Food Grade (food-grade CO₂)
Also known as: food grade material · food-grade gas
A quality classification for CO₂ or materials confirming they meet the purity standards required for direct contact with food or beverages — relevant for biogas CO₂ off-gas that can be captured and so
Last updated
Beyond definitions
Planning to start a CBG business?
Get the full business understanding — capex, regulations, machinery, vendor questions, and risk checks before you commit capital.
What is Food Grade?
Food Grade is a regulatory and quality classification confirming that a substance — CO₂, packaging material, processing aid, or ingredient — meets the purity, contamination, and traceability standards required for direct or indirect contact with food and beverages. For CO₂ produced as a co-product of biogas upgrading, achieving Food Grade certification unlocks premium markets in carbonated beverages, beer, modified atmosphere packaging, dry ice for cold-chain logistics, and refrigerated transport.
In India, food-grade CO₂ is governed by multiple frameworks:
- FSSAI standards — under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, CO₂ used in beverages is a permitted additive (INS 290) subject to identity and purity criteria
- BIS IS 15222 — specifies food-grade CO₂ purity at minimum 99.9% v/v, with limits on water (≤20 ppm), oxygen (≤30 ppm), CO (≤10 ppm), NOx (≤2.5 ppm), H₂S (≤0.1 ppm), and total sulphur (≤0.1 ppm)
- ISBT (International Society of Beverage Technologists) guidelines — voluntary but widely adopted by Indian beverage majors
- HACCP and ISO 22000 — supply-chain traceability and food safety management systems
For a CBG plant capturing CO₂ off-gas from amine scrubbing, achieving Food Grade requires an additional purification train: catalytic oxidation to remove trace VOCs and odour compounds, activated carbon polishing for residual hydrocarbons, molecular sieve drying, and cryogenic distillation to remove non-condensable gases. Total capex for a food-grade CO₂ recovery skid handling 5–10 TPD of CO₂ runs ₹2.5–5 crore.
The commercial trade-off is between volume and price. Industrial-grade CO₂ from CBG sells for ₹2,000–3,500 per tonne to welding, fire-suppression, and EOR markets. Food-grade CO₂ sells for ₹7,000–12,000 per tonne to beverage and packaging buyers, but requires sustained customer audits, traceability documentation, and ISO/HACCP certification. Only CBG plants located within 200–300 km of beverage bottling clusters (Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, NCR) typically find food-grade economics viable.
Common questions about Food Grade
Plain-English answers to what people most often ask.
Can I sell the CO₂ from my biogas upgrading unit directly to a beverage company?
What is food-grade stainless steel and when is it required?
Want the full picture, not just the term?
Adhāra Viveka gives you structured clarity on capital-intensive recycling and renewable-energy sectors — before you commit money or engage vendors.