domain, authority has asked for the proper feedbacks for the same.