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Citrus
Fruit QUALITY
Français - Citrus fruit quality standards
- Citrus quality links
- Organic and fair-trade citrus fruits
International quality standards for citrus fruits and products are normally set in Codex
Alimentarius. According to UNECE Recommendation for Citrus Fruit (UN Economic
Commission for Europe, Agricultural Standards Unit, Fresh Fruit and Vegetables),
the citrus fruits must be:
- intact
- free of bruising and/or extensive healed over cuts
- sound; produce affected by rotting or deterioration such as to make it unfit for
consumption is excluded
- clean practically free of any visible foreign matter
- practically free from pests
- practically free from damage caused by pests
- free of signs of internal shriveling
- free of damage caused by low temperature or frost
- free of all abnormal external moisture
- free of any foreign smell and/or taste.
Maturity of citrus fruit is defined by minimum juice content, minimum total soluble
solids content (TSS), i.e. minimum sugar content and coloring.
For quality testing, citrus grove managers take representative samples of fruits from a
particular block of trees and check for the attributes. In the case of juice extraction,
the fruit is squeezed from the sample fruit and the juice is tested for two main
attributes, brix (total soluble solids) and acid. From these two attributes, the
sugar/acid ratio, which gives the flavor of the juice, is determined. Orange juice must
meet minimum standards to be sold as 100% Orange Juice (See: are you 100% sure
that it´s pure?, Florida Department of Citrus). Quality of citrus fruits and juices is
inspected at different stages of the marketing chain.
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21-01-2011 Citrus fruit
IFOAM, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO)
The Fairtrade Foundation
Social Accountability in Sustainable Agriculture
Le jus d'orange labellisé, Max Havelaar
Agrofair
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