Edible fungi 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.
The last block of the fruit and vegetable chapter covers a varied list: beans, seedless tamarind, vanilla, coconut milk and cream, dried apricots, cocoa beans, arecanut or supari, date paste, fermented soybean paste, harissa, vegetable protein products, quick frozen fried potatoes, canned chestnuts, edible fungi products, coconut milk powder, singhara atta and colouring foods. Traders, exporters and processors of these items can start 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 product has a short parameter table, most often moisture, defects by count or weight, and a fill or drained weight rule. For arecanut, moisture is capped at 7 per cent and damaged nuts at 12 per cent by weight. Three standards, date paste, harissa and canned chestnuts, allow no additives at all. Additives elsewhere follow Appendix A, and microbiology follows Appendix B.
Summary of the standards
| Clause | Product | Defining feature | A few parameters exactly as printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.3.48 | Bean | dry kidney-shaped or flattened leguminous seeds, whole or as dal | hydrocyanic acid not exceeding 20 parts per million |
| 2.3.49 | Seedless tamarind | ripe fruit after removing covering and seeds | moisture not more than 20.0; tamarind seeds not more than 0.5 |
| 2.3.50 | Vanilla | pods, cut vanilla or powder | moisture 30.0 (pods), 20.0 (powder); vanillin 2.0 minimum on wet basis |
| 2.3.51, 2.3.52 | Coconut milk, coconut cream (non-dairy) | emulsion from coconut kernel | coconut milk moisture 87.3 maximum, fat 10.0 minimum; coconut cream fat 20.0 minimum |
| 2.3.53 | Dried apricots | sun-dried or dehydrated; four styles | moisture 20.0 untreated, 25.0 treated with permitted preservatives |
| 2.3.54 | Cocoa beans | fermented and dried seeds of Theobroma cacao | moisture 8 maximum; mouldy beans 4 by count; slaty beans 8 by count |
| 2.3.55 | Arecanut, betelnut, supari | dry, matured, dehusked nuts | moisture 7; damaged nuts 12 by weight; damaged by moulds and insects 3 |
| 2.3.56 | Date paste | pitted, capped dates; no additives allowed | moisture not more than 20.0; total ash not more than 1.2 |
| 2.3.57 | Fermented soybean paste | soybean with trypsin inhibitor inactivated | moisture 60.0; total nitrogen minimum 1.6 for soybean only |
| 2.3.58 | Harissa (red hot pepper paste) | preserved pulp of Capsicum annuum; no additives allowed | total acidity as citric acid not more than 3.6; added salt not more than 1.5 |
| 2.3.59 | Vegetable protein products | protein of forty percent or more | crude protein (N 6.25) not less than 40.0; moisture not more than 10.0 |
| 2.3.60 | Quick frozen fried potatoes | strips fried or precooked, frozen to minus 18 °C | moisture not more than 78.0; frying defects not more than 0.5 |
| 2.3.61 | Canned chestnuts and puree | heat processed; no additives allowed | drained weight 60% (300 ml or more), 55% (under 300 ml) |
| 2.3.62 | Edible fungi products | dried, pickled, salted, fermented, frozen, sterilised, extract | water content of freeze-dried fungi 6.0; other dried fungi 12.0 |
| 2.3.63 | Coconut milk powder | spray dried coconut milk | moisture not more than 2.5; fat not less than 60.0 on dry basis |
| 2.3.64 | Water chestnut flour (singhare ka atta) | ground dried singhara nuts | moisture not more than 12.0; protein not less than 9.0 on dry basis |
| 2.3.65 | Colouring foods | aqueous extracts of fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs | total solids 45 (liquid), 90 (powder) g/100g minimum |
Notes on the larger standards
Coconut milk and cream (2.3.51, 2.3.52). Both are non-dairy products made from coconut kernel, with styles of light coconut milk and coconut milk, and coconut cream and cream concentrate. Coconut water, maltodextrin and sodium caseinate may be added. The tables print moisture, total solids, solids not fat, fat and pH; the pH minimum is 5.9 in each column. Containers must be filled to not less than 90 per cent by volume of water capacity. Coconut milk powder (2.3.63) adds a bulk density of 0.3 to 0.45 g/ml and FFA of the extracted fat (as lauric acid) of not more than 0.2.
Cocoa beans (2.3.54). The definitions of mouldy, slaty, insect damaged, germinated and flat beans drive the count limits. See our article on chocolate and cocoa products for the next stage of the chain.
Arecanut (2.3.55). The nuts must be dry, well matured, sound, whole or cut, fully dehusked and uniform in colour from bright shining to dull red, with no synthetic colouring matter, insect infestation, visible moulds, fissures or shrinkage, and not hollow. Damaged nuts are counted differently for whole nuts and cut nuts.
Quick frozen fried potatoes (2.3.60). Styles are straight cut and crinkle cut, with designations by cross-section size, such as shoestring at 4 up to 8 mm and extra large at more than 16 mm. A tolerance of 10% by length of non-conforming units applies where specific lengths are not indicated.
Canned chestnuts (2.3.61). Packing media are water, sweetened water classed by Brix, or brine. Puree is sweetened (not less than 12 percent total soluble solids) or unsweetened (not less than 10 percent).
Edible fungi (2.3.62). The standard has ten specific parts, from dried and pickled fungi to fungi extract and salted fungi, each with limits for salt, mineral impurities, organic impurities and maggot-damaged fungi. The label states the processing method, the species (the scientific name too in several cases) and "mixed" for more than one species; "stalks added" is required where stalks are added.
Colouring foods (2.3.65). These are products obtained from fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs by aqueous extraction without selective extraction of pigments, and are used for colouring. Nutritive sugars may be up to 20% by weight of a liquid product, or maltodextrin in a powder. A marker pigment is set at 0.5 percent minimum (liquid) and 1.0 (powder).
A practical example
Konkan Agro packs dehusked arecanut. A lot is tested for moisture, damaged nuts and moulds. If moisture is within the 7 per cent maximum but damaged nuts reach 14 per cent by weight, the lot misses the 12 per cent limit for whole nuts. Re-sorting before despatch would be the practical answer; the standard itself prints only the limits.
Where to read more
The preceding block is in our article on pickles, chutney, vinegar and nuts. Related requirements for sweet and cocoa products are in the confectionery and cocoa standards.
Need help with these standards?
Our team can match each product to its clause and prepare the licence application through FSSAI registration for food manufacturers.
Key takeaways
- Arecanut is capped at 7 per cent moisture and 12 per cent damaged nuts by weight.
- Date paste, harissa and canned chestnuts may contain no additives.
- Quick frozen products must reach minus 18 °C at the thermal centre.
- Edible fungi products have ten product types with separate limits.
- Colouring foods carry total solids and marker pigment minimums.
Read next
- Regulations 2.3.35 to 2.3.47: pickles, chutney, vinegar and nuts
- Regulation 2.7: sweets, confectionery, chocolate and cocoa
- Regulations 2.3.1 to 2.3.15: thermally processed fruits, vegetables and juices
- 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.