Honey, Ginger and Tulsi Syrup Blend

This is a compounded syrup, not a single ingredient, and it is specified as one. The base is natural honey; the botanicals are ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae, rhizome) and tulsi or holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum L., synonym Ocimum sanctum L., Lamiaceae, leaf). Ginger is carried as fresh juice, aqueous decoction or a standardised extract assayed on 6-gingerol by HPLC. Tulsi is carried as leaf decoction or standardised extract; the usual assay is triterpene acids (ursolic plus oleanolic), with leaf powder from around 0.5 per cent upward and standardised extracts commonly at 2.5 to 5 per cent. Chemotype matters when you set the aroma profile: the Rama green-leaf type runs higher in eugenol, the Krishna purple-leaf type richer in ursolic acid. The honey base is where most of the commercial risk sits, so it is tested hard. Indian compositional limits are moisture not above 20 per cent, total reducing sugars not below 65 per cent, sucrose not above 5 per cent and a fructose-to-glucose ratio of 0.95 to 1.20. Hydroxymethylfurfural is limited to 80 mg/kg under the Indian tropical limit, against 40 mg/kg in Codex CXS 12-1981 for non-tropical honey, so the destination limit needs naming at order. Authenticity work covers C4 sugar by stable carbon isotope ratio analysis, which India treats as significant at or above 7 per cent, foreign oligosaccharides for starch-syrup detection, and the specific marker for rice syrup (2-acetylfuran-3-glucopyranoside), reinstated by FSSAI in 2020. Trace marker for rice syrup and NMR profiling sit outside the current FSSAI standard but can be run on request. Declare the origin honestly downstream: honey is a bee product, which makes the blend vegetarian but not vegan, and no bovine, porcine, fish or crustacean material is used at any stage. The base recipe carries no milk, egg, soy, gluten, fish, crustacean or tree nut. One safety point belongs on every pack: honey-containing products should not be given to infants under 12 months, following FDA, CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics advice on Clostridium botulinum spores in honey. Buyers selling into India should also check the current Schedule IV botanical list and daily usage limits under the FSSAI health supplements and nutraceuticals regulations. Thovek supplies composition and analytical data only, with no therapeutic representation.