CXS 260-2007  2 
1. SCOPE 
 This Standard applies to products, as defined in Section 2 below, and offered for direct consumption, 
including for catering purposes or for repacking if required. The prod ucts covered by this Standard include, 
but are not limited to onions, garlic, mango, radish, ginger, beetroot, ro yal plum, peppers, hearts of palm, 
cabbage, lettuce, lemons, baby c orn (young corn), and green mustard ( Brassica juncea ssp). It does not 
apply to the product when indicated as being intend ed for further processing. This Standard does not cover 
pickled cucumbers, kimchi, table olives , sauerkraut, chutneys and relishes. 
2. DESCRIPTION 
2.1 Product Definition 
Pickled fruits and vegetables is the product: 
(a) prepared from sound, clean and edible fruits and/or vegetables, with or without seeds, spices, 
aromatic herbs and/or condiments; 
(b) processed or treated to produce an acid or acidified product pres erved through natural fermentation 
or acidulants. Depending on the type, appropri ate ingredients are added in order to ensure 
preservation and quality of the product; 
(c) processed in an appropriate manner, before or after being hermetically sealed in a container, so as 
to ensure the quality and safety as well as to prevent spoilage; and/or 
(d) packed with or without a suitable liquid packin g medium (e.g., oil, brine or acidic media such as 
vinegar) as specified in Section 3.1.2, with ingredie nts appropriate to the type and variety of pickled 
product, to ensure an equilibrium pH of less than 4.6.  
2.2 Styles 
(a) Any presentation of the product should be  permitted provided that the product meets all 
requirements of the Standard;  
(b) Style presentations could include for example, wh ole, pieces, halves, quarters, cubes, shredded or 
chopped.  
2.3 Types  of Pack 
2.3.1  Solid Pack  – without any added packing medium.  
2.3.2  Regular Pack  – with a packing medium added, as  specified in Section 3.1.2.  
3. ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS  
3.1. Composition 
3.1.1  Basic Ingredients  
Fruits and vegetables and liquid packing medium when  appropriate, as defined in Sections 2.1(a), 2.1(d) and 
3.1.2, in combination with one or more of the other permitted ingredients listed in Section 3.1.3.  
3.1.2  Packing Media  
3.1.2.1  For pickled fruits, in accordance with the Guidelines for Packing Me dia for Canned Fruits (CXG 51-2003).  
3.1.2.2  For pickled vegetables, in acc ordance with the following provisions: 
(a) Basic Ingredients 
 Water, and if necessary salt or oil or acidic media such as vinegar. 
(b) Optional  Ingredients  
 Packing media for pickled vegetables may contai n ingredients subject to labe lling requirements of 
Section 8 and may include, but is not limited to: CXS 260-2007  3 
(1) foodstuff with sweetening properties such as su gars (including syrups) as defined in the 
Standard for Sugars  (CXS 212-1999), honey as defined in the Standard for Honey (CXS 12-
1981) or juices and/or nect ars as defined in the General Standard for Fruit Juices and Nectars  
(CXS 247-2005) and; 
(2) aromatics plants, spices or extracts thereof, seasoning (in accordance with the relevant Codex 
standards for spices or culinary herbs); 
(3) vinegar; 
(4) oil (in accordance with the relevant Co dex standards for vegetable oils);  
(5) tomato puree (in accordance with the Standard for Processed Tomato Concentrates  (CXS 57-
1981)); 
(6) malt extract; (7) sauce (e.g., fish sauce); 
(8) soy sauce; 
(9) other ingredients as appropriate. 
3.1.3  Other Permitted Ingredients  
(a) cereal grains; (b) dried fruits; 
(c) malt extract; 
(d) nuts; 
(e) pulses; 
(f) sauce (e.g., fish sauce); 
(g) soy sauce; 
(h) foodstuff with sweetening properties such as sug ars (including syrups) and honey as defined in the 
Standards for Sugars (CXS 212-1999) and Honey  (CXS 12-1981) respectively; and 
(i) other ingredients as appropriate. 
3.2 Quality Criteria 
The product shall have colour, flavour, odour an d texture characteristic of the product.  
