(a) Proposed Draft Standard for Pickles
(b) Proposed Draft Standard for Chutney
(c) Proposed Draft Standard for Kimchi
(d) Proposed Draft Standard for Aqueous Coconut Products
10. The Delegation of India presented the Proposed Draft Standard. The Committee had an extensive discussion on the title of the standard, “Pickles (vegetarian)”. Several delegations felt that the word “pickles” was too generic, which could refer to any of pickles and would make it difficult for consumers to know the true characteristics of the product and therefore, should be replaced by a local name, e.g., achar, or specified with a qualifier, such as “South Asian”. Some other delegations, however, proposed to delete the word “vegetarian” as there were products containing ingredients of animal origin. The Delegation of India supported by some other delegations emphasized the importance of ensuring that the product was vegetarian. After consultation between the Delegations of India and Thailand, the Committee agreed to use the term “pickles” for the title. The Delegations of Japan and Singapore and Observer from Consumers International stated that the title should be more specific. As the new title refers to any pickles, the Committee agreed to insert at the end of Scope a new sentence: “This standard does not cover pickled cucumbers and kimchi”. It was explained that fermented pickles were also covered by this standard under “pickles in acidic media”.
11. The Committee reformatted the Proposed Draft Standard in the current Codex Standard format. In addition, the Committee amended the following:
Optional Ingredients
- add “(unrefined nutritive sweetener)” after “jaggery to clarify its nature; andLabelling
- add “chillies and seasoning (seasoning has two types; plant origin and animal origin)”;
- include a specific provision for “vegetarian” labelling: “7.2 Depending upon the seasoning/ingredient, the product shall be labelled as “vegetarian” or “non-vegetarian”; andConcerning the food additives provision, the Delegation of India stated that only those additives technologically necessary were included. The Delegation of Philippines proposed to include firming agents and was requested to send this information to the Delegation of India for consideration for inclusion.- include a provision on the labelling of non-retail containers.
12. The Delegation of India presented the Proposed Draft Standard. It was pointed out that the format of the Proposes Draft Standard needed to be in line with the current Codex one and that there would be the need for scientific justification for high levels of lead and tin for their endorsement by the CCFAC. The Committee agreed to add “(unrefined nutritive sweetener)” after “jaggery” (see above). The Delegation of Thailand proposed to use AOAC 990.28 and NMKL No.124 (1987) for the determination of sulphur dioxide and benzoic acid respectively as the methods currently contained in the Proposed Draft had not been collaboratively studied while these two methods had been; but no decision was made on this matter.
13. Noting that the 19th Session of the CCPFV would consider the Proposed Draft Revised Standard for Mango Chutney, the Committee decided to refer this Proposed Draft Standard to the CCPFV for integration with the Standard for Mango Chutney. The Codex Secretariat, in collaboration with India, was to prepare a reformatted proposed draft standard for chutney in the current Codex Standard format and incorporating the standard for mango chutney.
14. The Delegation of the Republic of Korea introduced the Proposed Draft Standard emphasizing the growing production and trade of kimchi.
15. The Committee was informed by the Delegation of the Philippines of the discussion of the CCFAC to include processed eucheuma seaweed (PES) in all commodities which allow the use of carrageenan. On the proposal to include gums and PES in the food additives provision, the Delegation of Korea responded that while it would be possible to do so in the future but as there had been no experience of their uses in producing kimchi, their inclusion was not appropriate for the time being.
16. The Committee noted that lactic acid fermentation is the major fermentation occurring during kimchi preparation and therefore, total acidity should be expressed in lactic acid. The Committee agreed to amend the expression of salt; replace the term “shall” with “should” in Section 1.1 of Appendix; put 2.1(c) Mineral impurities in square brackets as there was no definition of mineral impurities in Codex for this type of products; and amended the wording of Section 2.2.2.
17. The Delegation of Malaysia presented the Proposed Draft Standard. Several governments expressed their support for the elaboration of the standard because of the importance of the products in the Region. However, due to the papar’s relatively late availability, some delegations expressed their wish to study the paper more thoroughly. The Committee decided to return the Proposed Draft Standard to Step 3 for redrafting. A new draft should incorporate written comments submitted, as appropriate. Member countries were invited to send further comments to Malaysia to assist redrafting.
18. In response to the comments from the IDF concerning the use of the terms “milk” and “cream” for coconut products, the Delegation of Thailand stated that these terms had been used in association with “coconut” for long in international trade.
Status of the Proposed Draft Standards for Pickles, Chutney, Kimchi, Aqueous Coconut Products
19. The Committee advanced the Proposed Draft Standards for Pickles and Kimchi to Step 5 for adoption by the 45th Session of the Executive Committee, with the understanding that they would be further elaborated by the CCPFV; and returned the Proposed Draft Standard for Aqueous Coconut Products to Step 3. It agreed to forward the Proposed Draft Standard for Chutney to the CCPFV.
