Ketchup and explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
This block of the fruit and vegetable chapter covers the shelf products that most small and mid-sized food makers sell: squashes, crushes and syrups, murabba and candied fruit, tomato ketchup and sauces, soybean sauce, carbonated fruit drinks, and jams, jellies and marmalades. Each standard names a few parameters, usually total soluble solids, acidity or fruit content, and prints the minimum or maximum. Makers of these products can begin with FSSAI registration for food manufacturers.
This article reads the text as amended up to 21 October 2024 (FSSAI chapter compendium consolidated to amendment 83; the amendment of 10 July 2025 does not change this chapter). Later notifications should be checked on fssai.gov.in. A compendium is a reference consolidation; the Gazette text prevails.
Each standard prints minimum total soluble solids (TSS) and, usually, acidity or fruit content. For example, jam must have TSS of not less than 65 percent by mass, and jams, jellies and marmalades must contain prepared fruit of not less than 45 per cent by weight, with lower figures for strawberry, raspberry and ginger jams. Standards 2.3.32 and 2.3.34 do not appear in the compendium text. Additives must be those permitted in Appendix A, and microbiology follows Appendix B.
Industrial intermediates, tamarind, fruit bar and flakes: 2.3.16 to 2.3.20
Regulations 2.3.16 and 2.3.17 cover fruit or vegetable juice, pulp or puree, and their concentrates, with preservatives, for industrial use only. A concentrate has soluble solids of not less than double those of the original juice. Regulation 2.3.18 (tamarind pulp, puree and concentrate) sets minimum TSS, minimum acidity and maximum acid-insoluble ash, with 32 and 4.5 for pulp or puree and 65 and 9.0 for concentrate. Fruit bar or toffee (2.3.19) needs moisture of not more than 20.0 percent, TSS of not less than 75.0 percent and fruit content of not less than 25.0 percent. Fruit, vegetable and cereal flakes (2.3.20) have moisture of not more than 6.0 percent, acid insoluble ash of not more than 0.5 percent and starch of not more than 25.0 percent.
Squashes, syrups and fruit drinks: 2.3.21 to 2.3.24 and 2.3.30
| Product | Defining feature | Key parameters named | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squash, crush, fruit syrup or sharbat, cordial, barley water | fruit juice, puree or concentrate blended with nutritive sweeteners and water | minimum fruit juice or puree (25), TSS, acidity as citric acid | 2.3.21 |
| Ginger cocktail (ginger beer, gingerale) | ginger juice, oleoresin or essence with water and sweeteners | TSS (minimum 30.0 percent) | 2.3.22 |
| Synthetic syrup for dispensers | blended sweeteners and water for carbonated water | TSS (minimum 30 percent) | 2.3.23 |
| Synthetic syrup or sharbat | syrup of sugar, dextrose or liquid glucose | TSS (minimum 65 per cent by weight) | 2.3.24 |
| Carbonated fruit beverage or drink | fruit juice and water or carbonated water | fruit content | 2.3.30 |
The table in 2.3.21 prints, for squash, TSS 40, for crush 55, for fruit syrup or sharbat 65, for cordial 30, and for barley water 30, all with fruit juice or puree at 25 and acidity at 3.5, except barley water at 2.5. Barley water carries barley starch of not less than 0.25 percent. A syrup or sharbat with a minimum of 10 percent dry fruits can also be called a fruit syrup. Synthetic syrup or sharbat (2.3.24) may contain citric acid, permitted colours, preservatives and flavouring agents but no artificial sweetening agents. For carbonated fruit beverages the fruit content is not less than 5.0 percent for lime or lemon juice and not less than 10.0 percent for other fruits. Where fruit juice is below 10.0 per cent but not less than 5.0 per cent (2.5 per cent for lime or lemon), the product is called "carbonated beverages with fruit juice", the TSS requirement does not apply, and the juice quantity is declared on the label. Our article on carbonated and packaged drinks covers non-fruit carbonated beverages.