3.2.1  Other Quality Criteria  
3.2.1.1  Pickled fruits and/or vegetables in edible oil
 
 The percentage of oil in the product shal l not be less than 10% by weight.  
3.2.1.2  Pickled fruits and/or vegetables in brine or an acidic medium  
The percentage of salt in the coveri ng liquid or the acidity of the medi a shall be sufficient to ensure the 
keeping quality and proper preservation of the product.  
3.2.1.3 Definition of Defects  
(a) Blemishes - means any characteristic includin g, but not limited to, bru ises, scab, and dark 
discolouration, which adversely affects th e overall appearance of the product.  
(b) Harmless extraneous material - means any vegeta ble part (such as, but not limited to, a leaf or 
portion thereof, or a stem) that does not pose an y hazard to human health but affects the overall 
appearance of the final product.  
3.2.1.4  Defects and Allowances 
The product should be practically free fr om defects as defined in Section 3.2.  CXS 260-2007  4 
3.3 Classification of “Defectives ” 
A container that fails to meet one or more of the applicab le quality requirements, as  set out in Section 3.2 
(except those based on sample avera ges), should be considered as a “defective ”. 
3.4 Lot Acceptance 
A lot should be considered as meeting the applicable quality requirements referred to in Section 3.2 when: 
(a) for those requirements which are no t based on averages, the number of “defectives ”, as defined in 
Section 3.3, does not exceed the acceptance number  (c) of the appropriate sampling plan with an 
AQL of 6.5; and 
(b) The requirements, which are based on sample averages, are complied with. 
4. FOOD ADDITIVES 
Acidity regulators, antifoaming agents, antioxidants, co lours, colour retention agents, firming agents, flavour 
enhancers, preservatives, sequestrants, stabilizers and sw eeteners used in accordance with Tables 1 and 2 
of the General Standard of Food Additives  (CXS 192-1995) in the food ca tegory in which the individual 
pickled fruit or vegetable fall into (i .e., one of the following categories : 04.1.2.3, 04.1.2.10, 04.2.2.3, and 
04.2.2.7) or listed in Table 3 of the  General Standard are acceptable f or use in foods conforming to this 
Standard.  
5. CONTAMINANTS  
5.1 The products covered by this Standard shall comply with the maximum levels of the General Standard for 
Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed  (CXS 193-1995). 
5.2 The products covered by this Standard shall comply with the maximum residue limits for pesticides 
established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.  
6. HYGIENE 
6.1 It is recommended that the products covered by the prov isions of this Standard be prepared and handled in 
accordance with the appropriate sections of the General Principles of Food Hygiene  (CXC 1-1969), Code of 
Hygienic Practice for Low and Ac idified Low-Acid Canned Foods  (CXC 23-1979) and other relevant Codex 
texts such as codes of hygienic  practice and codes of practice. 
6.2 The products should comply with any microbiolo gical criteria established in accordance with the Principles 
and Guidelines for the Establishm ent and Application of Microbiological Criteria related to Foods  (CXG 21-
1997)1.  
7. WEIGHTS  AND MEASURES  
7.1 Fill of Container 
7.1.1 Minimum Fill  
 The container should be well filled with the product (including packing medium when appropriate) which 
should occupy not less than 90% (minus any nece ssary head space according to good manufacturing 
practices) of the water capacity of the container. The water capacity of the container is the volume of distilled 
water at 20oC which the sealed container will hold when completely filled.  
7.1.2 Classification of “Defectives ” 
 A container that fails to meet the requirement for mi nimum fill of Section 7.1.1 should be considered as a 
“defective ”. 
7.1.3 Lot Acceptance  
 A lot should be considered as meeting the requ irement of Section 7.1.1 when the number of “defectives ”, as 
defined in Section 7.1.2, does not exceed the acceptan ce number (c) of the appropr iate sampling plan with 
an AQL of 6.5. 
                                                 
1  For products that are rendered comme rcially sterile in accordance with the Code of Hygienic Practice for Low and 
Acidified Low-Acid Canned Foods  (CXC 23-1979), microbiological criteria are not recommended as they do not offer 
benefit in providing the consumer with a food th at is safe and suitable for consumption. CXS 260-2007  5 
7.1.4 Minimum  Drained Weight  
7.1.4.1 The drained weight of the product should be not less than the following percentage s, calculated on the basis 
of the weight of distilled water at 20oC which the sealed container will hold when completely filled2.  
