Canned pineapple: slices, chunks, tidbits and crushed explained

Canned pineapple is specified under Codex CXS 319-2015, Pineapples annex, which replaced CXS 42-1981. Slices are rings cut across the fruit. Chunks are pieces thicker and wider than 12 mm and shorter than 38 mm. Tidbits are wedges 8–13 mm thick. Crushed is finely cut or shredded fruit. Drained-weight minima are a share of the can’s water capacity, not net weight.

Which standard governs canned pineapple today?

The governing international text is Codex CXS 319-2015, Standard for Certain Canned Fruits, adopted in 2015 and amended in 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023. Pineapple sits in its own annex beside Mangoes and Pears. CXS 319 replaced the old commodity standards: CXS 42-1981 for pineapple, CXS 159-1987 for mangoes and CXS 61 for pears.

This matters because many packer sheets, and plenty of supplier pages, still cite CXS 42-1981 as the reference. A specification that names CXS 42 points at a text that no longer governs, so any dispute over style, fill or drained weight starts with an argument about which document applies. Write CXS 319-2015 into the purchase order and the question does not arise.

CXS 319 does not stand alone. For syrup definitions it refers to CXG 51-2003, Guidelines for Packing Media for Canned Fruits. For contaminants it refers to CXS 193-1995, the General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed. Import markets then add their own limits on top, as the EU does for tin and can coatings. The style, drained-weight and can-size values for a single canned line are set out in table form on the canned pineapple specification page. How the resulting figures should appear on a lab report is covered in how to read a fruit certificate of analysis.

What do slices, chunks, tidbits and crushed mean in millimetres?

The Pineapples annex of CXS 319-2015 defines each style by shape, and several by dimension. Tidbits are wedges 8–13 mm thick. Chunks are thicker and wider than 12 mm and shorter than 38 mm. Dice have a longest edge of 14 mm or less. Spears are mostly 65 mm or longer. Crushed is finely cut or shredded fruit and may include chips.

The full list of cored styles in the annex is longer than the four that appear in most trade enquiries. It runs: whole (cylinder), slices, half slices, quarter slices, broken slices, spears, tidbits, chunks, dice, pieces, chips and crushed. Slices, half slices, quarter slices and spears may also be packed uncored. If you want cored fruit, say so, because the standard allows both.

Two quality limits apply across styles. Residual core material may not exceed 7% of drained weight. Uniformity is set as a weight ratio. The heaviest unit may be no more than 1.4 times the lightest in slices and spears, and no more than 1.75 times in half and quarter slices. These ratios are what a QC bench checks with a scale, not by eye.

The style also tells you something about the fruit behind it. A Ginaca machine peels and cores fruit into a cylinder, and because the machine works a fixed diameter band, fruit size at intake tends to steer which styles a lot can yield. A full ring needs fruit with enough diameter and a straight, centred core, which points to larger Cayenne-type fruit. Smaller fruit such as the Queen type suits cut styles that do not need a full ring: tidbits, chunks and crushed. Compare this with how cut styles work in frozen product in the IQF pineapple specification.

How should the syrup or juice be specified?

Specify the packing medium as a cut-out Brix range, not a name. Under the CXG 51-2003 framework, extra light syrup is 10–14 °Brix, light syrup 14–18 °Brix, heavy syrup 18–22 °Brix and extra heavy above 22 °Brix. Three independent texts agree on the 10/14/18/22 boundaries: the CXG 51 draft held by FAO, India’s FSSAI, and the US fruit cocktail rule 21 CFR 145.135.

The mango column explains why the name alone is not a specification. A draft Gulf standard for canned mango, GSO 05/FDS 951/2014 (notified to the WTO as KWT/15_0811), puts heavy syrup at 18 to under 24 °Brix. The CXG 51 framework stops heavy syrup at 22. That text covers mango, not pineapple. It still shows that the word “heavy” can carry two different upper limits in two markets. A lot at 23 °Brix is heavy syrup under one reading and extra heavy under the other. Write the number.

Brix is measured cut-out: after the can has been opened and the fruit and syrup have reached equilibrium, not at the filler. CXS 319 assesses compliance on the average, but no single container may fall into the next Brix category. A sample average of 16 °Brix with one can at 18.5 is a failure for light syrup.

Syrup is not the only option. CXS 319 permits water, fruit juice, water plus juice, and sweetened juice. The Pineapples annex specifically allows clarified pineapple juice. Under CXS 319 §8.2.3 the medium is declared next to the product name on the label, as in “in light syrup” or “in pineapple juice”. The PO medium and the label medium should match.

What is drained weight measured against?

