raisin
Enable an AI agent to recognise a raisin, assess its condition and suitability for an intended use, and decide whether to store, prepare, use, segregate or discard it.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise a raisin, assess its condition and suitability for an intended use, and decide whether to store, prepare, use, segregate or discard it.
A raisin is a marketable dried berry of Vitis vinifera L., prepared from sound grapes by drying (sun, shade, or mechanical), with or without alkaline dipping, sulfur bleaching, stemming, seeding or optional coating, and offered for direct consumption or bulk repacking; Codex CXS 67-1981 treats it as that product while excluding the small dried-currant type.
It can be Identify the dried grape and reconcile its commercial name with available origin and treatment evidence.; Inspect and sample a lot for texture, moisture behaviour, damage, stems, seeds and foreign material.; Separate acceptable fruit from damaged or suspect portions where the evidence supports that action.; Select storage conditions using product instructions, measured condition and exposure history.; Portion, chop, soak or incorporate raisins into a specified preparation when their condition and composition permit.; Hold, reject or discard raisins when evidence establishes unsuitability or leaves a critical safety question unresolved..
Distinguishing features
Establish that the fruit originated as a grape; small size or dark colour alone cannot distinguish a raisin from a dried berry.
Establish that the grape underwent drying; wrinkling alone does not distinguish a raisin from a deteriorating fresh grape.
Resolve the meaning of 'currant': a dried grape sold under that name may fit this model, whereas a dried Ribes fruit does not.
Use declared grape type and processing evidence to interpret names such as 'sultana' or 'golden raisin'; colour alone should not establish either identity or treatment.
Check whether an individually recognisable dried grape remains present, rather than treating raisin paste, juice concentrate or a composite snack as an ordinary raisin.
Scope
+ Identity as a dried grape, including distinctions from fresh grapes and other dried fruits
+ Grape origin and drying or subsequent treatments that affect the raisin
+ Moisture, texture, appearance, integrity and variation within a lot
+ Ingredients, residues and evidence relevant to dietary suitability and food safety
+ Storage exposure, deterioration and readiness for a specified culinary use
- Grapevine biology, vineyard management and cultivation operations
- Fresh-grape condition before processing, except facts needed to explain the raisin
- Dryer machinery design and factory process control
- Packaging design and warehouse operations beyond their effects on the raisin
- Recipes and finished dishes containing raisins
- Consumer health profiles and jurisdiction-wide food regulation
Characteristics
- Observation scale
- individual raisin | sampled subset | lot Prevents a finding about one fruit from being treated as evidence about an entire lot.
- Grape identity
- source grape species or cultivar, with evidence; unknown permitted Supports dried-grape identification and interpretation of variety-dependent differences.
- Declared product designation
- label or supplier term, with market context Allows raisin, sultana and currant terminology to be interpreted without assuming universal equivalence.
- Drying and subsequent treatment
- documented drying method, pretreatments, preservatives, coatings and rehydration; unknown permitted Helps explain appearance, handling behaviour and suitability for a proposed use.
- Moisture content
- percent by mass, with wet or dry basis and test method Supports comparison of drying state and expected preparation behaviour.
- Water activity
- dimensionless aw, with measurement temperature and method Provides evidence relevant to storage stability that moisture content alone cannot supply.
- Texture and separability
- observed firmness, pliability, stickiness and clumping under stated conditions Determines whether raisins can be portioned, mixed or used without additional preparation.
- Fruit integrity and inclusions
- whole or damaged; seeds, stems and foreign material observed, with counts or sampled proportions Supports sorting and preparation decisions for uses that require clean, intact or seedless fruit.
- Surface and odour condition
- observed colour, deposits, visible growth, infestation signs and odour deviations; interpretation recorded separately Flags deterioration or uncertain deposits without treating visual inspection as proof of safety.
- Added ingredients and measured residues
- ingredient declarations and analytical results linked to the applicable lot Supports dietary and use restrictions without inferring composition from colour or product name.
- Storage and opening history
- dated temperature, humidity, seal status, opening and wetting events; gaps explicit Connects current condition to exposures that may change the suitability of the raisins.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.raisin
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions.
Dried-grape identity Establishes that the subject is a raisin and interprets related names and product forms.
