Bulk Desiccated Coconut
Desiccated coconut is the dried and comminuted white kernel of Cocos nucifera L. Source86 supplies it in extra fine, fine, medium, and coarse grades.
Material is available unsweetened or sweetened, and untoasted or toasted. Conventional and certified organic lots are available. Primary origins are the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. Continuous fruiting in these origins supports year-round contracting.
Product Data
| Identity | Dried white kernel (endosperm) of Cocos nucifera L., pared to remove the brown testa before size reduction. |
|---|---|
| Plant Part | Mature coconut kernel. Husk, shell, and water are separated upstream and diverted to other product streams. |
| Available Grades | Extra fine, fine, medium, and coarse, defined by cut length and screen retention rather than by a single mesh number. |
| Mesh and Screen Retention | Extra fine retains 90% minimum on 30 mesh; coarse retains 90% minimum on 8 mesh, with fines through 40 mesh held to 3% maximum |
| Available Compositions | Unsweetened single-ingredient material, and sweetened material carrying added sucrose. Both are offered untoasted or toasted. |
| Fat Content | Unsweetened full fat 65% minimum; sweetened grades 33% to 38% as the added sugar dilutes the lipid fraction. Reduced fat material at 40% to 45% is available on request |
| Moisture | Unsweetened 3.0% maximum; sweetened 12.0% maximum, reflecting the retained syrup and humectant |
| Water Activity | Unsweetened 0.60 maximum; sweetened 0.80 maximum |
| Bulk Density | 0.30 g/mL to 0.45 g/mL depending on grade, with fine material at the upper end of the range and coarse shreds at the lower end |
| Added Sugar | Sweetened grades carry 20% to 25% sucrose on finished weight. Unsweetened grades contain only the 6% to 8% sugars native to the kernel |
| Toast Level | Both untoasted and toasted material are held to a retained reference sample rather than a numeric color value. |
| Ingredient Declaration | Unsweetened declares as coconut alone. Sweetened declares as coconut, sugar, water, propylene glycol, and salt, with sodium metabisulfite where used |
| Salt or Sodium | Unsweetened contains no added salt and tests below 20 mg per 100 g. Sweetened grades carry added salt at 0.3% to 0.6% |
| Sulfite | Sodium metabisulfite is used on some sweetened lots as a color preservative. Residual SO2 is held to 50 ppm maximum, and unsulfited material testing below 10 ppm is available |
| Carrier or Additive Status | No anticaking agent, flow aid, or spray-dried carrier is present in any grade. Propylene glycol appears only in sweetened material as a moisture-retention aid. |
| Free Fatty Acids | 0.30% maximum as lauric acid in the extracted fat, used as the primary freshness indicator |
| Foreign Matter | No shell, husk, or testa fragments visible at inspection. Screened, metal-detected, and held to 1 shell particle per kilogram maximum |
| Defect Tolerances | Scorched or discolored particles 1.0% maximum by weight in untoasted grades |
| Treatment Status | Kernel is hot-water or steam blanched before drying. Steam-pasteurized material with a validated microbial reduction step is available for applications without a downstream kill step. No ethylene oxide or irradiation is applied |
| Microbiological Limits | Total plate count 10,000 cfu/g maximum; yeast and mold 100 cfu/g maximum; coliforms 10 cfu/g maximum; E. coli negative; Salmonella negative in 25 g; Staphylococcus aureus negative |
| Origin | Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, with origin selected by grade availability and certification scope |
| Shelf Life | 12 months for unsweetened and sweetened material in unopened packaging. Toasted grades are rated at 9 months given the exposed fat surface |
| Storage | Hold below 25 C at 65% relative humidity or lower, away from strong odors and direct light. The high fat fraction picks up ambient odor readily. |
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Certifications & Compliance
The records below are available based on grade, origin, format, and lot.
- Certified Organic: USDA NOP and EU organic certification is available across all four grades, unsweetened and sweetened, and covers both untoasted and toasted material.
- Organic Traceability Records: Organic certificates for the processor and grower group, plus transaction certificates tying the shipped lot to its certified source.
- Kosher and Halal: Facility and product certification from recognized certifying bodies.
- Non-GMO: Non-GMO Project verification or a supplier non-GMO declaration, depending on origin and facility.
- Gluten-Free: Statement supported by facility allergen controls and testing where required.
- Allergen Statement: Documents that coconut is declared as a tree nut under FDA labeling rules, and identifies which allergens are handled elsewhere in the facility.
- Certificate of Analysis: Lot-level results covering moisture, fat, water activity, particle size distribution, and microbiological limits.
- Product Specification Sheet: Full spec by grade and composition, with the sweetened ingredient declaration stated.
- Microbiological Reports: Salmonella, E. coli, coliform, and yeast and mold results, with validation records for steam-pasteurized lots.
- Pesticide Residue Testing: Multi-residue screening against US and EU tolerances.
- Heavy Metals Testing: Lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury results.
- Sulfur Dioxide Testing: Residual SO2 results, including confirmation of unsulfited status when specified.
- Fat and Nutritional Analysis: Fatty acid profile, total and saturated fat, fiber, and protein for label development.
- Treatment Declaration: Confirms the blanching and drying route and states that no ethylene oxide or irradiation was applied.
- Facility Audit Certification: FSSC 22000 or BRCGS certification for the processing site.
