Recently, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) issued a draft revised standard for soap noodles. Public comments are welcome before August 31, 2023.
The revision mainly includes the name change from “Sodium oleosterate noodles” to “Soap noodles”. It defines three types of soap noodles. The first type refers to “Pure soap noodles”, which comprise of pure soap and can be used for personal care and laundry use. The second type is specific for laundry use. The third type is “other soap noodles” which covers different combinations of soap and other beneficial ingredients as agreed between the manufacturer and supplier.
The classifications are as follows:
Type 1 ― Pure Soap noodles
Type 2 ― Soap noodles for laundry use
Type 3 ― Other Soaps
The standard imposes content restriction on chemicals used in soap metals for three types:
| Restricted chemicals | Type 1 | Type 2 | Type 3 |
| Nickel (as Ni), ppm | ≤ 0.2 | ― | ≤ 0.2 |
| Iron (as Fe), ppm | ≤ 30 | ― | ≤ 30 |
| Copper (as Cu), ppm | ≤ 3 | ― | ≤ 3 |
| Total fatty matter, percent by mass | ≥ 76.0 | ≥ 62.0 | ≥ 35.0 |
| Free caustic alkali as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), percent by mass | ≤ 0.05 | ≤ 0.1 | ≤ 0.1 |
| Matter insoluble in alcohol, percent by mass | ≤ 2.5 | ≤ 2.5 | * |
| Free carbonated alkali, percent by mass | ≤ 1.0 | ≤ 1.0 | * |
| Chlorides (as sodium chloride), percent by mass | ≤ 1.5 | ≤ 2 | * |
*Value range to be as agreed between supplier (manufacturer) and buyer (purchaser).
The draft can be accessed here.
