DESCRIPTION

  • prepared from fresh or frozen or previously canned, mature stone fruits of commercial canning varieties of the genus Prunus, stemmed, pitted or unpitted, and conforming to the characteristics of the stone fruits suitable for human consumption;
  • packed with or without a suitable liquid packing medium, sugars and/or other carbohydrate sweeteners such as honey, and other permitted ingredients as indicated
  • processed by heat, in an appropriate manner, before or after being hermetically sealed in a container, so as to prevent spoilage.
  • Species The following species may be used:
    • Apricot – Prunus armeniaca L.
    • Peach – Prunus persica L.
  • Plum :-
    • Prunus cerasifera Ehrb. (cherry plum);
    • Prunus domestica L. (plum);
    • Prunus insititia L. (mirabelle or damson);
    • Prunus italica L. (greengage).
  • Cherry :-
    • Prunus avium L. (sweet cherry including Bigarreaux);
    • Prunus cerasus L., var. austera L. (sour cherry including griottes).
  • Peach :-
    • Clingstone – where the pit adheres to the flesh;
    • Freestone – where the pit separates readily from the flesh.
  • colour :-
    • Green – varietal types in which the predominant colour of the flesh of the ripe fruit ranges from pale green to green when fully ripe;
    • Red – varietal types in which the predominant colour of the flesh of the ripe fruit ranges from pale yellow to orange red and with variegated red colouring other than that associated with the pit cavity;
    • White – varietal types in which the predominant colour of the flesh of the ripe fruit ranges from white to yellow-white; 
    • Yellow – varietal type in which the predominant colour of the flesh of the ripe fruit ranges from pale yellow to rich red orange.
  • Plum :-
    • Cherry Plums;
    • Greengages;
    • Mirabelles;
    • Purple Plums;
    • Quetsches;
    • Red Plums;
    • Yellow Plums.

ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS

  • Composition :-
    • Basic Ingredients Stone fruits as defined in Section 2 and liquid packing medium appropriate to the product.
    • Packing Media In accordance with the Guidelines for Packing Media for Canned Fruits (CXG 51-2003).
    • Other Permitted Ingredients :-
      • spices;
      • vinegar.
  • Quality Criteria Canned stone fruits shall have normal flavour, odour and colour and shall possess a texture characteristic of the product. The product shall be substantially free from pits or pieces of pit if greater than 2 mm in dimension, except in the case that the product is unpitted.
  • Other Quality Criteria :-
    • Colour The colour of the product, except for that of artificially coloured canned plums or cherries should be normal for the varietal type of the fruit used. Canned stone fruit containing special ingredients should be considered to be of characteristic colour when there is no abnormal discoloration for the respective ingredient used. Portions of peaches which are obviously near or part of the pit cavity and which after canning may become slightly discoloured are considered to be normal characteristic colour.
    • Flavour The product should have a normal flavour or odour free from flavours and odours foreign to the product. The product with special ingredients should have a flavour characteristic of that imparted by the fruit canned and the other substances used.
    • Texture The canned fruit should be reasonably fleshy of uniform texture and may be variable in tenderness but should neither be mushy nor excessively firm.
    • Uniformity of Size The fruit should be reasonably uniform in size.
  • Definition of Defects :-
    • Blemishes – means surface discoloration and spots arising from physical, pathological, insect or other agents that definitely contrast with the overall colour and which may penetrate into the flesh. Examples include bruises, scab and dark discoloration.
    • Crushed or broken – considered a defect only in whole or halved canned fruits in liquid media pack; means a unit which has been crushed to the extent that it has lost its normal shape (not due to ripeness) or has been severed into definite parts. Halves partially split from the edge to the pit cavity and whole apricots split along the suture are not considered broken. All portions that collectively equal the size of a full size unit are considered one unit in applying the allowance herein. In the case of plums and cherries blemishes should not seriously affect the appearance of the products.
    • Harmless extraneous material – means any vegetable substance (such as, but not limited to, a leaf or portion thereof, or a stem) that is harmless and which tends to detract from the appearance of the product.
    • Peel – considered as a defect except in “Unpeeled” styles; means peel that adheres to the fruit flesh or is found loose in the container.
    • Pit (or stone) material – considered a defect in all styles except whole; means whole pits and pieces that are hard and sharp.
    • Split (cherries and plums) – any split that seriously affect the appearance of the product.
    • Trim – considered a defect only in whole and halved canned fruits in liquid media packs. The trimming must be excessive and includes serious gouges (whether due to physical trimming or other means) on the surface of the units which definitely detract from the appearance.
  • Defects and Allowances The product should be substantially free from defects such as extraneous material, pit (stone) material, peel (in peeled styles only), blemished units, and broken units. Certain common defects should not be present in amounts greater than the following limitations:
  • Canned Apricots :-
    •  

      Defects

      Maximum Limit in Drained Weight

      Liquid Media Packs

      Solid Pack

      (i)       Blemish and Trim

      30% by count

      3 units per 500 g

      (ii)      Broken (whole, halves)

