DESCRIPTION

Coconut milk and coconut cream are the products:
- prepared by:
  - using a significant amount of separated, whole, disintegrated, macerated or comminuted fresh endosperm (kernel) of coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) and expelled, where most filterable fibres and residues are excluded, with or without coconut water, and/or with additional water;
  - reconstituting coconut cream powder with potable water;
  - dispersing finely comminuted dehydrated coconut endosperm with potable water;
- processed by heat, in an appropriate manner, before or after being hermetically sealed in a container, so as to prevent spoilage.
Styles :-
- Light Coconut Milk Light coconut milk shall be the product obtained from either the bottom portion of centrifuged coconut milk or by further dilution of coconut milk and complies with the requirements in this Standard
- Coconut Milk Coconut milk is the dilute emulsion of comminuted coconut endosperm (kernel) in water with the soluble and the suspended solids distributed and complies with the requirements in this Standard.
- Coconut Cream Coconut cream is the emulsion extracted from matured endosperm (kernel) of the coconut fruit with or without any addition of coconut water/water and complies with the requirements in this Standard.
- Coconut Cream Concentrate Coconut cream concentrate is the product obtained after the partial removal of water from coconut cream and complies with the requirements in this Standard.

ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS

Composition :-
- Basic Ingredients
  - Coconut cream powder;
  - Endosperm (kernel) of coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.);
  - Water.
- Other Permitted Ingredients
  - Coconut water
  - Maltodextrin;
  - Sodium caseinate.
Other Composition :-

Quality Criteria Coconut milk and coconut cream shall have normal colour, flavour and odour characteristic of the products.

Bleaching agents
- INS No.
  Name of the Food Additive
  Maximum Level
  223
  Sodium metabisulphite
  
  30 mg/kg
  224
  Potassium metabisulphite

Emulsifiers

INS No.	Name of the Food Additive	Maximum Level
432	Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate	1000 mg/kg
433	Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate
434	Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monopalmitate
435	Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monostearate
436	Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan tristearate
471	Mono- and diglycerides	Limited by GMP
473	Sucrose esters of fatty acid	1500 mg/kg

Preservatives
- INS No.
  Name of the Food Additive
  Maximum Level
  211
  Sodium benzoate
  1000 mg/kg
  only for pasteurized coconut milk
Stabilizers/Thickeners
- INS No.
  Name of the Food Additive
  Maximum Level
  412
  Guar gum
  
  Limited by GMP
  415
  Xanthan gum
  418
  Gellan gum
  466
  Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose

Heavy Metals The products covered by the provisions of this Standard shall comply with those maximum levels for heavy metals established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for these products.
Pesticide Residues The products covered by the provisions of this Standard shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for these products.

It is recommended that the products covered by the provisions of this Standard be prepared and handled in accordance with the appropriate sections of the General Principles of Food Hygiene (CXC 1-1969), Code of Hygienic Practice for Aseptically Processed and Packaged Low-Acid Foods (CXC 40-1993), Code of Hygienic Practice for Low-Acid and Acidified Low-Acid Canned Foods (CXC 23-1979) and other relevant Codex texts such as codes of hygienic practice and codes of practice.
The products should comply with any microbiological criteria established in accordance with the Principles and Guidelines for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria Related to Foods (CXG 21-1997).

Minimum Fill The hermetically sealed container should be well filled with the product, and it should occupy not less than 90% v/v of the water capacity of the container. The water capacity of the container is the volume of distilled water at 20oC which the sealed container will hold when completely filled
Flexible containers should be filled as full as commercially practicable.
Classification of “Defectives” A container that fails to meet the requirement for minimum fill as described in Section 7.1.1 should be considered as a “defective”.

The products covered by the provisions of this Standard shall be labelled in accordance with the General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (CXS 1-1985). In addition, the following specific provisions apply:
Name of the Product :-
- The name of the product shall be:
  - Light coconut milk, Coconut milk, Coconut cream, Coconut cream concentrate –
Coconut milk and coconut cream prepared by reconstituting coconut cream powder or the finely comminuted dehydrated coconut endosperm shall be labelled to indicate that these are reconstituted products.
An appropriate description of the heat treatment should be given, either as part of the name or in a prominent position in the same field of vision.

For checking the compliance with this Standard, the methods of analysis and sampling contained in the Recommended Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CXS 234-1999) relevant to the provisions in this Standard shall be used.

INS No.	Name of the Food Additive	Maximum Level
412	Guar gum	Limited by GMP
415	Xanthan gum
418	Gellan gum
466	Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose