CERTAIN CANNED VEGETABLES CODEX

DESCRIPTION
· PREPARED FROM SUBSTANTIALLY SOUND, FRESH (BARRING MATURE PROCESSED PEAS) OR FROZEN VEGETABLES, AS DEFINED IN THE CORRESPONDING ANNEXES, HAVING REACHED APPROPRIATE MATURITY FOR PROCESSING. NONE OF THEIR ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS ARE REMOVED FROM THEM BUT THEY SHALL BE WASHED AND PREPARED APPROPRIATELY, DEPENDING ON THE PRODUCT TO BE PRODUCED. THEY UNDERGO OPERATIONS SUCH AS WASHING, PEELING, GRADING, CUTTING, ETC., DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF PRODUCT.
· VACUUM PACKAGED WITH PACKING MEDIA THAT DOES NOT EXCEED 20% OF THE PRODUCT’S NET WEIGHT AND WHEN THE CONTAINER IS SEALED IN SUCH CONDITIONS AS TO GENERATE AN INTERNAL 1 PRESSURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES.
· PROCESSED BY HEAT, IN AN APPROPRIATE MANNER, BEFORE OR AFTER BEING HERMETICALLY SEALED IN A CONTAINER, SO AS TO PREVENT SPOILAGE AND TO ENSURE PRODUCT STABILITY IN NORMAL STORAGE CONDITIONS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.
· OTHER STYLES o IS SUFFICIENTLY DISTINCTIVE FROM OTHER FORMS OF PRESENTATION LAID DOWN IN THE STANDARD; o MEETS ALL RELEVANT REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD, INCLUDING REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO LIMITATIONS ON DEFECTS, DRAINED WEIGHT, AND ANY OTHER REQUIREMENTS WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO THAT STYLE WHICH MOST CLOSELY RESEMBLES THE STYLE OR STYLES INTENDED TO BE PROVIDED FOR UNDER THIS PROVISION; o MEETS ALL RELEVANT REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD, INCLUDING REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO LIMITATIONS ON DEFECTS, DRAINED WEIGHT, AND ANY OTHER REQUIREMENTS WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO THAT STYLE WHICH MOST CLOSELY RESEMBLES THE STYLE OR STYLES INTENDED TO BE PROVIDED FOR UNDER THIS PROVISION;
ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS
· BASIC INGREDIENTS VEGETABLES AS DEFINED IN SECTION 2 AND LIQUID PACKING MEDIUM APPROPRIATE TO THE PRODUCT.
· OTHER PERMITTED INGREDIENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RELEVANT PROVISIONS IN THE CORRESPONDING ANNEXES.
· PACKING MEDIA o PACKING MEDIA MAY CONTAIN INGREDIENTS SUBJECT TO LABELLING REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 8 AND MAY INCLUDE, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO: § SUGARS AND/OR OTHER FOODSTUFFS WITH SWEETENING PROPERTIES SUCH AS HONEY; § AROMATICS PLANTS, SPICES OR EXTRACTS THEREOF, SEASONING; § VINEGAR § REGULAR OR CONCENTRATED FRUIT JUICE; § OIL § TOMATO PUREE.
· QUALITY CRITERIA o COLOUR, FLAVOUR AND TEXTURE CANNED VEGETABLES SHALL HAVE NORMAL COLOUR, FLAVOUR AND ODOUR OF CANNED VEGETABLES, CORRESPONDING TO THE TYPE OF VEGETABLE AND PACKING MEDIUM USED AND SHALL POSSESS TEXTURE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PRODUCT. o DEFECTS AND ALLOWANCES CANNED VEGETABLES SHOULD BE SUBSTANTIALLY FREE FROM DEFECTS. CERTAIN COMMON DEFECTS SHOULD NOT BE PRESENT IN AMOUNTS GREATER THAN THE LIMITATIONS FIXED IN THE CORRESPONDING ANNEXES.