(a) Whole and Halves Style should not be less than 40% of the net weight; (b) Pieces Style and Other Styles should not be le ss than 50% of the net weigh t (except for pickled red 
cabbage should not be less than 45% of the net weight).  
7.1.4.2  Lot Acceptance  
 The requirements for minimum drained weight should be deemed to be complied  with when the average 
drained weight of all containers exam ined is not less than the minimum required, provided that there is no 
unreasonable shortage in individual containers. 
8. LABELLING 
8.1 The products covered by the provisions of this Standard shall be labelled in accordance with the General 
Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods  (CXS 1-1985). In addition, th e following specific provisions 
apply:  
8.2 Name  of the Product 
8.2.1  Pickled fruits and/or vegetables shall be labelled ac cording to the type and in combination with the name of 
major ingredient. Example - a pickle made from ginger shall be labelled “Pickled Ginger in Brine ”.  
8.2.2  The presentation style should be declared on the label of the food.  
8.2.3  The name of the product shall include the indication of the packing medium as set out in Section 2.1(d). 
8.3 Labelling  of Non-Retail Containers 
 Information for non-retail containers shall be given either on the container or in accompanying documents, 
except that the name of the product, lot identificati on, and the name and addr ess of the manufacturer, 
packer, distributor or importer, as well as storage instru ctions, shall appear on the container. However, lot 
identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distri butor or importer may be 
replaced by an identification mark, provided that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanying 
documents. 
9. METHODS OF ANALYSIS AND SAMPLING  
PROVISION  METHOD  PRINCIPLE TYPE 
Arsenic AOAC 952.13  
(Codex General Method) Colorimetry, diethyldithiocarbamate II 
ISO 6634:1982 Spectrophotometry,  
silver diethyldithiocarbamate III 
Benzoic acid NMKL 103 (1984); or AOAC 983.16 Gas Chromatography III 
NMKL 124 (1997) Liquid Chromatography II 
Drained weight AOAC 968.30 
(Codex General Method for  
processed fruits and vegetables) Sieving 
Gravimetry I 
Fill of containers CAC/RM 46-1972 
(Codex General Method for  
processed fruits and vegetables) Weighing I 
Lead AOAC 972.25 
(Codex General Method) Atomic absorption spectrophotometry 
(Flame absorption) III 
                                                 
2  For non-metallic rigid containers such as glass jars, the basis for the determination should be calculated on the 
weight of distilled water at 20 /g113C which the sealed container will hold when completely filled less 20 ml. CXS 260-2007  6 
PROVISION  METHOD  PRINCIPLE TYPE 
pH NMKL 179:2005 
Potentiometry II 
AOAC 981.12 III 
Sorbate NMKL 103 (1984); or AOAC 983.16 Gas Chromatography III 
NMKL 124 (1997) Liquid Chromatography II 
Sulphur Dioxide EN 1988-1:1998-02 
AOAC 990.28 
General method for sulphites  
(food additives) Optimized Monier- Williams method III 
Tin AOAC 980.19 
(Codex General Method) Atomic absorption spectrophotometry II 
DETERMINATION OF WATER CAPACITY OF CONTAINERS 
(CAC/RM 46-19723) 
1. SCOPE 
This method applies to glass containers4.  
2. DEFINITION 
The water capacity of a container is the volume of distilled water at 20°C which the sealed container will hold 
when completely filled. 
3. PROCEDURE 
3.1 Select a container which is undamaged in all respects. 
3.2 Wash, dry and weigh the empty container. 
3.3 Fill the container with distilled water at 20°C to the level of the top thereof, and weigh the container thus 
filled. 
4. CALCULATION AND EXPRESSION OF RESULTS 
Subtract the weight found in 3.2 from the weight found in 3.3. The difference shall be considered to be the 
weight of water required to fill the container. Results are expressed as ml of water.  
 
                                                 
3  As amended by the Committee on Methods of Anal ysis and Sampling, ALINORM 03/23, Appendix VI-H. 
4  For determination of water c apacity in metal containers the reference method is ISO 90.1:1986.