      15% by count

      not applicable

      (iii)     Total of the foregoing defects

      35% by count

      Not applicable

      (iv)     Harmless extraneous material

      2 pieces per 500 g

      3 pieces per 500 g

      (v)      Peel (average in peeled styles only)

      No not more than 6 cm² aggregate

      area per 500 g

      Not more than 12 cm² aggregate

      area per 500 g

      (vi)     Pit or pit material (average)

      1 pit or its equivalent3 per 500 g

      1 pit or its equivalent3 per 500 g

  • Canned Peaches
    •  

      Defects

      Maximum Limit in Drained Weight

      Liquid Media Packs

      Solid Pack

      (i)       Blemish and Trim

      30% by count

      3 units per 500 g

      (ii)      Broken (whole, halves, quarters)

      5% by count

      not applicable

      (iii)     Total of the foregoing defects

      32% by count

      Not applicable

      (iv)     Peel (average)

      Not more than 15 cm2 aggregate area

      per kg

      Not more than 30 cm2 aggregate

      area per kg

      (v)      Pit or pit material (average)

      1 pit or its equivalent3, per 5 kg

      1 pit or its equivalent3, per 5 kg

  • Canned Plums/Canned Cherries

    • Defects

      Maximum Limit in Drained Weight

      (i)       Blemish

      3 30% m/m

      (ii)      Broken (whole, halves)

      25% m/m

      (iii)     Total of the foregoing defects

      35% m/m

      (iv)     Extraneous plant material

      1 piece per 200 g (based on averages)

      (v)      Loose pits (whole)

      3 per 500 g (based on averages)

      (vi)     Pit or pieces of pits (whole, halves)

      2 per 500 g (based on averages)

FOOD ADDITIVES

  • Acidifying agents
    • INS No.

      Name of the Food Additive

      Maximum Level

      260

      Acetic acid

       

       

       

      Limited by GMP

      270

      Lactic acid

      296

      Malic acid

      330

      Citric acid

      334

      Tartaric acid

      1300 mg/kg

  • Antioxidants

    • INS No.

      Name of the Food Additive

      Maximum Level

      300

      L-Ascorbic acid

      Limited by GMP

  • Colours
    • INS No.

      Name of the Food Additive

      Maximum Level

      127

      Erythrosine (for sweet cherries only)

       

      200 mg/kg of the final product

      129

      Allura Red AC

      (for canned “Red” or “Purple” plums only)

  • Flavourings

    • Natural and synthetic flavourings except those which reproduce the flavour of the respective stone fruit

      Limited by GMP

CONTAMINANTS

  • The product covered by this Standard shall comply with the maximum levels of the General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CXS 193-1995).
  • The product covered by this Standard shall comply with the maximum residue limits for pesticides established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

HYGIENE

  • 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) 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 211997).

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

  • Minimum Fill The container should be well filled with the product (including packing medium) which should occupy not less than 90% 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.
  • Classification of “Defectives” A container that fails to meet the requirement for minimum fill (90% container capacity) of Section 7.1.1 should be considered as a “defective”.
  • Lot Acceptance A lot should be considered as meeting the requirement of Section 7.1.1 when the number of “defectives”, as defined in Section 7.1.2, does not exceed the acceptance number (c) of an appropriate sampling plan with an AQL of 6.5.
  • Minimum Drained Weight The drained weight of the product should be not less than the following percentages, calculated on the basis of the weight of distilled water at 20oC which the sealed container will hold when completely filled4.
  • The requirements for minimum drained weight should be deemed to be complied with when the average drained weight of all containers examined is not less than the minimum required, provided that there is no unreasonable shortage in individual containers.

LABELLING

  • 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 should include:
      • Peach: “freestone” or “clingstone” as appropriate; and “yellow”, “white”, “red” or “green” as appropriate.
      • Plum: “yellow” or “golden”, “red” or “purple” as appropriate; or specific name of the cultivars or “Greengage plums”, “Damson plums”, “Cherry plums”, “Mirabelle plums”, for the appropriate cultivars specified in Section 2.3.2 of this Standard, except that the names “Greengages”, “Damsons”, “Mirabelles” and “Quetsches” need not be accompanied by the word “plums” in countries where its omission would not mislead or deceive the consumer.
      • Cherry: the name of the cherry product should include the varietal type as appropriate/or the specific name of the cultivars specified in Section 2.3.3, except that the names “bigarreaux” and “griottes” need not be accompanied by the word “cherries” in countries where its omission would not mislead or deceive the consumer.
      • The name should include a declaration of any flavouring which characterizes the product, e.g. “with X”, when appropriate.
  • Labelling of non-retail containers Information for non-retail containers shall be given either on the container or in accompanying documents, except that the name of the product, lot identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or importer, as well as storage instructions, shall appear on the container. However, lot identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or importer may be replaced by an identification mark, provided that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanying documents.