STANDARDS IN FOCUS...STANDARDS FOR COCONUT WATER AND COCONUT OIL

STANDARDS IN FOCUS…STANDARDS FOR COCONUT WATER AND COCONUT OIL

Oct 23, 2016 News

The hosting of the coconut festival by the Ministry of Business and the various supporting groups seems to have drawn the attention of many towards the economic, nutritional and other values of coconuts grown in Guyana.
As we engage in learning, consuming, selling and promoting coconut products and the coconut industry as a whole, we must also consider the importance of implementing the relevant standards to enhance the growth and development of this promising industry.
At the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), there are currently three standards that are related to coconut products. These standards are the “Code of Practice for packaged natural coconut water”, “Specification for Packaged coconut water” and the “Specification for coconut oil”.
Coconut water, which is a favourite of most consumers, is offered for sale in many places, whether at the street corners directly from the fruit or in labelled bottles from shops, supermarkets, restaurants and eating houses. To ensure the safety of consumers, the Code of Practice for packaged natural coconut water was developed to set out the recommendations for the hygienic preparation of packaged coconut water including harvesting, processing, storing, transporting and distributing. The Code of Practice is also a CARICOM standard for implementation by all CARICOM member states.
The Code of Practice provides guidelines for the harvesting time and methods, transportation and handling, storage and selection of coconuts, equipment and utensils, processing, packaging and labelling of coconut water. It also makes provisions for the personal hygiene of persons preparing and handling coconuts and coconut water and the disposal of waste coconut parts.
Meanwhile, the Specification for Packaged natural coconut water, which is also a CARICOM Standard, applies to the package of natural coconut water offered for consumption. This standard only applies to coconut water which has been packaged in its natural state without use of additives. It covers harvesting, composition, physiochemical limits, microbiological limits, organoleptic requirements, defective products, contaminants, quality control, hygiene and labelling.
Local producers of coconut water are encouraged acquire copies of the available standards and follow the requirements therein to ensure consistency in the quality of their products, maintenance of good hygienic practices, and improved packaging and labelling.
This week’s article will be concluded by examining the standards specification for coconut oil which specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for coconut oil intended for edible and industrial use at the commercial level.
Coconut oil has been a household product in Guyana for a very long time; for food preparation or medicinal purposes. Today, this product has been commercialised and can be purchased by consumers from almost any market, supermarket, grocery shop or even pharmacies.
To ensure that quality coconut oil is produced, the standard covers product description which includes type and grades, general requirements, food additives, physical and chemical characteristics, packaging and labelling, sampling and methods of test.
The GNBS, in the future, will continue to develop more standards that are relevant to the growth and development of the coconut industry in Guyana.

For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0065, 219-0066 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org

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