Ghee Identity, Composition and Trade Evidence

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-16Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$2.8B

Producing countries tracked

9

Grading systems

1

Active supply risks

3

Trade corridors

3

Latest reviewed evidence

The figures below are Codex international milkfat-product provisions and current Indian FSSAI ghee limits. They retain their jurisdiction, method and status and must not be merged into a universal grade. They do not establish lot compliance, current availability, import eligibility, a physical offer or a live delivered ghee price.

Codex ghee minimum milkfat

99.6

percent by mass · CXS 280-1973, current standard listed 2022

Codex ghee maximum free fatty acids

0.4

percent by mass as oleic acid; appendix quality factor · CXS 280-1973, current standard listed 2022

Codex ghee maximum peroxide value

0.6

milliequivalents oxygen per kilogram fat; appendix quality factor · CXS 280-1973, current standard listed 2022

India ghee maximum moisture

0.5

percent by mass · FSSAI milkfat-product standard, compendium version 2023-02-20

India ghee minimum milkfat

99.5

percent by mass · FSSAI milkfat-product standard, compendium version 2023-02-20

India ghee maximum free fatty acids

3

percent as oleic acid · FSSAI milkfat-product standard, compendium version 2023-02-20

Ghee, butter, butter oil and anhydrous milkfat are separate identities

Codex defines ghee as obtained exclusively from milk, cream or butter with almost complete removal of water and non-fat solids and an especially developed flavour and physical structure. The same standard lists butter oil and anhydrous milkfat separately. Atlas keeps product name, raw milk source, process, permitted ingredients, jurisdiction and intended use explicit; a value or test attached to one milkfat product is not silently transferred to another.

Composition limits retain their jurisdiction and method

Codex specifies 99.6 percent minimum milkfat for ghee and provides additional quality factors of 0.4 percent maximum free fatty acids as oleic acid and 0.6 milliequivalents oxygen per kilogram fat maximum peroxide value. India's FSSAI standard specifies 99.5 percent minimum milkfat, 0.5 percent maximum moisture and 3.0 percent maximum free fatty acids as oleic acid for ghee, alongside jurisdiction-specific analytical criteria. Atlas does not average or harmonise those figures; the applicable standard, method, sample, laboratory and result travel together.

Authenticity, hygiene and import eligibility require lot evidence

Milkfat percentage alone does not prove identity or clearance. A commercial record should retain animal species and milk source, manufacturing establishment, authenticity and adulteration testing, moisture, free fatty acids, peroxide or other oxidation evidence, contaminants, veterinary-drug and pesticide residues, microbiology where applicable, package integrity, production and best-before dates and storage. For EU entry, dairy consignments are subject to country and establishment eligibility, official certification, traceability and border controls; those route requirements are not implied by a composition certificate.

A milkfat standard is not a delivered physical ghee price

Standards define product and quality boundaries, not live supply or delivered cost. A physical estimate still requires a defined ghee identity and species, governing standard, current permitted lot observations, composition and authenticity results, origin and approved establishment, package and quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, freight, certification, storage and information vintage. Atlas withholds a physical estimate when those observations or usage rights are missing.

Questions procurement teams ask

Are ghee and anhydrous milkfat interchangeable?

No. Codex lists them as separate milkfat products. Ghee has its own defined flavour and physical structure, while anhydrous milkfat has different composition provisions and may serve different industrial uses.

Why do Codex and Indian ghee limits differ?

They are different standards with their own jurisdiction, purpose and analytical framework. Atlas keeps each figure attached to its source rather than averaging them into an invented universal grade.

Does a 99.6-percent milkfat result prove a ghee lot is compliant?

No. Compliance also depends on product identity, applicable jurisdiction, sampling and method, moisture and quality results, authenticity, contaminants, residues, hygiene, labelling and any destination import requirements.

Which fields make physical ghee offers comparable?

Animal species and milk source, ghee identity and governing standard, process, milkfat, moisture, free fatty acids, oxidation, authenticity, contaminants and residues, colour, flavour and texture, production and best-before dates, sample, laboratory and method, establishment and health certification, package, lot, quantity, currency, Incoterm, origin, destination, delivery window, storage and evidence date.