China's current specification is Table 2 of the annex to Announcement No. 8 of 2016, with eight items.
| Item | Requirement |
|---|
| Glucosylated steviol glycosides (GSG), w/% | ≥ 75.0 |
| Reb A plus stevioside, w/% | ≤ 6.0 |
| Reb A, w/% | ≤ 4.0 |
| Stevioside, w/% | ≤ 4.0 |
| Maltodextrin, w/% | ≤ 20.0 |
| Optical rotation | +65° to +75° |
| Relative density | 0.2 to 0.6 |
| pH | 4.5 to 7.0 |
Table 1 - The eight items of the Chinese national specification for GSG.
These eight items contain no heavy metals, microbiological limits, solvent residues or pesticide residues. Those categories have to be added according to the customer's specification or the requirements of the destination market.
Content is controlled on two sides
One side requires GSG at 75% or more; the other holds the unreacted substrate down, with Reb A and stevioside together at no more than 6%. GSG itself is not measured directly: under the method in the annex it is obtained by subtracting unreacted steviol glycosides from total glycosides. When reading a GSG certificate of analysis, look at the GSG content and the dextrin residue together - a COA that declares only one of the two cannot be graded.
The EU specification is stricter
The EU requirement goes beyond the Chinese standard: total glycosides (glycosylated portion plus unreacted substrate) at 95% minimum, on a dry basis with dextrin deducted; the glycosylated portion at 80%-92% of total glycosides and the unreacted substrate at 5%-15%; and the enzyme must come from the non-GMO strain Anoxybacillus caldiproteolyticus St-88. Product exported to the EU has to meet these conditions on top of the Chinese national standard.
Exporting GSG to the EU? We can supply a COA matched to the EU specification. Talk to our team
Read the COA on both figures - GSG content and dextrin residue - and check which market the specification was written for.
Primary sources: Table 2 of the annex to Announcement No. 8 of 2016 (China); (EU) 2023/447
Related products: GSG Series