Murabba, candied fruit and fruit cheese: 2.3.25, 2.3.26 and 2.3.33
Murabba is whole or cut fruit, rhizome or vegetable impregnated with nutritive sweeteners to preserve it: TSS not less than 65.0 percent (m/m) and fruit content not less than 55.0 percent (m/m). Candied, crystallised and glazed fruit, vegetable, rhizome or peel (2.3.26) requires total sugar (w/w) of not less than 70.0 and reducing sugar to total sugar of not less than 25.0. Fruit cheese (2.3.33) needs TSS of not less than 65.0 percent and at least 45 percent by weight of original prepared fruit, with 25 percent for strawberry or raspberry.
Ketchup and sauces: 2.3.27 to 2.3.29
- Tomato ketchup and tomato sauce (2.3.27): TSS (m/m), excluding salt, of not less than 25.0 percent, and acidity as acetic acid of not less than 0.2 percent, which is the entry as substituted by amendment.
- Culinary pastes and other sauces (2.3.28): a table of TSS (excluding salt) and acidity as acetic acid: chilli sauce not less than 8.0 and 1.0 percent; fruit or vegetable sauces 15.0 and 1.2; culinary paste or sauce 8.0 and 1.0; ginger paste 3.0 and 1.0. The product may contain caramel but no other added colour, natural or synthetic.
- Soybean sauce (2.3.29): made by fermenting soybean paste in which trypsin inhibitors are completely inactivated; TSS, excluding salt, not less than 15.0 percent, acidity not less than 0.6 percent and total nitrogen not less than 1.0 percent.
For business-level guidance see our post on FSSAI compliance for pickle and sauce manufacturers.
Jams, fruit jellies and marmalades: 2.3.31
Jam is made from whole fruit, pieces, pulp or puree, mixed with a nutritive sweetener and processed to a suitable consistency. Fruit jelly is a clear, sparkling, translucent gel from fruit juice or extracts. Marmalade is a gelled mixture of sugars and fruit products including peel, and jelly marmalade has had the insoluble solids removed. The key rules:
- prepared fruit content not less than 45 per cent by weight, except strawberry, raspberry and ginger jams at not less than 25 per cent, cashew apple at 23 per cent and passion fruit at 8 per cent;
- TSS not less than 65 percent by mass for jams and not less than 60 percent for jellies and marmalades; to be called a reduced sugar product, TSS must not be more than 45 percent by mass (as amended);
- pectin from any fruit at GMP level; no weeping, crystallisation or mould, and no extraneous matter such as skin, pits and seeds;
- containers filled to not less than 90 per cent of water capacity; the standards do not apply to products intended or labelled for special dietary uses.
Gaps in the numbering
The compendium text moves from 2.3.31 to 2.3.33 and from 2.3.33 to 2.3.35. No text for 2.3.32 or 2.3.34 is printed in the compendium, so this article says nothing about them.
A practical example
Annapurna Preserves makes strawberry jam with 30 per cent prepared fruit and TSS of 66 percent. The fruit content meets the lower strawberry figure of 25 per cent and the TSS meets the 65 percent minimum for jam. If the same company launches a mixed fruit jam at 30 per cent fruit, the 45 per cent rule applies and the product falls short. The wider picture for sauces is in our article on pickles, chutneys and vinegar, and the first half of the chapter is in juices and canned produce.
Need help with preserves and sauces?
Our team can match your recipe to the right sub-regulation and check the label before launch through FSSAI registration for food manufacturers.
Key takeaways
- Jams, jellies and marmalades need prepared fruit of not less than 45 per cent by weight, with listed exceptions.
- TSS minimums are 65 percent for jam and 60 percent for jellies and marmalades.
- Squash, crush, syrup, cordial and barley water have separate TSS minimums in one table.
- Tomato ketchup needs TSS, excluding salt, of not less than 25.0 percent.
- Text for 2.3.32 and 2.3.34 is not printed in the compendium.
Read next
- Regulations 2.3.1 to 2.3.15: thermally processed fruits, vegetables and juices
- Regulations 2.3.35 to 2.3.47: pickles, chutney, vinegar and nuts
- FSSAI compliance for pickle and sauce manufacturers
- Beverage standards: water and juice
Disclaimer: Based on the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 as consolidated in FSSAI's chapter-wise compendium (to amendment 83 of 21 October 2024) and the First Amendment Regulations, 2025, as consulted on fssai.gov.in on 2-3 October 2026. Later notifications and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provisions referred to should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.