Dried-grape names overlap with each other and with names for botanically different fruits.
Grape origin and drying
Examines the two identity claims: grape origin and transformation by drying.
Raisin identity evidence
Records the basis for identifying the subject as a dried grape, including uncertainty.
- What evidence establishes that this fruit originated as a grape rather than another small fruit? definition
- What evidence distinguishes intentional drying from a fresh grape that has merely shrivelled during storage? boundary
Trade names and product form
Resolves commercial terminology and the boundary with transformed raisin products.
Designation and model boundary
Records how the declared name and present form map to the registered raisin concept.
- In the supplier's market, what does the designation raisin, sultana or currant mean for this product? definition
- Does the subject remain an identifiable dried grape, or should paste, coating or another transformation be represented through a neighbouring product model? boundary
Grape-to-raisin history Captures origin and processing evidence that explains the resulting raisin.
Appearance and behaviour cannot reliably reveal grape variety, drying method or chemical treatment.
Source grapes and lot
Connects the raisin to its source grapes and the lot represented by supporting records.
Origin and lot continuity
Records traceable grape origin and whether a lot combines different inputs.
- Which grape variety, production origin and harvest information are documented for these raisins? provenance
- Were raisins from different grape sources or drying runs blended, and which records still apply to the resulting lot? provenance
Drying, preservation and coating
Records processing steps that may affect colour, texture, composition or handling.
Documented processing treatments
Separates documented treatment history from assumptions based on visual appearance.
- Which drying method, pretreatments and subsequent moisture adjustments are documented? provenance
- Were sulphiting agents, oils, sweeteners or other substances used, and what evidence establishes their identity and amount where relevant? provenance
Moisture, texture and fruit quality Describes the raisin's current physical state and variation within a lot.
Raisin usability depends on drying state, stickiness and fruit integrity, not simply on whether the fruit is present.
Water state and handling
Connects measured water state with firmness, pliability and separability.
Current drying and texture state
Records moisture-related measurements and handling observations without treating them as interchangeable.
- What are the measured moisture content and water activity, and what sampling basis and methods produced those values? measurement
- Under the intended handling conditions, how firm, pliable, sticky or clumped are the raisins? measurement
Integrity and lot variation
Examines fruit damage, size variation and material that may require removal.
Usable fruit and removable material
Records the distribution of intact fruit, damaged fruit, seeds, stems and foreign material.
- What sampled proportions are intact, torn, crushed or otherwise physically unsuitable for the intended use? measurement
- Which seeds, stems or foreign materials are present, and can the required preparation reliably remove them? action
Deterioration and consumption suitability Organises evidence about deterioration, contamination and composition-related restrictions.
A raisin's appearance may flag a problem but cannot establish all aspects of food safety or dietary suitability.
Deposits, growth and infestation
Distinguishes observations from diagnoses of surface change or deterioration.
Suspect condition assessment
Records visible deposits, growth, pest signs and unusual odours with the evidence needed to interpret them.
- Are surface deposits, visible growth, webbing, insects or unusual odours present, and how widely are they distributed in the lot? measurement
- What evidence is needed to distinguish a sugar deposit from mould or another suspect material before deciding whether the raisins may be used? action
Composition and hazard evidence
Connects declarations and testing to the particular raisins and intended consumption context.
Use-specific suitability evidence
Records relevant ingredient restrictions and hazard assessments while preserving limits of evidence.
- Which ingredient declarations, sulphite information and relevant contaminant or microbiological results apply to this lot? provenance
- For the intended consumer and use, do the applicable requirements support release, further assessment or rejection? action
Storage and culinary transition Supports decisions about keeping raisins and preparing them for a specified use.
Opening, moisture exposure and soaking can change the condition and handling assumptions associated with a dried fruit.
Storage exposure and retention
Relates exposure history and product instructions to continued storage.
Continued storage decision
Records whether the current storage plan remains justified by the raisin's history and condition.
- Since drying or packing, what opening, seal failure, heat, humidity or direct wetting events are known? provenance
- Given product instructions and current condition, should the raisins remain in storage, be repacked, be used promptly or be held for assessment? action
Preparation and rehydration
Determines preparation needs and records state changes caused by culinary treatment.