Under Codex, drained weight is measured against the water capacity of the can. Most trade documents measure it against net weight. CXS 319-2015 sets the pineapple minima as a percentage of water capacity. Packer sheets, retail labels and trade conversation usually give drained weight divided by net weight. The two figures can both read “58%” and describe different cans.

Water capacity under CXS 319 §7.1.1 is the volume of distilled water at 20 °C that fills the sealed container. For rigid non-metal containers such as glass jars, 20 ml is deducted. Net weight is a mass that includes syrup at 14–22 °Brix, which is denser than water. A US #10 can holds roughly three US quarts, about 3,000–3,100 ml according to University of Nebraska–Lincoln guidance on can size numbers. Its trade net weight is about 3,000–3,050 g. Close is not equal, and a sheet that states “DW 58%” without a basis cannot be compared with the Codex floor.

The Codex drained-weight floor for canned pineapple is not one number. Under the Pineapples annex of CXS 319-2015, regular-pack slices, chunks, tidbits and spears must drain to at least 58% of the container’s water capacity. Regular-pack crushed pineapple and chips must reach 63%. Heavy-pack tidbits, dice, pieces, chips and crushed must reach 73%, and solid-pack chips and crushed must reach 78%. A separate fill rule requires fruit plus packing medium to occupy at least 90% of water capacity, so a can may pass drained weight and still be short-filled. Water capacity is defined in CXS 319 §7.1.1 as the volume of distilled water at 20 °C that fills the sealed container. To turn any of these percentages into a gram floor for a purchase order, take the water capacity of the exact can in millilitres and multiply by the percentage for the style and pack.

That calculation is the whole method. Ask the packer to state the water capacity of the can by its dimension code, apply the percentage for the style, and write the resulting gram figure into the PO beside the percentage. A single drained-weight figure applied across a range also hides a gap: a 58% clause covering crushed lets crushed in 5 points below its own floor.

VinFruits Global writes the drained-weight minimum into the specification as a share of the can’s water capacity, the Codex basis, so the figure on the sheet and the figure in the standard are the same number.

Commercial drained weights are set by contract above the Codex floor and vary by packer and fruit. No published drained weight for pineapple in A10 or A2 was found; set it in the contract, on the water-capacity basis.

Is “heavy pack” the same as “heavy syrup”?

No. Heavy syrup is a packing-medium band of 18–22 °Brix. Heavy pack is a fill style with little or no liquid and a drained-weight floor of 73% of water capacity. The Pineapples annex of CXS 319 uses the word “heavy” for both. They describe different products with different drained-weight floors.

A PO line that reads “tidbits, heavy” can mean two things:

1. A regular-pack can of tidbits in 18–22 °Brix syrup, with a drained-weight floor of 58% of water capacity.
2. A heavy-pack can of tidbits, with a drained-weight floor of 73% of water capacity and far less liquid.

The second has a drained-weight floor about a quarter higher than the first. A buyer who meant the first and a packer who quoted the second will not discover the gap until a can is opened on the QC bench.

The styles allowed in each pack are also restricted. Heavy pack is defined only for tidbits, dice, pieces, chips and crushed. Solid pack is defined only for chips and crushed. Slices and spears cannot be heavy-packed or solid-packed under the annex, so “slices, heavy pack” names a product the standard does not define. If a quote reads that way, the quote is ambiguous; confirm in writing whether it means slices in heavy syrup.

The fix is two separate fields on the PO: one for pack (regular, heavy or solid) and one for medium (stated as a cut-out Brix range).

Which can is A10, A2 and #2½?

Name the can by its three-digit dimension code. Nicknames drift between markets. A10 is 603 × 700 (157 × 178 mm). A2 is 307 × 409 (87 × 116 mm). #2½ is 401 × 411 (103 × 119 mm). In US convention, the first digit of each group is whole inches and the next two are sixteenths, so 603 is 6 3/16 inches across.

The common error is between A2 and #2½. In Asian trade usage, A2 means the 565 g can, about a US #2. Documents often treat A2 as #2½, which is a different can of 820–850 g. An A2 at 565 g is about 32% lighter than a #2½ at 820–850 g, so a container costed on one can and packed in the other is out by that gap on every can. The dimension code removes the ambiguity. Write it in the PO and state that the code governs over any name.

Can size also matters at the border. Canned pineapple classifies under HS 2008.20, a subheading specific to pineapple. The EU Combined Nomenclature splits 2008.20 by sugar content and by whether the immediate package holds more than 1 kg. An A10 at about 3 kg and an A2 at 565 g therefore fall on different 8-digit lines. Check the exact lines and duties in TARIC for your Brix and can size. No duty figure is given here.

