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WHAT IS SAFFRON?


OVERVIEW ETYMOLOGY

Saffron been used as a rich traditional heritage in Food, Medicine & Textile industry globally. The Word SAFFRON stems from the 12th-century Old French term SAFRAN, which comes from the Latin word SAFRANUM, from the Arabic ZA'FARĀN, the Persian word ZARPARAN meaning "gold strung" implying the golden stamens of the flower or the golden colour it creates when used as flavour.

THE PLANT PART

The Saffron flower has six petals and contain anthocyanin pigments.
It has three stamens with yellow anthers 15-20 mm long. The style is colorless to yellow, connected to a three branched stigma of intense red color, 25-50 mm long.

FILAMENT & GROUND MICROBIOLOGICAL TESTS

TEST ACCEPTABLE RANGE METHOD
TOTAL VIABLE COUNT Max 100,000 cfu/g ISO 4833
E.COLI <10 Per g ISO 6579
SALMONELLA Negative in 25g ISO 7251
MOULD Max: 1000 cfu/g ISO 7954
YEAST Max 100,000 cfu/g ISO 7954
COLIFORM BACTERIA Mac: 5000 cfu/g ISO 4832
LISTERIS MONOCYTOGENES Negative in 25g ISO 11290 -2
SULFITE REDUCING CLOSTRIDIA Max 500cfu/g ISO 15213
STAPHY LOCOCCUS AUREUS Max 100 cfu/g ISO 6888

LATIN BINOMIAL

Crocus sativus

SYNONYMS

Crocus autumnalis Sm.

Crocus officinalis (L.) Honck

Crocus pendulus Stokes

Crocus setifolius Stokes

BOTANICAL FAMILY

Iridaceae

Reference Standards:

  • Microbiology-General Guidance on Methods for the detection of Salmonella ISO 6579:1993
  • Microbiology-General Guidance for enumeration of presumptive E. Coli. Most probable number technique. ISO 7251:1993
  • Microbiology-General Guidance for enumeration of yeasts and moulds colony count technique at 25ºC. ISO 7954:1987
  • Determination and enumeration of moulds and yeasts colony count technique at 25ºC. ISO 997:1995.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

ISO/TS 3632:2003 saffron standard classifies it into three different categories by measuring the content of CROCINE, PICOCROCINE and SAFRANAL through Spectrophotometry to measure the absorbency of the product at different wavelengths.

  • CROCINE or CROCETIN : It is the coloring agent of the saffron. ISO standard limits three categories by its content at 440 nm spectrophotometry. In CROCETIN natural carotenoid dicarboxylic acid precursor of Crocetin are responsible for the yellowish color.
  • SAFRANAL : It is the aroma agent for saffron. ISO standard limits three categories by its content at 330 nm spectrophotometry.
  • PICROCROCINE : It is responsible of the typical sour flavour of saffron. ISO standard limits three categories by its content at 257 nm spectrophotometry.
CATEGORY Grade I - ISO 3632: 2003 Grade II - ISO 3632: 2003 Grade III - ISO 3632: 2003
CROCINE 200 <200 - >170 120
SAFRANAL 70 55 40
PICROCROCINE 20 - 50 20 - 50 20 - 50

ORGANOLEPTIC DESCRIPTION: Sour flavor, typical of saffron
ASPECT: red fiber or red powder when ground
PACKAGING: plastic containers, glass jars, cans, plastic capsules, blisters.
SOLUBILITY: soluble in water when ground, turns it yellow color.
EXPIRY DATE: 2 - 4 years from packing date.
NET WEIGHT: depending on packaging.
CONSERVATION: keep at room temperature on a dry place Processing: according with world ISO3632 standard.
TRANSPORT: Road , Sea container or Airfreight.
COUNTRY OF PRODUCTION: INDIA – IRAN – AFGANISTHAN – SPAIN – MOROCCO - GREECE
NET WEIGHT: 0.5g, 0.75 g, 1g, 2g, 4g, 8g, 10g up to 1 kg packs.
CONSERVATION: keep at room temperature on a dry place.