Overview
ISO 6755:2001 - "Dried sour cherries - Specification" provides international requirements for dried sour cherries (Prunus cerasus L.) intended for human consumption. This second edition (2001) updates the original 1984 version and sets quality, grading, testing, packaging and marking rules to ensure product safety, consistency and marketability.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope: Applies to whole, unpitted, ripe and sound dried sour cherries, sun- or artificially dried.
- Grading: Three grade designations with limits based on the number of fruits per 100 g and quality criteria:
- Extra: ≤ 100 fruits/100 g; strictest limits
- Class I: 101–125 fruits/100 g
- Class II: > 126 fruits/100 g (minimum standard if ungraded)
- Defect and foreign-matter limits (by grade): maximum percentages for
- pest‑infested and spoiled fruits
- extraneous matter (dirt, stems, leaf, dead insects)
- dried fruits other than sour cherry (e.g., sweet cherry)
- Moisture content: Maximum 25% (by mass) for all grades.
- Sensory requirements: Characteristic odour and taste of the variety; free from rancidity, mustiness and foreign odours.
- Hygiene and pests: Practically free from live mould, insects and other pests; minimal dead insect/rodent contamination visible to the naked eye or under specified magnification.
- Packaging & marking:
- Clean, non-reactive containers; wooden boxes lined if used.
- Typical consumer package sizes: 0.5 kg, 1.0 kg, 2.0 kg; cases up to 50 kg total.
- Mandatory labelling elements include product name, manufacturer, batch number, net mass, grade, producing country and optional ISO reference.
Test methods & inspection
- Annex A: Procedure to determine pest‑infested and spoiled fruit counts, and extraneous matter - typically using a ~200 g test portion, manual separation, counting and percentage calculations.
- Annex B: Entrainment (azeotropic) distillation method for moisture determination using toluene, specified apparatus, test portion (~15–17 g) and receiver volume read to 0.1 ml. Results expressed as % by mass.
- Sampling methodology is noted as subject of future ISO work; conformity testing follows the annex procedures.
Applications - who uses ISO 6755:2001
- Food processors, packers and dried‑fruit manufacturers for product specification and quality control.
- Exporters, importers and traders for contractual grading and compliance.
- Food testing laboratories for validated moisture and defect testing (Annex A/B).
- Regulatory and standards bodies for harmonized market surveillance and labelling enforcement.
Related standards
- Prepared by ISO/TC 34/SC 14 (fresh, dry and dried fruits & vegetables). Users should consider complementary ISO standards on food safety, laboratory methods and sampling as relevant.
Keywords: ISO 6755:2001, dried sour cherries specification, Prunus cerasus, moisture content, grading, packaging and marking, entrainment method, food quality standard, dried fruit testing.
