Golden Raisins

SO₂-treated Malayar & Thompson golden, by berry count

Golden raisins are not simply a colour of raisin — they are a process. The berry is dipped in an alkaline emulsion, sulphured with SO₂ and tunnel-dried under controlled heat rather than left in the sun, which is what arrests enzymatic browning and holds the bright amber-to-pale-gold colour that the grade sells on. That process is the whole commercial story: CBIL brokers golden raisins (Malayar from Iran, golden Thompson Seedless from India's Nashik and Sangli belts, and Turkish Type 9/10 golden) graded first on berry count per 100 g — typically 220–260 for jumbo through to 400+ for small — then on colour band against the physical standard, then on Sortex class (single, double or triple pass, which governs cap, stem, capstem and sub-standard berry carry-over). Moisture normally runs 13–16%; below 13% the berry hardens and lifts your bakery reject rate, above 16% it clumps and invites mould in a dry container. Sugar sits around 68–72% on a dry basis. SO₂ is the variable that decides which market you can sell into: we arrange lots at ≤ 1,000 ppm for general trade, ≤ 500 ppm where a destination or customer caps it, and genuinely SO₂-free golden where the buyer is clean-label — accepting that SO₂-free material browns over shelf-life and is a different product commercially.

Buy golden over its siblings when the raisin is visible in the finished product and the colour is doing the selling: muesli and breakfast cereal, premium retail packs, gifting mixes, panettone and fruited bakery, and confectionery where a dark berry would read as a defect. If the berry is going into a dark dough, a chocolate coating or a paste, you are paying a sulphuring and tunnel-drying premium for colour nobody sees — black or sultana material does the same job cheaper. Every lot we arrange ships against SGS or Intertek certification of moisture, SO₂ ppm, sugar, foreign matter, capstem count, mould-and-damage percentage and pesticide residue to your destination's MRLs, with phytosanitary documentation. Supply is structured in 10 kg and 12.5 kg lined cartons and 14 kg bags, dry or reefer container, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms — send us your count, colour band and SO₂ ceiling and we will match origin to it.