Preparation readiness and result
Connects fruit condition to portioning, chopping, soaking and incorporation into food.
- Does the intended use require sorting, separation, chopping or soaking, and what raisin properties determine that choice? action
- If soaked or otherwise rehydrated, what treatment and resulting condition must be recorded before assigning subsequent storage or use instructions? measurement
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Natural (sun-dried) seedless, typically Thompson Seedless/Sultanina
- Golden seedless (sulfur-dioxide bleached)
- Dipped or vine-dried seedless
- Sultana (USDA: vestigial-seed type; Commonwealth: pale seedless)
- Muscat and other raisins with seeds, including Malaga Muscatel
- Cluster/layer raisins (bunch stem still attached)
- Zante currant (Black Corinth or White Corinth)
- Monukka and other large seedless types
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of raisin this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Wikidata - Q13186 - Item for raisin as dried grape, linked from the Wikipedia article authority-control box
- Codex Alimentarius standard - CXS 67-1981 - Commodity standard titled Standard for Raisins
- Codex commodity code - DF 0269 - Dried grapes (=currants, raisins and sultanas), used in Codex MRL schedules
- USDA FoodData Central - 1102640 - Raisins, seedless; nutrient table linked from Wikipedia
- Botanical source - Vitis vinifera L. - Source species in Codex CXS 67-1981; raisins are a processed product, not a taxon
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of raisin this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Codex Alimentarius Commission, CXS 67-1981 Standard for Raisins (FAO/WHO): definition, styles, moisture/defect limits, SO2 1,500 mg/kg on bleached fruit, food-grade mineral oil 5 g/kg
- Codex Alimentarius Commission, CXC 1-1969 General Principles of Food Hygiene, invoked by CXS 67 for preparation and handling
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, United States Standards for Grades of Processed Raisins (7 CFR Part 52, including § 52.1841-52.1843)
- USDA, 7 CFR Part 989 Raisins Produced from Grapes Grown in California (marketing order; varietal types at § 989.110)
- USDA AMS, Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act Section 8e import inspection and grade requirements for raisins
- International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), Recommendations for the production of dried grapes (OIV adopts dried grapes in English in place of raisins)
- European Commission, maximum level for ochratoxin A in dried vine fruit (currants, raisins and sultanas): 8 µg/kg as stated in Codex CCCF18 CRD08 for the 2022 EU contaminant rule
- EU food-information rules, as applied in trade: sulfites used as preservatives must be declared as allergens
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of raisin this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Sold as a snack and as an ingredient in baking (cakes, cookies, breads, mince pies) and breakfast cereals
- Used in confectionery, notably chocolate-covered raisins, and in savoury cooking and trail mixes
- Traded as bulk dried vine fruit for consumer packing; lots not meeting table grade may be diverted to alcohol, industrial syrup, or paste under US 8e processing exemptions
- Produced commercially by sun drying, shade drying (including Xinjiang chunche sheds), or mechanical dehydrators after harvest of V. vinifera table/raisin grapes
- Estimated world production of raisins/sultanas/currants about 1.1 million tonnes in 2023-24, led by Türkiye, China, Iran and the United States
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of raisin this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Moisture content - about 15.5 typical; Codex maxima 18 (most types), 19 (seeded), 31 (Malaga Muscatel) - g/100 g or % m/m
- Energy - 299 per 100 g seedless - kcal
- Total sugars - about 65 per 100 g seedless - g/100 g
- Potassium - about 744 per 100 g seedless - mg/100 g
- Sulfur dioxide (bleached/golden only) - Codex max 1,500 immediately after treatment; OIV max 2,000 - mg/kg
- Ochratoxin A (legal ML, dried vine fruit) - EU 8; Türkiye 10 - µg/kg
- Cap-stems (Codex seedless, stemmed forms) - max 50 per 500 g - count per 500 g
- Food-grade mineral oil coating - max 5 - g/kg
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of raisin this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Ochratoxin A from Aspergillus section Nigri (especially A. carbonarius) during humid harvest and drying; leading RASFF reason for dried-grape border rejections
- Sulfite residues on golden/bleached fruit: labelled allergen and a frequent second RASFF cause
- Nephrotoxicity in dogs and cats after ingestion of grapes or raisins; toxic principle not identified
