Instant noodle quality standards were released and quality requirements such as water rewatering time were added

Source: China Consumer Daily

Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation approved the release of the instant noodle quality standard GB/T40772-2021 "Instant Noodles" (hereinafter referred to as the new standard), which stipulates the terms and definitions of instant noodles, product classification, quality, packaging and labeling requirements, among which for the quality of instant noodles, fat, sodium chloride content, rehydration time and other indicators are proposed. It is reported that the new standard will be officially implemented from May 1, 2022.

The new standard regulations apply to fried and non-fried commodities with edible wheat flour as the main raw material and processed by molding, gelatinization and other processing, and are not applicable to fresh moist noodles, instant rice noodles (rice noodles), and convenient vermicelli. According to different pasta production processes, instant noodles are divided into fried instant noodles and non-fried instant noodles.

The new standard sets out a series of quality requirements for instant noodles. In terms of fat indicators, the standard stipulates that the upper limit of fat for fried instant noodles and boiled noodles is 24%, and non-fried instant noodles are not required. In terms of sodium chloride content, according to the different types of instant noodles, the upper limits of instant noodles, dry noodles, boiled noodles and non-fried instant noodles in fried products are 2.5%, 3.0%, 2.5% and 2.5%, respectively. In addition, the new standard also stipulates the rehydration time, that is, the time required for the noodle cake to be soaked in boiling water and softened to no obvious hard (white) core, the rehydration time of fried instant noodles and non-fried instant noodles is 4 minutes and 6 minutes respectively, and the fried dry noodles and boiled noodles are not required.

In terms of senses, the new standard stipulates that the color of the dough cake should be uniform, there is no scorching phenomenon, and there can be a slight difference in shade between the front and back sides; the taste and smell should be normal, without musty taste, hara taste or other peculiar smells; the shape should be neat, allowing slight differences in the pattern between the front and back sides; there should be no obvious broken stripe and parallel strip phenomenon after rehydration. In terms of taste, after the noodles are soaked and boiled, the mouth induction is not sandwiched and does not stick to the teeth; the dry eating noodles are crisp, and there should be no foreign bodies visible to the naked eye on the outside and inside.

Tan Bin, a researcher at the Scientific Research Institute of the State Grain Administration, told the "China Consumer Daily" reporter that the requirements of the new standard in terms of sensory are more detailed than those stipulated in GB17400 "National Standard for Food Safety Instant Noodles", GB17400 only stipulates that "the color has the color that the product should have; the smell has no odor, no odor; the appearance is neat or consistent, and foreign foreign bodies can be seen without normal vision."

In terms of label regulations, the new standard requires that the packaging, storage and transportation of outer packaging should meet the requirements of GB/T191. On the product unit packaging, "fried instant noodles" or "non-fried instant noodles" should be marked, and dry noodles should be marked according to the "fried instant noodles (dry noodles)" method. The net content of instant noodle packaging products should be marked as "net content: dough cake + convenient seasoning ××× grams, noodle cake: ××× grams"; the net content of dry noodle packaging products without convenient seasoning can be marked as "net content: ××× grams of noodle cake". In addition, the method of consumption should be indicated on the label of the product. The new standard also adds rules for inspection, storage and transport.

The reporter recently visited a number of supermarkets in beijing, and found that most instant noodle brands meet the requirements of the new standard in terms of labeling. (Reporter Meng Gang)