GCC STANDARDIZATION ORGANIZATION (GSO) 
  
  
  
  
  
 ﻨﻬﺎﺌﻲﻤﺸﺭﻭﻉ  
  
  
GSO5/1…./2008 
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
ﺍﻟﻤﺠﻔﻑ  ﺍﻟﺘﻴﻥ 
DRIED FIGS  
 
  
 
 
   
  
    
  
Prepared by: 
 
Gulf technical committee for standards of food and agriculture products 
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
This document is a draft Gulf  standard circulated for comments, it is therefore, 
subject to change, and may not be referre d it as a Gulf standard, until approved by 
the Board of Directors.  . GULF STANDARD GSO ......./2008
 
2 Foreword  
  
 
 
 
Standardization Organization for G CC (GSO) is a regional Organization 
which consists of the National Standard s Bodies of GCC me mber States. One 
of GSO main functions is to issue Gulf Standards /Technical regulation 
through specialized technical committees (TCs). 
 
GSO through the technical progra m of committee TC No 5  "  The Gulf 
Technical Committee for Food and Ag ricultural Standards Products" has 
prepared this Standard .  The Draf t Standard has been prepared by ( KINGDOM 
OF SAUDI ARABIA      ) 
 
 The draft Standard has been prepared based on re levant ADMO, International 
and National foreign Sta ndards and references. 
 
This standard has been approved as Gu lf (Standard / Technical Regulation)   
by GSO Board of Directors in its meeting No..../....  …….held on    /    /   /  H 
,  /    /   G GULF STANDARD GSO ......./2008
 
3 DRIED FIGS 
 
1. SCOPE  AND FIELD OF APPLICATION   
  This standard applies to the figs dried fr om ripe fruits of cultivars grown from 
(Ficus Carica L) and intended for direct consumption. 
 
2. COMPLEMENTARY REFERENCES 
2.1 GSO 9 “Labeling of prepackaged foods”.  
2.2 GSO 1287 “Methods of Sampling of Prepackaged Fruit and Vegetable 
Products”. 
2.3 GSO 21 “Hygienic Regulations for Food Plants and their Personnel”. 
2.4 GSO 244 “Fruits and Vegetable Products –First Part Orgnoleptic Examination 
of Apparent Viscosity Head Space, Extr ancons Matter and Defective Fruits”. 
2.5 GSO 299 “Methods of Test for Vegetables , Fruits and their Products, Part II: 
Determinations of Moisture , Total  Solids U-soluble in Alcohol, Total Ash, 
Calcium , Mineral Oil, Ascorbic Acid. 
2.6 GSO 356 “Preservatives Permitted for use in Food Products”.  2.7 GSO 1023 “Expiration Periods of Food Products”. 2.8 GSO 382 “Maximum Limits for Pestic ide Residues in Agricultural and Food 
Products – Part 1”. 
2.9 GSO 383 “Maximum Limits for Pestic ide Residues in Agricultural and Food 
Products – Part 2”. 
2.10 GSO 704 “Fruit and Vegetable Products – Determination of Mineral Impurities 
Content”. 
2.11 GSO 839 “Food Packages – Part 1 – General Requirements”. 2.12 GSO 988 “Radiation Levels Allo wed in Foodstuffs – Part I”. 
2.13 GSO 998 “Methods of Detecting Radiat ion Levels Permitted in Foodstuffs – 
Part I”. 
2.14 GSO 1016 “Microbiological Limits of F ood Articles and Foodstuffs – Part I”. 
2.15 GSO 1382 “Code of Hygienic Practice of Dried Fruits”. 
 
3. DEFINITIONS 
3.1 Dried figs:  Food product prepared  ripe fruits of  (Ficus  Carica L) after washing 
and cleaning. Using an appropriate drying method. GULF STANDARD GSO ......./2008
 
4 3.2 Defects 
3.2.1  Insect damaged:  Damage caused by insects and animal parasites, or the 
presence of dead insects or insect  debris visible to the naked eye. 
3.2.2   Mouldy: Mould filaments visibl e to the naked eye. 
3.2.3  Fermentation: Damage by fermentation to the extent that the characteristic 
appearance and/or flavour is substantially affected. 
3.2.4 Sunscald:  More than one-third of the surface of the fruit is affected. 
3.2.5   Split or torn:   More than one third of the length of the fruit is affected. 
3.2.6  Excessively dried:   Fruits with a hard rubbe ry texture, lacking taste. 
3.2.7 Foreign matter:  Any matter or material not usually associated with the 
product. 
4. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 
 In all classes subject to the special provisions for each class the dried figs must 
be: 
4.1 It shall be prepared, pr ocessed and prepackaged under sanitary conditions in 
accordance with the Gulf standards mentioned in items (2.3), (2.15). 
4.2 Intact, except the stem and the eye (ostio lum) ends of the figs may be cut off, 
and the fruit itself may be cut thr ough as required by marketing and 
manipulating practices (i.e. layer). 
4.3 Sound produce not affected by rotting or deterioration such as to make it unfit 
for consumption.  
4.4 Free of abnormal external moisture. 
4.5 Free of abnormal smell and taste. 
4.6 Free of living and dead insects or mite s whatever their stage of development, 
fumigated or otherwise disinfected  and subject to the tolerances. 
4.7 Clean, practically free of any visible foreign matter. 
4.8 The dried figs shall have a moisture content of not greater than 26 percent 
unless treated with suitable preservativ es in accordance with Gulf standard 
mentioned in item (2.6), in which case the moisture content should not exceed 30 percent. 
4.9 Preservatives like (SO
2) shall not exceed what stated in the Gulf standard 
mentioned in item (2.6). 
4.10 Mineral impurities should be limited to 1g/kg by weight. 
4.11 Permitted defects shall not exceed what is  stated in mentioned in item (6). 
4.12 Pesticide residues content shall not exceed what is stated in the Gulf standards 
mentioned in items (2.8 and 2.9). 
4.13 Radiation levels in the products shall not exceed what is stated  in Gulf standard 
mentioned in item (2.12). 
4.14 Microbiological limits shall comply with  the Gulf standard mentioned in item 
(2.14). 
 GULF STANDARD GSO ......./2008
 
