Production Practices and Quality Assessment of Food Crops. Vol. 1

230 S. A. Ordoudi and M. Z. Tsimidou
Table 5. Classification of saffron in filaments.
Characteristic Categories
Extra I II III IV
Floral waste, % (m/m), max 0.5 4 7 10
Extraneous matter, % (m/m), max 0.1 0.5 1.0 01.0
Table 6. Chemical requirements for saffron, in filaments or in powder form (after ISO 3632-1-1993).
Characteristic Requirement
Saffron in Saffron in
filament powder form
Moisture and volatile matter,% (m/m), max 012 010
Total ash, % (m/m), on dry basis, max 008 008
Acid-insoluble ash, % (m/m),on dry basis, max
Categories I and II 001.0 001.0
Categories III and IV 001.5 001.5
Solubility in cold water, % (m/m), on dry basis, max 065 065
Bitterness expressed as direct reading of the absorbance of picrocrocin at about 257 nm,
on dry basis, min.
Category I 070 070
Category II 055 055
Category III 040 040
Category IV 030 030
Safranal, expressed as direct reading of the absorbance at about 330 nm, on dry basis
All categories
Min. 020 020
Max. 050 050
Colouring strength, expressed as direct reading of the absorbance of crocins at about 440 nm,
on dry basis, min
Category I 190 190
Category II 150 150
Category III 110 110
Category IV 080 080
Total nitrogen, % (m/m), on dry basis, max 003.0 003.0
Crude fiber, % (m/m), on dry basis, max 006 006