5.2.2. Chemical characteristics of black pepper are specified in Table 2.

Table 2 - Chemical characteristics of black pepper

Characteristics

Requirements

Pepper NP or SP

Pepper P

Ground pepper

1. Moisture content, % (m/m) max.

13,0

...

...

...

12,5

2. Total ash, % (m/m) max., on dry basis

7,0

6,0

6,0

3. Non-volatile ether extract, % (m/m) min., on dry basis

6,0

6,0

6,0

...

...

...

2,0

2,0

1,0

5. Piperine content, % (m/m) min., on dry basis

4,0

4,0

4,0

6. Acid-insoluble ash, % (m/m) max., on dry basis

-

...

...

...

1,2

7. Crude fibre, insoluble index, % (m/m) max., on dry basis

-

-

17,5

5.3. Microbial requirements

Microbial requirements of black pepper are specified in Table 3.

Table 3 - Microbial requirements of black pepper

Characteristics

...

...

...

1. Total number of aerobic microorganisms and bacteria 1 mg of product

10⁴

2. Coliforms, number of colonies in 1 mg of product

10²

3. E.coli, number of colonies in 1 mg of product

3

4. S.aureus, number of colonies in 1 mg of product

10²

5. Salmonella, number of colonies in 25 mg of product

...

...

...