GB/T 23587-2024General rules for starch product (English PDF)

1 Scope, references and terms

1 The document defines the terms, fixes the technical requirements, the inspection rules and the requirements for labelling, marking, packaging, transport and storage of starch products, describes the corresponding test methods and gives the product classification. It applies to the production, inspection and sale of starch noodles, vermicelli and sheets and of liangfen. A note in the foreword adds that the document holds requirements bearing on food quality, while food safety requirements are found in the relevant laws, regulations, policies and food safety standards.

2 The documents cited are GB/T 191 (pictorial marking for handling of goods), GB 5009.3 (determination of moisture in foods), GB 5009.4 (determination of ash in foods), GB 5009.9 (determination of starch in foods), GB 5749 (standards for drinking water quality) and JJF 1070 (rules for the metrological testing of the net quantity of prepackaged commodities).

3.1 Starch product: a product in the shape of strands, threads or sheets made from edible starch as the main raw material, with or without raw materials other than edible starch, through mixing, gelatinising and forming, cooling, with or without freezing, and with or without drying. Note: starch products include starch noodles, starch vermicelli, starch sheets and liangfen.

3.2 Broken rate: the proportion of strands that break after starch noodles or vermicelli have been boiled in water for a given time.

4 Product classification

4.1 By product form and manufacturing process the products divide into dry noodles, vermicelli and sheets; wet noodles, vermicelli and sheets; and liangfen.

4.2 By the way they are eaten the products divide into noodles, vermicelli and sheets for boiling and instant noodles, vermicelli and sheets.

5 Technical requirements

5.1 The edible starch has to meet the relevant food standards or the relevant national provisions, the process water has to meet GB 5749, and the other raw and auxiliary materials and the seasonings have likewise to meet the relevant food standards or national provisions.

5.2 The sensory requirements are set out in Table 1, in two columns, one for noodles, vermicelli and sheets and one for liangfen. On form and texture the table asks for noodles and vermicelli of even thickness, in the main free of stuck-together and broken strands, and for sheets of even thickness and width, while liangfen is to be in blocks or other shapes, soft and elastic. On taste and odour the table asks for the taste and odour proper to the product with no off-odour, and for liangfen no gritty feel on chewing. Colour has to be that proper to the product and no foreign matter visible to normal eyesight is allowed.

5.3 The physical and chemical requirements are set out in Table 2. The table fixes limits on moisture, on starch expressed on a dry basis, on ash, on the broken rate and on the rehydration time, in each case separately for dry noodles, vermicelli and sheets, for wet noodles, vermicelli and sheets, and for liangfen. Two footnotes state that the broken rate applies only to noodles and vermicelli intended for boiling and not to sheets for boiling or to instant products, and that the rehydration time applies only to instant noodles, vermicelli and sheets. The figures of this table could not be paired reliably with the three product columns in the source and are therefore not transcribed here.

5.4 The net quantity has to meet the measures for the metrological supervision and administration of prepackaged commodities.

6 Test methods

6.1 Sensory indicators are judged under sufficient natural light by placing a suitable amount of the sample in a clean white porcelain dish, looking at the colour, the form or texture and the foreign matter, smelling the odour and, according to the way the product is eaten, tasting it.

6.2 to 6.4 Moisture is determined by GB 5009.3, starch by GB 5009.9 and ash by GB 5009.4.

6.5 For the broken rate, 50 strands of boiling-type noodles or vermicelli, of the same length, longer than 10 cm and free of mechanical damage, are cut off; 1 200 mL of water is put in a 1 500 mL beaker and brought to the boil, the strands are added and the beaker covered with a watch glass; after gentle boiling until cooked, the state is observed and, when there is no obvious hard core, the water is drained and the number of intact strands is counted with the help of a glass rod. The broken rate is computed from the number of strands taken and the number still intact after boiling, and the test is run twice and averaged.

6.6 For the rehydration time, whole instant noodles, vermicelli or sheets are placed in a covered insulated container, boiling water is added until they are just submerged, the container is covered at once and a stopwatch started. Within 8 min a piece is picked out with chopsticks onto a glass plate and pressed between glass plates; when the softened piece shows no obvious hard core and does not taste undercooked, the elapsed time is recorded as the rehydration time.

6.7 The net quantity is determined by JJF 1070.

7 Inspection rules

7.1 A lot is the product made from the same batch of raw material, with the same formulation, on the same production line and in the same shift.

7.2 At least 1 kg of independently packaged sample is drawn from each lot and split into two parts, one for inspection and one held in reserve.

7.3 Delivery inspection covers the sensory requirements, moisture, net quantity and rehydration time.

7.4 Type inspection is carried out when a new product goes into production, when the source of the raw material changes or a main item of equipment is replaced in a way that may affect quality, when the result of a delivery inspection differs appreciably from the previous type inspection, when production resumes after a stop of more than six months, and when the national supervisory authorities ask for it. Type inspection covers every item of 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4.

7.5 A lot conforms when every item of the delivery inspection conforms; if an item fails, a further sample may be drawn and re-inspected, and the lot is judged non-conforming if it fails again. Type inspection is judged in the same way.

8 Labelling, marking, packaging, transport and storage

8.1 Where the main raw starch exceeds 60 % of the total starch, calculated on the original formulation, the product may be named after that starch and the amount added should be declared; where the main raw starch is less than 60 % of the total starch, the product is not to be named after the raw starch. A note gives mung bean vermicelli and sweet potato noodles as examples of products named after a starch.

8.2 The pictorial handling marks on the transport packaging of prepackaged products follow GB/T 191.

8.3 Packaging materials and containers have to meet the relevant national standards and provisions; the package has to be tightly sealed and firm.

8.4 Transport equipment has to be clean, hygienic, free of off-odour and free of contamination; during transport the products are protected from rain, damp and direct sun; wet noodles, vermicelli and sheets and liangfen are carried at the temperature their nature calls for; the products are not loaded or carried together with toxic, harmful, malodorous or contaminating goods.

8.5 Products are stored in a clean, ventilated store free of damp, rodents and off-odour; wet noodles, vermicelli and sheets and liangfen are stored at the temperature their nature calls for; goods are kept clear of walls and floor with gaps left between them and are not stored together with toxic, harmful, malodorous or contaminating goods.

Bibliography: the measures for the metrological supervision and administration of prepackaged commodities, promulgated as order No. 70 of the State Administration for Market Regulation on 16 March 2023.