How wholesale date products are graded, packed and shipped
What the grades mean, which specification numbers matter for whole dates, paste and syrup, and how each format is packed for export.
“Dates” covers several distinct products for a buyer: whole fruit, pitted and diced fruit, paste and syrup. Each has its own grading language and its own packing conventions. Here is what to ask for.
Whole and pitted dates
The first questions are variety and calibre. Variety sets the texture and flavour — a soft, caramel Medjool behaves very differently from a firmer, drier Deglet Nour. Calibre is given as grams per date or count per kilogram, and it matters for both retail presentation and line settings. Then confirm moisture, whether the fruit is naturally soft or has been rehydrated, and the tolerance for defects such as skin separation and sugar crystallisation.
Diced dates
Diced dates are pitted, cut to a piece size, and coated — usually with rice flour or oat fibre — so they do not clump in a hopper. Specify the piece size and the coating. The coating is an ingredient and an allergen consideration, so it needs to appear on your documentation.
Date paste
Paste is milled whole fruit. Specify moisture (typically 18 to 22 per cent), whether rice flour is added for handling, and the pit-fragment tolerance if you run detection equipment. Block paste is cheaper; bag-in-box doses more easily.
Date syrup
Syrup is specified on Brix (usually 72 to 75 degrees), pH, and whether it is pure date extract or blended with grape or glucose syrup for colour or cost. Ask for the sugar profile if you are using it to replace another sweetener.
Packing and shipping
Whole dates ship in 5 or 10 kg cartons, or consumer packs to your artwork. Paste ships in 20 to 28 kg cases. Syrup ships in 25 kg jerricans, 300 kg IBCs, or flexitank for a full container of a single grade. Dates do not need refrigeration in transit but should be kept out of heat; syrup and paste are microbiologically stable at their solids level but should be protected from dilution.
Documentation
Expect a certificate of analysis against the agreed specification, a certificate of origin, and — for some destinations — a phytosanitary or health certificate. See how Fovarya handles quality and compliance, or go straight to the date products range.
Sourcing this ingredient in bulk?
Fovarya supplies it to a set specification with export documentation handled. Tell us your market and volume for a quote.