Tamarind for Food Buyers: Names, Forms and Labels

Every official text in this guide that names the plant behind tamarind gives Tamarindus indica, written with the author L. or Linn., so ask your supplier to put that botanical name on the specification beside the common name. It appears in the US list in 21 CFR 182.20 (eCFR version of 6 October 2026), in Thailand's sweet tamarind standard TAS 23-2014 and in a Philippine final draft standard for sweet tamarind dated 29 June 2015. Thai community product standards also use tamarind or มะขาม in drink titles whose definitions give botanical names other than Tamarindus indica. This guide covers what the texts call tamarind, what they mean by sweet tamarind, which forms have their own standards, how labels name them and what to ask a supplier.

Which Botanical Name Do the Official Texts Give?

United States. 21 CFR 182.20 is headed "Essential oils, oleoresins (solvent-free), and natural extractives (including distillates)" and lists those "generally recognized as safe for their intended use, within the meaning of section 409 of the Act". Its "Tamarind" row gives "Tamarindus indica L." as the botanical name of the plant source (eCFR version of 6 October 2026). This guide covers the plant and its name, not the products that section lists.

Thailand. TAS 23-2014, which the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives issued as a voluntary standard and the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards publishes, applies to sweet tamarind "grown from Tamarindus indica L. of the Caesalpiniaceae family", in its English version, which is marked as an unofficial translation. Its Thai text, titled มะขามหวาน, gives the same botanical name and family. A Thai community product standard from the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI), number 1003/2558, also names Tamarindus indica L. in its definition of น้ำมะขามเข้มข้น (our translation); its English title is "TAMMARIND SYRUP".

Philippines. The final draft of PNS/BAFS 154:2015, the Philippine National Standard for sweet tamarind from the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards, covers sweet tamarind "grown from Tamarindus indica Linn. of the Caesalpiniaceae family". The copy we read is the final draft dated 29 June 2015; we did not read an approved text.

ASEAN. The ASEAN Trade Repository's page for ASEAN STAN 39:2014, the ASEAN Standard for Sweet Tamarind, gives the same plant and family in its abstract.

Indonesia. Farmakope Herbal Indonesia, second edition (2017), from the Ministry of Health, has a monograph headed "DAUN ASAM", Latin title "Tamarindi Indicae Folium", which defines daun asam as the leaf of Tamarindus indica L., family Leguminosae (our translation). Its foreword describes the book as a standard in the field of pharmacy, mainly for raw materials of traditional medicine (our translation). It is used here as a naming reference, not as food law.

The family names differ between these texts: Caesalpiniaceae in the Thai, Philippine and ASEAN texts, Leguminosae in the Indonesian one. Match the genus and species on a document, not the family.

Which Drink Standards Give Botanical Names Other Than Tamarindus indica?

Two Thai sources print a มะขาม name beside an English tamarind name: the TAS 23-2014 cover prints มะขามหวาน above "SWEET TAMARIND", and TISI's open-data list of Thai community product standards (dataset metadata modified 19 September 2025) pairs มะขามอบแห้ง with "DRIED TAMARIND". The same list includes two drink titles containing tamarind or มะขาม whose standards give botanical names other than Tamarindus indica. The standard titled in English "AMLA DRINK", number 487/2556, has the Thai title น้ำมะขามป้อม, which contains มะขาม. It defines the drink as made from the fruit of มะขามป้อม, botanical name Phyllanthus emblica L. (our translation). The standard titled in English "VELVET TAMARIND SYRUP", number 1520/2562, has the Thai title น้ำลูกหยีเข้มข้น. It defines the drink as made from the flesh of ลูกหยี, scientific name Dialium cochinchinense Pierre (our translation).

Neither botanical name is Tamarindus indica. A product name that contains tamarind or มะขาม may therefore not identify the plant, so ask for the botanical name.

What Do the Standards Mean by Sweet Tamarind?

Three texts set out a scope for sweet tamarind, in slightly different words.

• TAS 23-2014 (Thailand) applies to commercial varieties of sweet tamarind "to be supplied to the consumer after preparation and packaging" and "does not apply to sweet tamarind for industrial processing". Its foreword says it is based on ASEAN STAN 39:2014.
• The PNS/BAFS 154:2015 final draft covers sweet tamarind "to be supplied fresh to the consumer after preparation and packaging" and excludes "Sweet tamarind for industrial processing".
• The ASEAN Trade Repository abstract of ASEAN STAN 39:2014 covers sweet tamarind "to be supplied fresh to the consumer" and excludes "Sweet tamarind for industrial processing". The page names the ASEAN Ministers Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) as the responsible body.

The Thai standard sets "whole pod with peduncle intact, peduncle not longer than 0.5 cm" as its first minimum requirement and sorts sweet tamarind into three classes. Its appendix shows examples of commercial varieties, among them Sithong, Prakaithong and Sichomphu. The Philippine final draft lists "whole" first among its minimum requirements.

All three sweet tamarind scopes above exclude sweet tamarind for industrial processing.

Which Tamarind Forms Have Their Own Standards?

The TISI open-data list includes four Thai community product standards titled for tamarind products: "TAMARIND DRINK" (น้ำมะขาม, 125/2566, announced 22 February 2023), "TAMMARIND SYRUP" as the list spells it (น้ำมะขามเข้มข้น, 1003/2558, 3 September 2015), "INSTANT TAMARIND" (มะขามผงสำเร็จรูป, 1316/2562, 4 September 2019) and "DRIED TAMARIND" (มะขามอบแห้ง, 1598/2565, 20 May 2022). Of these, we read the texts of 1003/2558 and 1598/2565 only.