What should the certificate of analysis and the PO say?

The certificate of analysis for a lot of canned pineapple should report:

• drained weight in grams, with the basis stated (% of water capacity),
• cut-out Brix,
• pH,
• inorganic tin against the destination limit,
• for EU shipments, a declaration that the can lining contains no BPA.

Each item maps to a named instrument.

pH. The FDA’s Approximate pH of Foods lists canned pineapple at 3.35–4.10. Under 21 CFR 114.3(a), a food with a natural pH of 4.6 or below is an acid food and falls outside Parts 113 and 114. The FCE registration (Form FDA 2541) and process filing required for low-acid and acidified canned foods do not apply to plain canned pineapple. Some US importers are reported to ask for them anyway; the rule does not require them. Under 21 CFR 114.3(b), “tropical fruits” with added acid become acidified foods, so the answer can change for a mixed pack that adds low-acid fruit.

Tin. Regulation (EU) 2023/915 sets inorganic tin at 200 mg/kg for canned foods other than beverages, 100 mg/kg for canned beverages and 50 mg/kg for canned infant food. Codex CXS 193 allows 250 mg/kg. A COA marked “compliant with Codex” can therefore sit between 200 and 250 mg/kg and still fail at an EU border. Ask whether the tin result was taken at production or after storage.

BPA. Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 of 19 December 2024 bans bisphenol A in food-contact materials, including can coatings. The main transition ended on 20 July 2026. Single-use packaging already on the market before that date may be filled and sealed for 12 more months. A later deadline of 20 January 2028 applies to certain fruit, vegetable and fish packaging. Whether canned pineapple falls under that later date has not been confirmed, so treat it as covered by the ban now and require a BPA-NI lining with the can maker’s declaration.

Clauses a buyer can paste into a purchase order:

1. Standard: Codex CXS 319-2015, Pineapples annex. CXS 42-1981 does not apply.
2. Style: tidbits per CXS 319-2015 Pineapples annex (wedges 8–13 mm thick), cored, regular pack.
3. Packing medium: light syrup, cut-out Brix 14–18 °Brix; no single container outside this range.
4. Drained weight: not less than 58% of the water capacity of the container per CXS 319-2015 (regular-pack tidbits); seller to state the water capacity of the can in ml, and the gram floor, calculated as that water capacity in ml × 0.58, is written into this clause in grams before signature.
5. Fill: product plus packing medium not less than 90% of water capacity.
6. Can: 307 × 409 (A2); dimension code governs over trade name.
7. Tin: inorganic tin ≤ 200 mg/kg, Regulation (EU) 2023/915.
8. Lining: BPA-NI, with the can maker’s declaration of compliance with Regulation (EU) 2024/3190.

Common questions

What is the difference between pineapple chunks and tidbits?

Under Codex CXS 319-2015, Pineapples annex, tidbits are wedge-shaped pieces 8–13 mm thick. Chunks are short thick pieces more than 12 mm thick and wide and less than 38 mm long. Both share a regular-pack drained-weight floor of 58% of water capacity. Of the two, only tidbits may be heavy-packed, which raises the floor to 73%.

Is Codex STAN 42-1981 still the standard for canned pineapple?

No. CXS 42-1981 was replaced by CXS 319-2015, Standard for Certain Canned Fruits, which covers pineapple in a dedicated annex alongside mangoes and pears. CXS 319 was adopted in 2015 and amended in 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023. A specification or certificate that still cites CXS 42 refers to a superseded text and should be corrected.

What Brix is heavy syrup in canned pineapple?

Under the CXG 51-2003 framework that CXS 319 refers to, heavy syrup is 18–22 °Brix, measured cut-out after equilibrium. FSSAI and the US fruit cocktail rule use the same boundaries. Some regional texts set the upper limit higher, so state the Brix range as numbers in the contract. No single can may fall into the next band.

Why does drained weight on a supplier sheet differ from the Codex figure?

Codex CXS 319 expresses minimum drained weight as a percentage of the can’s water capacity, which is the volume of distilled water at 20 °C that fills the sealed can. Supplier sheets usually divide drained weight by net weight instead. Ask the packer for the water capacity of the exact can, multiply it by the Codex percentage, and write the gram floor into the order.

Does canned pineapple need FCE and SID filing for the United States?

Under 21 CFR 114.3(a), a food with a natural pH of 4.6 or below is an acid food outside Parts 113 and 114. The FDA lists canned pineapple at pH 3.35–4.10, so FCE registration and process filing for low-acid or acidified foods do not apply to it. A mixed pack that adds acid to low-acid fruit can change that answer.