5 5. CLASSIFICATION 
5.1 Dried figs are classified according qual ity in three classes defined below:  
5.1.1  Extra class 
 Dried figs in this class must be of  superior quality. They must have the 
characteristics of the variety and/or co mmercial type. In col our and size they 
must be uniform. They shall be practical ly free from defects within tolerances. 
They may have very slight blemishes pr ovided that these do  not detract from 
the general appearance of the produce, the quality, the cons ervation (keeping 
quality), or the presentation in the p ackage. They must have very well 
developed sugary tissue and softness of  the skin appropriate to the export 
period and variety. The number of fru it per kilogramme must not exceed 65. 
5.1.2 Class I 
 Dried figs in this class must be  of good quality. They must have the 
characteristics of the variety and/or co mmercial type. They must be sweet and 
practically uniform in colour. They must have well developed sugary tissue and softness of the skin according to the e xport period and variety. The number of 
fruit per kilogramme  must not exceed 120. 
5.1.3 Class II 
 This class includes dried figs which do not qualify for inclusion in the higher 
classes, but which satisfy the minimum requirements specified above. Defects 
of the skin, provided that they do not  detract from the eating quality, are 
permitted. 
5.2 Classification according to size 
 Sizing is determined by the number of fruits per kilogramme. The number of 
fruits in each size are shown in the following Table (1). 
Table 1 
Size number Number of fruit per kilogramme 
  
1 up to – 40 
2 41 – 45 
3 46 – 50 
4 51 – 55 
5 56 – 60 
6 61 – 65 
7 66 – 70 
8 71 – 80 
9 81 – 100 
10 101 – 120 
11 121 and over GULF STANDARD GSO ......./2008
 
6 6. PROVISIONS CONCERNING TOLERANCES 
 Tolerance in respect of quality and size, shall be allowed in each package for 
produce not satisfying the require ments of the class indicated. 
6.1 Quality tolerances  Percentage of defective fruit by wei ght in a minimum sample unit of 1000 g. 
 
Table (2)  
  Extra Class   Class I Class II 
1) Damage by:       
 a) Insects 9 12 16 
 b) Sunscald       
 c) Split or tom 8 10 25  d) Excessively dried 
 e) Other similar defects    
2) Mouldy or fermented 3 4 5 
3) Foreign matter 0.5 0.5 0.5 
Total  Tolerance  10 15 30 
 
6.2 Size tolerances  
 Size tolerances of dried figs  in a minimum sample of 1000 g. 
Table (3) 
Size number Weight range in grammes between 
the largest and smallest figs 
1-2 12 
3-6 10 
7-9 8 
10-11 6 
 
 Dried figs exceeding the weight range given above in table (3) should not be 
more than 20 per cent by weight in minimum sample of 1000 g. 
 
7. PACKAGING 
 Without prejudice to what is stated in the Gulf standard mentioned in item 
(2.11) the product shall be packed in suitable, clean  hermetically sealed 
containers that will maintain the hy gienic and the quality of the products. 
 
8. SAMPLING 
 Samples shall be taken according to the Gulf standard mentioned in item (2.2). 
 GULF STANDARD GSO ......./2008
 
7 9. TESTING 
 Tests shall be carried out on the repres entative sample taken according to item 
(8) to determine its compliance to this standard. 
9.1 Tests for determination of net wei ght, defective units and organoleptic 
examination shall be carried out accordi ng to the Gulf standard mentioned in 
item (2.4). 
9.2 Determination of moisture and tota l ash according to the Gulf standard 
mentioned in item (2.5). 
9.3 Determination of mineral impurities cont ent, shall be carried out according to 
the Gulf standard mentioned in item (2.10). 
9.4 Detection of limits of radiation levels shall be carried out according to the Gulf 
standard mentioned in item (2.13). 
 
10. LABELLING 
 Without prejudice to what is stated in the Gulf standard mentioned in item (2.1) 
the following shall be declared on each package. 
10.1 Name of product “Dried figs”. 10.2 No. of dried figs per pack and the grade. 10.3 Moisture content. 10.4 Preservatives if added. 10.5 Expiration periods for product according to the Gulf standard mentioned in 
item (2.7).  
 
11. TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 
11.1 Transportation of dried figs shall be w ith appropriate means so to protect it 
from  damage and spoilage.  
11.2 Storage of fried figs shall be done in  warehouse with a good ventilation and far 
from heat, humidity and contamination sources.