UN to lay down international standards for poppadum manufacturing

Jeremy Page in Delhi
The Times
Jan. 23, 2007

For lovers of Indian food, variety and spice are essential components of a perfect meal. But it appears that the poppadum, a staple accompaniment, can be subject to too much variety — in shape, size, flavour and consistency. It may be crispy, circular and spicy or chewy, plain and square.

So now the United Nations food and health agencies are to lay down international standards for how the poppadum can be manufactured.

It will join Cheddar cheese and dried shark’s fin on a list of internationally traded food products drawn up by the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants. Such a listing would give an importer or an individual consumer a basis for legal action if the poppadum in question fell short of Codex standards.

The list — also known as the Codex Alimentarius — will specify that poppadums, or papads, should be “thin circular discs” from 5cm (2in) to 25cm in diameter, and between 0.3mm and 1.2mm thick.

They should be made from soaked rice flour, black gram or cow pea flour, mixed with salt and spices, and formed into flat cakes, according to the draft proposal from the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. “Papads shall be of pleasant taste and smell, and shall be free from rancid or bitter taste and shall not crumble,” it said.

“They shall be free from broken or frayed edges, excessive number of holes, dirt or foreign matters, insect infestation or fungal growth. On frying, papad shall be brittle and crispy to bite. They shall not give leathery, gritty, sticky or soggy mouth feel.” It even specifies that poppadums should contain no more than 3 per cent fat, have a moisture level of 12.5-15 per cent and a maximum pH reading of 8.5.

The Codex was set up by two UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation, in 1963 to protect consumers and ease international trade.

It now includes thousands of products from cocoa, salt and sugar to frozen broccoli and tinned anchovies, describing in detail the chemical components and processes that make them what they are.

Once an item is included it can be produced and sold anywhere in the world providing the manufacturer complies with the Codex standards.

Among the first items to be included was Cheddar cheese in 1966. The Codex specifies that it must be made from cow’s milk, have a hard rind and a “firm, smooth, waxy body”, and contain 1.5 to 1.8 per cent salt.

Over the past decade, as trade with China has expanded, the Codex has included products such as dried shark’s fin and canned bamboo shoots. The committee is also considering a proposal from Thailand to include chilli sauce.

The Indian authorities, anxious to promote their food exports, first proposed including poppadums and other popular Indian products at a meeting in Tanzania in 2003. They are expected to be adopted by the Codex Committee in the next few months. As well as the poppadum, they have proposed listing the lassi — a drink made by mixing yoghurt with water, salt and spices. Also due to join the Codex are paneer — Indian cottage cheese — tamarind powder and concentrate, chilli paste, fruit bars, pickled vegetables and milk-based sweets.
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