- Sugaring (surface sugar crystals), a Codex quality defect up to a 15% by-weight allowance
- Mould, insect infestation and environmental contamination, especially under open sun drying
- Rehydration during washing if not followed by a second drying step, raising spoilage risk
- Grade defects: cap-stems, pieces of stem, sand/mineral impurities, immature or damaged berries
- Pesticide residues concentrated by drying relative to the fresh grape
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of raisin this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- United States: raisin usually means dark natural Thompson Seedless; golden raisin is SO2-treated seedless; sultana is a separate USDA type with vestigial seeds; Zante currants are a raisin type under 7 CFR Part 52
- United Kingdom and much of the Commonwealth: sultana for pale/golden seedless, raisin for darker dried grapes, currant for the small Black Corinth fruit
- Codex CXS 67 names the food Raisins, or Sultanas in countries that use that name for certain types, and excludes dried currants from that standard
- OIV English texts use dried grapes rather than raisins
- Xinjiang (China) shade-dries grapes in ventilated chunche sheds, yielding pale green raisins distinct from California sun-dried fruit
- Main producing regions in recent estimates: Türkiye, China, Iran, United States
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of raisin this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Zante currant (dried Black Corinth grape) - Same species and drying process, but a much smaller berry; Codex CXS 67 excludes dried currants from the raisin standard, while USDA lists them as Type V processed raisins
- Ribes currant (blackcurrant/redcurrant) - Different genus (Ribes, not Vitis); the English word currant is shared, so check botanical source or the intact tiny grape shape of Zante fruit
- Sultana (as a named product) - In US grading, sultana is a vestigial-seed cultivar type; in Commonwealth trade it is the pale seedless dried grape, overlapping what the US calls golden or natural seedless
- Fresh grape - Same fruit before drying; raisins are at roughly 15% water versus the high-moisture fresh berry and are a processed commodity under CXS 67
- Golden seedless versus natural seedless raisin - Same seedless grape base; golden colour and retained flavor come from sulfur-dioxide bleaching before drying, which natural sun-dried fruit does not receive
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of raisin this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Standard for Raisins (CXS 67-1981, amended 2019) - Codex product definition, exclusion of dried currants, type/style groups, moisture and defect limits, SO2 and mineral-oil maxima, hygiene reference
- 7 CFR § 52.1843 Summary of types (varieties) of processed raisins - USDA processed-raisin types I-VI (seedless, golden seedless, raisins with seeds, sultana, Zante currant, mixed)
- 7 CFR § 989.110 Varietal types - California marketing-order definitions of Natural Seedless, Dipped Seedless, Golden Seedless, Muscats, Sultana, and Zante Currant
- Importing Raisins (Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act Section 8e) - US import grade minima by type, including Monukka moisture tolerance and processing exemptions
- OIV recommendations for the production of dried grapes - OIV preference for the term dried grapes, product types/styles, tighter defect limits, SO2 maximum 2,000 mg/kg
- Raisin - Common naming (raisin/sultana/currant), processing outline, nutrition per 100 g, Wikidata Q13186, canine/feline toxicity, 2023-24 production estimate
- Proposal for discussion paper on ochratoxin A in dried fruits (CCCF18 CRD08) - EU 2022 ML of 8 µg/kg OTA in dried vine fruit; Türkiye 10 µg/kg; absence of a Codex ML for dried fruit
- Entering the European market for dried grapes - EU import hazards (ochratoxin A, sulfites, pesticide residues), RASFF pattern, sulfite allergen labelling
What the second pass must settle
- Which authoritative definitions and market conventions determine how raisin, sultana and dried-grape currant designations should map to this single registry entry?
- Which moisture, water-activity and texture criteria are justified for particular raisin products and intended uses, and which test methods make those criteria comparable?
- What inspection or testing evidence reliably distinguishes sugar crystallisation from fungal growth on raisins when appearance is ambiguous?
- Which hazards, sampling plans and acceptance criteria apply to each origin, processing history, destination market and consumption context?
- At what point should rehydrated, chopped, coated or otherwise transformed raisins be represented by a neighbouring model, and which storage assumptions must be reassessed?