Wake up and smell the new coffee rules

People who choose to drink this kind of instant coffee were worried when they heard about the regulations, because it initially seemed that it would not fit into any of the new categories. However, according to Nestlè, owner of the NESCAFÉ Ricoffy brand, it falls under the “Instant chicory and coffee extract” category in the new regulations.

“In its present composition, it meets the requirements of this category and therefore the recipe or compositional make-up of the product will not change,” a spokesperson said.

The new regulations relating to coffee, chicory and related products, were made in terms of the Agricultural Product Standards Act, and will come into operation 12 months after publication of the regulations on 30 October this year.

Exemptions

According to the new regulations, all coffee, chicory and related products must be sold according to the categories in the new regulations, but the regulation will not apply to the sale of:

• green coffee beans intended for further processing and/or roasting purposes
• coffee, chicory and related products prepared and served on the premises in ready-to-drink form, such as coffee sold at a restaurant, coffee shop, club, canteen, a fixed or mobile stall, or any other catering establishment
• products based on coffee, chicory and related products sold under a specific designation or variant name such as Cappuccino, Cafe latte, Mocha or Macchiato
• a ready-to-drink hot or cold drink served at a restaurant, coffee shop, club, canteen, a fixed or mobile stall, or any other catering establishment or
• an instant powder at shops and premix coffee, chicory and related products.

Coffee categories

The categories of coffee, chicory and related products are:

• Roasted coffee beans: the whole green coffee beans of any species of Coffea, such as Coffea Arabica L., Coffea Robusta Chev. and Coffea liberica Hiern that have been cleaned properly and are free from any insect and fungal infestation and roasted to the desired intensity to achieve a certain flavour profile with a moisture content of not more than 5.0%.
• Ground coffee: roasted coffee beans that have been ground to make an infusion or decoction that contain less than 1% coffee bean husks, free from fungal infestation, containing no chicory, added foodstuffs or food additives and a moisture content of less than 5.0%.
• Instant coffee: dried soluble solids obtained by spray drying or freeze drying freshly roasted coffee beans that contain only the soluble and aromatic constituents of coffee in free-flowing powder, agglomerated or granule form and can contain food additives.
• Instant coffee (soluble coffee extract): recovered volatile coffee aromas may be added.
• Decaffeinated coffee: freshly roasted decaffeinated green beans that have been ground to deliver a product similar to ground coffee that contains less than 0.1% of anhydrous caffeine and can contain food additives.
• Decaffeinated instant coffee: the dried soluble solids obtained by spray drying or freeze drying freshly roasted decaffeinated green beans to deliver a product similar to instant coffee (soluble coffee extract) that does not contain more that 0.3% of anhydrous caffeine and can contain food additives.
• Coffee essence (liquid coffee extract/ concentrate): the concentrated essence or liquid extract obtained from ground coffee, with or without the addition of glycerol and/or sugar, but no added foodstuffs or food additives.
• Mixed coffee (coffee mixture): ground coffee and chicory only, provided that ground coffee constitutes at least 75% of the mixture.
• Instant chicory (soluble chicory extract): dried soluble solids obtained by spray drying or freeze drying roasted chicory in the form of a powder, agglomerated, granules or other solid form with a chicory-based dry matter content of at least 95%.
• Chicory extract paste: chicory extract in the form of a paste with a chicory-based dry matter content of at least 70% but not more than 85%.
• Liquid chicory extract: chicory extract in the liquid form with a chicory-based dry matter content of at least 25% but not more than 55%.
• Coffee and chicory mixture: a mixture of ground coffee and chicory, provided that ground coffee constitutes at least 50% of the mixture and it can contain added sugar and/or food additives.
• Coffee and chicory essence: concentrated essence or liquid extract obtained from the coffee and chicory mixture with or without the addition of glycerol and/or sugar.
• Instant coffee and chicory extract: dried soluble solids obtained by spray drying or freeze drying in the form of powder, agglomerated or granule form and can contain added sugar and/or food additives.
• Chicory and coffee mixture: a mixture of chicory and ground coffee, provided that chicory constitutes at least 50% and can contain added sugar and/or food additives.
• Instant chicory and coffee extract: the dried soluble solids obtained by spray drying or freeze drying to form a powder, agglomerated or granule form and can contain added sugar and/or food additives.

Not allowed

Producers are not allowed to use any word, mark, illustration, depiction or other method of expression that constitutes a misrepresentation regarding the quality, nature, category, origin or composition of coffee, chicory or a related product.

Mixed coffee, chicory or coffee and chicory mixtures cannot be marked as “100%”, “100% pure” “100% coffee”, “100% pure coffee”, “pure coffee” or “pure”. Also, these products cannot carry any claims regarding the absence of any substance that does not normally occur in it.

The word “instant” can only be used for instant coffee, decaffeinated instant coffee, instant chicory, instant coffee and chicory extract, as well as instant chicory and coffee extract.

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