المملكة: “Food and Drug Administration” provides 4 methods for packing and adding herbs to canned tomatoes
She pointed out that the list does not include dried tomatoes or preserved tomatoes that contain other vegetables, such as peppers and onions, in quantities that may fundamentally change their flavor, taste, or smell.
She explained that preserved tomatoes may be packed with packing media, including “juice,” which is the liquid resulting from ripe tomatoes, or from the remains resulting from preparing tomatoes for the purpose of canning, or by diluting the concentration of tomatoes.
Tomato packing media
The Authority allowed the addition of spices and aromatic herbs “such as basil leaves” and their natural extracts, seasonings with the exception of tomato flavour, and table salt “sodium chloride” in accordance with the Gulf standard, acidifying substances and sugars.
The quality requirements stipulate that preserved tomatoes must have the natural color characteristic of their ripe and appropriately prepared counterpart, have the natural flavor and smell of the product and be free of foreign flavors or odors, and preserved tomatoes that contain special ingredients have the distinctive flavor characteristics of tomatoes and the added ingredients.
The health requirements were specified, namely that the product be prepared and handled in accordance with the specifications, that it conforms to what is stipulated in the guidelines, and that the microbiological limits in the product do not exceed what is stipulated.
The size of the contents of canned tomatoes
It stipulates that the volume of the contents should not be less than 90%, minus the percentage of the top void, based on good manufacturing practices, “with the filling medium when appropriate,” of the total water capacity of the container when completely filled with distilled water at a temperature of 20 °C.
It is required that the filtered weight of the product not be less than 50% of the net weight, calculated on the basis of the weight of distilled water at 20 °C for a package after it is completely filled.
The regulations stipulate that for solid non-metallic containers such as glass jars, the filtered weight is determined based on the weight of distilled water at 20°C for the container after it is completely filled and reduced by 20 mm.
The regulations require that the name of the product be clear, such as “peeled tomatoes” or “whole peeled tomatoes” for whole tomatoes if the peel is removed, or “unpeeled tomatoes” if the peel is not removed, with an indication of the packaging medium such as juice or other, and the expiration date.
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