The Tanzania Bureau of Standards has released Draft Tanzania Standard AFDC 15 (2800) DTZS, establishing specifications for soft candies intended for human consumption. The draft standard aims to ensure the safety, quality, and uniformity of soft candy products manufactured or traded in Tanzania.
Soft candies are defined as soft, chewable confectionery products produced by cooking carbohydrate-based ingredients such as sugar, glucose syrup, invert sugar, polyols, or polydextrose, combined with edible fats, emulsifiers, and other permitted ingredients. The draft also recognizes soft dairy or milk candies, filled soft candies, and coated soft candies as product variations.
Under the proposed requirements, soft candies must have uniform color, shape, and size, a soft and chewy texture, and a characteristic flavor free from rancidity, bitterness, or burnt odor. The product must also be free from extraneous substances, impurities, visible fungal growth, and other contamination.
The standard specifies essential ingredients including sugar, corn flour, water, and gelatin, while optional ingredients may include honey, fruits, nuts, cocoa products, vitamins and minerals, lecithin, xanthan gum, rice syrup, modified corn starch, and other ingredients suitable for human consumption. For dairy-based soft candies, milk protein content must be at least 2%.
The draft sets specific compositional limits, including a maximum moisture content of 18%, acid-insoluble ash not exceeding 0.2%, sulphated ash up to 1.5%, and minimum reducing sugars of 10% (dry basis). Microbiological criteria require absence of Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, while yeasts and moulds must not exceed 10² CFU/g.
Food additives used in soft candies must comply with the Codex Alimentarius Commission General Standard for Food Additives (CXS 192), and contaminants such as heavy metals must meet limits established under Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food (CXS 193).
The standard also includes provisions for sampling, hygiene practices, packaging, and labeling, requiring food-grade packaging and labels that clearly indicate the product name, manufacturer details, batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates, net weight, country of origin, ingredient list, storage instructions, brand name, and allergen declaration.
The proposed standard is intended to support consumer protection, improve product consistency, and align Tanzania’s confectionery regulations with international food safety standards.