1. SCOPE
This standard applies to date paste prepared from fruits of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera).
2. DEFINITIONS
2.1 Date paste: a food product prepared from fruits of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) that are sound, consistent in colour, harvested at the appropriate stage of maturity, washed, pitted and capped.
2.2 Parthenocarpic dates: dates produced without pollination, characterized by thin flesh, immature characteristics and absence of pits.
2.3 Unripe dates: dates that are light in weight, pale in colour, with shrivelled or little flesh and rubbery in texture.
3. QUALITY FACTORS
3.1 Dates used for making date paste shall be:
3.1.1 Free from diseases and contain no parthenocarpic or unripe fruits;
3.1.2 Free from insects or insect fragments, eggs, larvae or frass;
3.1.3 Free of dirt and foreign matter.
3.2 The characteristics of date paste shall be as follows:
3.2.1 It shall be soft, consistent in colour and texture, free of blackness or dryness and no alteration in smell or flavour;
3.2.2 It shall contain no whole, broken pits, stalks or extraneous fragments;
3.2.3 It shall be free of fermentation and mould;
3.2.4 It may be made from a single variety of dates or a blend of several varieties, provided to specify those varieties (on the label);
3.2.5 Moisture content shall not exceed 20%;
3.2.6 Mineral matter content shall not exceed 1 gram per kilogram;
3.2.7 Total ash content shall not exceed 1.2%;
3.2.1 3.2.8 Acid insoluble ash content shall not exceed 0.1%.
