A dehydrated garlic powder specification should fix the particle size by mesh, a maximum moisture, a colour reference, a pungency check, microbiological limits, the treatment (steam sterilised or untreated, never ETO) and pesticide limits for your market. Each limit needs a named test method, and every lot should be checked against an approved reference sample.
Garlic powder looks simple, but it is the form most likely to cause complaints: it cakes, it loses strength in storage and it carries more microbiological risk than large flakes. A clear spec is what lets you reject a bad lot instead of arguing about it.
How garlic powder is made
Cloves are separated, peeled, sliced, washed and dried on belt dryers into flakes. The flakes are then milled and sieved. Powder is the finest fraction, while coarser fractions become granules and minced. That means your powder is only as good as the flakes it was milled from, and a plant that buys flakes from others and only mills them has less control over the result. Our guide to the forms of dehydrated garlic available explains the other cuts, and garlic powder vs garlic granules helps if you are still choosing between the two.
The core specification
- Particle size: powder is commonly quoted as passing 80 or 100 mesh. State the sieve standard or the aperture in microns, and set a limit on oversize.
- Moisture: Indian suppliers commonly offer a maximum of around 6 percent. Name the method, usually loss on drying, and the sampling point.
- Colour: cream to light yellow is normal for Indian garlic. Agree a sealed reference sample rather than a word.
- Pungency: either a sensory test against the reference or a chemical measure such as allicin potential, with the lab and method named. See what allicin or pungency dehydrated garlic should have.
- Ash and acid-insoluble ash: a check on soil and grit. Set limits from tested samples.
- Foreign matter and metal: a statement that the product is sieved and passed through a metal detector, with detector sensitivity if your customer asks.
- Additives: whether a flow agent such as silicon dioxide is allowed. If it is, it changes your ingredient label.
Microbiology and treatment
Set limits for total plate count, yeast and mould, coliforms, E. coli and Salmonella (absent in a stated sample size). Untreated garlic powder can carry high counts, so many food manufacturers buy steam-sterilised powder. Steam treatment lowers counts but can reduce pungency slightly and raise moisture if the plant does not dry it back down, so approve a treated sample, not an untreated one. Steam-sterilised vs untreated dehydrated onion explains the trade-off, which works the same way for garlic.
Write "no ethylene oxide treatment" into the spec and test for ETO and 2-chloroethanol if you sell into the EU or UK. See why 2-chloroethanol is tested.
Residues and market limits
Pesticide limits are set by your market, not by India. Ask the laboratory to report against EU, UK, US, Codex or your own country's maximum residue levels, as relevant. Garlic is a long-season crop and spray practice varies by farm and region, so test every lot rather than relying on one report per supplier. Use an accredited laboratory, as explained in whether NABL lab reports are accepted in the EU, US and UK.
Packing and shelf life
Garlic powder is hygroscopic. Specify a sealed inner liner, often a polyethylene bag inside a carton, and ask how soon after milling the plant packs. Suppliers commonly state a shelf life of around 12 to 24 months for sealed packs stored cool and dry, but strength falls faster than colour, so set a point at which you retest pungency. The guides on shelf life and packing in cartons, liners or bags cover the detail.
Buying tips
- Compare samples of the same mesh, tested by the same lab with the same methods.
- Ask which crop year the lot comes from. Fresh garlic is harvested roughly February to April, and new crop powder usually smells stronger.
- Ask whether the plant dries its own garlic or buys flakes in. How to choose a dehydrated garlic manufacturer in India covers the questions.
- Compare quotes on the same incoterm, packing and microbiological spec, or you are not comparing like with like.
- Keep a retained sample of every lot until it is past its shelf life.
How Creston & Co helps
We help you turn your requirements into a written spec, collect garlic powder samples from plants that dry and mill in house, and send them to an NABL-accredited lab for moisture, microbiology, ETO and residues against your market's limits. Once you approve a lot, we check later lots against it and supervise loading, for one written fee agreed in advance. See our dehydrated garlic page, or book a free sourcing review.