The dried tamarind standard covers only ready-to-eat dried tamarind packed in containers (our translation), and its text gives no botanical name. The 1003/2558 standard defines น้ำมะขามเข้มข้น as a drink made from เนื้อมะขามเปียก with the botanical name Tamarindus indica L., which must be diluted before consumption (our translation). The rest of that definition describes how the drink is made and is outside this guide.

Other forms appear in these texts: whole sweet tamarind pods in the Thai standard, "whole" sweet tamarind in the Philippine final draft, the leaf in the Indonesian pharmacopoeia, and tamarind seed kernel powder in 21 CFR 176.350. That US section says the powder "may be safely used as a component of articles intended for use in producing, manufacturing, packing, processing, preparing, treating, packaging, transporting, or holding food, subject to the provisions of this section", and "It is used in the manufacture of paper and paperboard." We found no standard for tamarind block or paste among the texts in this guide.

How Do Labels Name Tamarind and Its Forms?

Sweet tamarind. For consumer packages, TAS 23-2014 says the produce is to be labelled as sweet tamarind and/or the sweet tamarind variety, and its Thai text gives the words มะขามหวาน and/or the name of the sweet tamarind variety (our translation). It asks for the country of origin "except for domestic market". For non-retail containers, clause 6.2 of TAS 23-2014 requires information to be shown "on the accompanied documents of the shipment, on the label, or on the container". The Philippine final draft lists "Name of produce and variety.", the place of origin and "Product of the Philippines." for each package, in addition to the Codex General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods.

Processed forms. The Thai dried tamarind standard asks for the product name as in the standard, or a name conveying that meaning such as มะขามหวานอบ, then the main ingredients as approximate percentages by weight in descending order, and the type and quantity of any food additives (our translation). The 1003/2558 standard asks for the product name as in the standard, the main ingredients in the same way and the type and quantity of any food additives (our translation).

Tamarind as an ingredient. In the US, 21 CFR 101.4(a)(1) says ingredients required to be declared "shall be listed by common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight" (eCFR, 6 October 2026). Under 101.4(b)(2), an ingredient that itself contains two or more ingredients, and that has an established common or usual name or conforms to one of the standards that paragraph names, is declared in one of two ways: by its established common or usual name followed by a parenthetical list of all its ingredients in descending order of predominance, or by listing the common or usual name of every component in the ingredient statement, in descending order of predominance in the finished food, without listing the ingredient itself. In the EU, Article 17(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (consolidated text of 1 April 2025) makes the name of a food its legal name; in the absence of a legal name it is the customary name, and if there is no customary name or it is not used, a descriptive name is provided. Under Article 18, the list of ingredients includes all the ingredients "in descending order of weight, as recorded at the time of their use in the manufacture of the food", and ingredients are designated "by their specific name, where applicable, in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 17 and in Annex VI".

What Should You Ask a Tamarind Supplier?

• Botanical name. Ask for Tamarindus indica, with its author, on the specification and on each lot's certificate of analysis, not only "tamarind". Every text in this guide that names the plant behind tamarind gives that name.
• Look-alike names. If a document says amla, velvet tamarind, มะขามป้อม or ลูกหยี, ask the supplier to confirm which plant is supplied. The definitions in those Thai community product standards give มะขามป้อม as Phyllanthus emblica L. and ลูกหยี as Dialium cochinchinense Pierre (our translation).
• Form. Ask which form is supplied, such as whole pods, dried tamarind or tamarind syrup, and which standard, if any, the product is made to.
• Sweet tamarind. Ask for the variety and the class, which the Thai standard and the Philippine final draft list among the label details, and confirm whether the fruit is for supply to the consumer or for industrial processing, since the Thai scope, the Philippine final draft scope and the ASEAN Trade Repository abstract all exclude sweet tamarind for industrial processing.
• Ingredients. For dried tamarind or tamarind syrup, ask for the main ingredients with approximate percentages by weight in descending order, and the type and quantity of any food additives, the details both Thai community product standards list for the label (our translation).
• Country of origin. Ask the supplier to state the country of origin.
• Seed kernel powder. If a document names tamarind seed kernel powder, ask what it is supplied for. 21 CFR 176.350 covers it as a component of articles used in producing, packing or holding food, and says it is used in the manufacture of paper and paperboard.
• Market documents. Ask which texts the documents refer to, such as TAS 23-2014 (a voluntary standard), the PNS/BAFS 154:2015 final draft of 29 June 2015, ASEAN STAN 39:2014 or a Thai community product standard number.

Is Velvet Tamarind the Same Plant as Tamarind?

Not by botanical name. The Thai community product standard titled "VELVET TAMARIND SYRUP" (1520/2562) defines its drink as made from the flesh of ลูกหยี, scientific name Dialium cochinchinense Pierre (our translation). The texts in this guide that name the plant behind tamarind give Tamarindus indica.

Is Amla a Kind of Tamarind?

Not by botanical name. The Thai community product standard titled "AMLA DRINK" (487/2556) names มะขามป้อม as Phyllanthus emblica L. (our translation), although its Thai title, น้ำมะขามป้อม, contains the word มะขาม.

Is There an ASEAN Standard for Sweet Tamarind?

Yes. The ASEAN Trade Repository page lists ASEAN STAN 39:2014, the ASEAN Standard for Sweet Tamarind; its abstract describes sweet tamarind "to be supplied fresh to the consumer" and excludes "Sweet tamarind for industrial processing". Thailand's TAS 23-2014 says it is based on that standard.

What Is Daun Asam in Indonesia's Herbal Pharmacopoeia?

In Farmakope Herbal Indonesia, second edition (2017), daun asam is the leaf of Tamarindus indica L., family Leguminosae (our translation). The book describes itself as a pharmacy standard, mainly for raw materials of traditional medicine (our translation).