FOOD ADDITIVES
· ONLY THOSE FOOD ADDITIVE CLASSES LISTED BELOW AND IN THE CORRESPONDING ANNEXES ARE TECHNOLOGICALLY JUSTIFIED AND MAY BE USED IN PRODUCTS COVERED BY THIS STANDARD. WITHIN EACH ADDITIVE CLASS ONLY THOSE FOOD ADDITIVES LISTED BELOW AND IN THE CORRESPONDING ANNEXES, OR REFERRED TO, MAY BE USED AND ONLY FOR THE FUNCTIONS, AND WITHIN LIMITS, SPECIFIED.
· ACIDITY REGULATORS, COLOURS, COLOUR RETENTION AGENTS AND CALCIUM SALTS OF FIRMING AGENTS USED IN ACCORDANCE OF THE GENERAL STANDARD FOR FOOD ADDITIVES (CODEX STAN 192-1995) ARE ACCEPTABLE FOR USE IN FOODS CONFORMING TO THIS STANDARD.
COLOURS
INS NO.	NAME OF THE FOOD ADDITIVE	MAXIMUM LEVEL
102	TARTARZINE	100 MG/KG
133	BRILLIANT BLUE FCF	20 MG/KG
143	FAST GREEN FCF	200 MG/KG
150D	CARAMEL IV – SULFITE AMMONIA CARAMEL	50,000 MG/KG
COLOUR RETENTION AGENTS
INS NO.	NAME OF THE FOOD ADDITIVE	MAXIMUM LEVEL
385	CALCIUM DISODIUM ETHYLENEDIAMINETETRAACETATE
386	DISODIUM ETHYLENEDIAMINETETRAACETATE	365 MG/KG (SINGLY OR IN COMBINATION)
512	STANNOUS CHLORIDE	25 MG/KG CALCULATED AS TIN. SHOULD NOT BE ADDED TO FOODS IN UNCOATED TIN CANS.
CONTAMINANTS
· THE PRODUCTS COVERED BY THIS STANDARD SHALL COMPLY WITH THE MAXIMUM LEVELS OF THE GENERAL STANDARD FOR CONTAMINANTS AND TOXINS IN FOOD AND FEED (CODEX STAN 193-1995).
· THE PRODUCTS 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 (CAC/RCP 1-1969), CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR LOW AND ACIDIFIED LOW-ACID CANNED FOODS (CAC/RCP 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 2 PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND APPLICATION OF MICROBIOLOGICAL CRITERIA RELATED TO FOODS (CAC/GL 21-1997)
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
· THE CONTAINER SHOULD BE WELL FILLED WITH THE PRODUCT (INCLUDING PACKING MEDIUM) WHICH SHOULD OCCUPY NOT LESS THAN 90% (MINUS ANY NECESSARY HEAD SPACE ACCORDING TO GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES) 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. THIS PROVISION DOES NOT APPLY TO VACUUM PACKAGED VEGETABLES.
· MINIMUM DRAINED WEIGHT 7.1.4.1 THE DRAINED WEIGHT OF THE PRODUCT SHOULD BE NOT LESS THAN THE PERCENTAGES INDICATED IN THE CORRESPONDING ANNEXES, CALCULATED ON THE BASIS OF THE WEIGHT OF DISTILLED WATER AT 20OC WHICH THE SEALED CONTAINER WILL HOLD WHEN COMPLETELY FILLED.
· 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 (CODEX STAN 1-1985). IN ADDITION, THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC PROVISIONS APPLY:
· NAME OF THE PRODUCT o THE NAMES OF THE CANNED PRODUCTS SHALL BE THOSE DEFINED IN THE CORRESPONDING ANNEXES. o WHEN THE VEGETABLES ARE SIZED, THE SIZE (OR SIZES WHEN SIZES ARE MIXED), AS DEFINED IN THE CORRESPONDING ANNEXES, MAY BE DECLARED AS PART OF THE NAME OR IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE NAME OF THE PRODUCT.
· 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.