GB 19302-2025National food safety standard - Fermented milk (English PDF)

1 Scope

The standard applies to fermented milk and flavoured fermented milk.

2 Terms and definitions

2.1 Fermented milk - a product of lowered pH made from one or more of raw cow (or goat) milk, concentrated milk for the food industry and milk powder, by sterilisation and fermentation.

2.1.1 Yoghurt - a product made from one or more of raw cow (or goat) milk, concentrated milk for the food industry and milk powder, by sterilisation and fermentation with Streptococcus salivarius subspecies thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus.

2.2 Flavoured fermented milk - a product whose main raw material is not less than 80 % of one or more of raw cow (or goat) milk, concentrated milk for the food industry and milk powder, to which other raw materials are added, the pH being lowered by sterilisation and fermentation, with or without the addition, before or after fermentation, of food additives, nutritional fortifiers, fruit, vegetables, cereals and the like. In this definition not less than 80 % means that the milk solids content of each 100 g of the fermented milk, fruit, vegetables and cereals excluded, is not less than the milk solids content of 80 g of milk.

2.2.1 Flavoured yoghurt - the same product as 2.2 but fermented with Streptococcus salivarius subspecies thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus, with or without the addition, before or after fermentation, of food additives, nutritional fortifiers, fruit, vegetables, cereals and the like, and subject to the same not less than 80 % rule.

3 Technical requirements

3.1 Raw materials. Raw milk shall meet the provisions for raw cow (or goat) milk of GB 19301. Concentrated milk for the food industry shall meet the provisions for that product of GB 13102. Milk powder shall meet the provisions for cow (or goat) milk powder of GB 19644. Other raw materials shall meet the relevant food standards and provisions. The starter cultures shall be Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus and Streptococcus salivarius subspecies thermophilus, or other cultures approved for use by the health administration department of the State Council.

3.2 Sensory requirements, given in Table 1 for fermented milk and for flavoured fermented milk. Colour: uniform, milky white or slightly yellow for fermented milk; for flavoured fermented milk, the colour of fermented milk or a colour matching the added ingredients. Taste and smell: those characteristic of fermented milk; for flavoured fermented milk, those of fermented milk or matching the added ingredients. Texture: fine and uniform, a small amount of whey separation being allowed, and flavoured fermented milk may show the texture characteristic of the added ingredients. The test method is to place a suitable quantity of the test sample in a 50 mL beaker, set products in their original pack, observe the colour and texture in natural light, smell it and taste it after rinsing the mouth with warm boiled water.

3.3 Physical and chemical indicators, given in Table 2 for fermented milk and for flavoured fermented milk. Protein, in grams per 100 g: not less than 2.9 and not less than 2.3 respectively, determined as in GB 5009.5. Fat, in grams per 100 g: not less than 3.1 and not less than 2.5 respectively, determined as in GB 5009.6, this line applying to whole-fat products only. Non-fat milk solids, in grams per 100 g: not less than 8.1 for fermented milk and not specified for flavoured fermented milk, determined as in GB 5413.39. Acidity, in degrees Thorner: not less than 60.0 for both, determined as in GB 5009.239.

3.4 Contaminant and mycotoxin limits. Contaminant limits shall meet GB 2762 and mycotoxin limits shall meet GB 2761.

3.5 Microbiological limits. Pathogen limits shall meet GB 29921. Table 3 sets further limits with the sampling plan: coliforms, in CFU/g or CFU/mL, with n equal to 5, c equal to 2, m equal to 1 and M equal to 5, determined as in GB 4789.3; moulds, not more than 30 CFU/g or CFU/mL, determined as in GB 4789.15. Footnote a: sampling and handling follow GB 4789.1 and GB 4789.18. Footnote b: the pre-treatment dilution method is to take 10 g of sample, add 10 mL of diluent, adjust the pH and take 2 mL of the one to one dilution for each plate; where the sample has been diluted, the m and M values of Table 3 shall be multiplied by the dilution factor.

3.6 Lactic acid bacteria count, given in Table 4: not less than 1.0 times 10 to the sixth power CFU/g or CFU/mL, determined as in GB 4789.35, with a footnote that no lactic acid bacteria count is required for products heat treated after fermentation.

3.7 Food additives and nutritional fortifiers. Food additives shall be used as provided in GB 2760 and nutritional fortifiers as provided in GB 14880.

4 Other

4.1 Products heat treated after fermentation shall be labelled heat treated fermented milk, heat treated flavoured fermented milk, heat treated yoghurt or milk, or heat treated flavoured yoghurt or milk, each preceded by the product name.

4.2 Products made wholly from milk powder shall be marked reconstituted milk immediately next to the product name; products made partly from milk powder shall be marked as containing a stated percentage of reconstituted milk. The note explains that the percentage is the mass fraction of the added milk powder in the total milk solids of the product.

4.3 The words reconstituted milk and the product name shall be shown on the same principal display panel of the container; the words shall be conspicuous, in a type size not smaller than that of the product name, and of a character height not less than one fifth of the height of the principal display panel.

4.4 The product name may carry a descriptive term for the fat content, such as skimmed, partly skimmed or whole-fat.