- Country of Origin Documentation: Origin declarations and shipping records supporting customs entry and FSVP files.
- Safety Data Sheet: Current SDS for the shipped grade.
Production & Sourcing
The Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam supply the material because each combines a mature coconut kernel with established desiccating and export infrastructure, which matters for a product where the kernel must move from opening to drying within hours. Coconut palms fruit continuously rather than on a single harvest window, so contracting runs year-round, and supply gaps come from weather and freight rather than seasonality. Rainfall cycles and typhoon exposure in the Philippines do shift yield and price through the year, so origin flexibility across four countries protects continuity on repeat volume. Certified organic lots draw from registered grower groups and inspected estates, which narrows the sourcing base and lengthens lead time on large organic orders.
- Sourcing and Nut Selection: Mature nuts of 11 to 12 months are collected from grower groups and estates, then graded at intake for kernel thickness and freedom from germination. Certified lots are received against grower certificates and kept identified from the point of delivery.
- Dehusking, Deshelling, and Paring: Husk and shell are removed, then the brown testa is pared from the kernel surface to produce the white material the finished grades require. Paring depth sets the fat level and the final color.
- Washing and Blanching: Pared kernels are washed in potable water and blanched in hot water or steam, which lowers the surface microbial load and stabilizes color before drying.
- Size Reduction and Grading: Kernels are cut and disintegrated to the target grade, from extra fine through coarse shred. Grade is set here, so cut geometry is verified against retained reference samples before the material moves forward.
- Drying: Cut material is dried in hot air to below 3% moisture. Temperature and residence time are controlled to protect the fat from oxidative damage and to avoid scorched particles.
- Sweetening or Toasting: The process splits at this point. Unsweetened untoasted material goes straight to finishing. Sweetened material is infused with sugar syrup, salt, and a moisture-retention aid, then dried back to its higher target moisture. Toasted material passes through a controlled roast to an agreed color standard. Sweetened toasted grades run both steps in sequence.
- Sifting, Screening, and Packing: Finished material is sifted to remove fines and oversize, passed through screening and metal detection, then packed into lined bags or cartons. Certified lots are run on cleaned lines under segregation controls and packed with lot codes that carry back to the source certificate.
Applications
- Bakery and Pastry Manufacturing: Used in cookies, macaroons, cakes, sweet doughs, and bakery fillings, where coconut is both a declared ingredient and a visible surface element.
- Confectionery and Enrobed Centers: Forms the body of coconut bars and enrobed centers, and appears in clusters and panned pieces across sugar confectionery lines.
- Snack and Nutrition Bars: Built into cold-pressed and baked bar systems as a recognizable inclusion in coconut, tropical, and chocolate flavor platforms.
- Granola, Cereal, and Muesli: Included in clusters, toasted granola, and dry cereal blends, with toasted grades used where the ingredient carries the roast character on its own.
- Frozen Dessert and Dairy: Added to ice cream, frozen novelty coatings, and cultured dairy toppings as a texture-bearing inclusion.
- Savory and Prepared Foods: Used in curry pastes, chutneys, sambals, and South and Southeast Asian sauce bases, where unsweetened grades are the working format.
- Downstream Ingredient Processing: Serves as raw material for coconut milk extraction, coconut flour milling, and oil pressing operations.
Physical & Functional Characteristics
Unsweetened material is a single ingredient with nothing added. Sweetened material is a compound ingredient carrying sugar, water, salt, a moisture-retention aid, and in some lots a sulfite preservative.
Loose dry particles with a consistent cut within grade. Sweetened material looks slightly damp and clumps lightly under its own weight.
White to cream when untoasted. Toasting develops golden to amber tones concentrated on the cut edges, so color reads unevenly at the particle level even when the lot average is on standard.
Clean coconut character with mild natural sweetness in unsweetened grades. Toasting adds a nutty caramelized layer, and sweetening shifts the profile toward confectionery.
Sweet and fresh, with no rancid or fermented note. Aroma intensity rises with toast level and with finer cuts.
Firm and slightly fibrous with a dry chew. Coarse shreds give a longer chew; extra-fine material reads closer to a moist powder in the mouth.
Cut particles are flat and irregular rather than uniform granules, so grade is defined by screen retention across a distribution rather than by a single dimension.
Unsweetened material sits well below the threshold for microbial growth. Sweetened material holds more water but keeps it bound by the sugar and humectant fraction.
Unsweetened material carries roughly 65% fat, largely saturated and predominantly lauric acid, with 15% to 16% dietary fiber and 6% to 7% protein
The lipid fraction is highly saturated, which gives better oxidative stability than most nut and seed inclusions, though exposed toasted surfaces still degrade faster than untoasted material.
Coarse shreds fracture under aggressive conveying and generate fines that shift the grade profile. The material compresses in storage and can bridge when warm.
Hygroscopic and prone to caking above 65% relative humidity, and quick to pick up ambient odors because of the exposed fat.
Plant-based, gluten-free, and lactose-free by composition. Coconut requires tree nut declaration under FDA labeling rules regardless of its botanical classification, which affects allergen statements on finished product.
Funcionality
- Water Binding and Crumb Moisture: Holds and releases moisture within a bakery crumb, which slows firming during shelf life. Fine grades bind more per unit weight because they present more surface area.
- Fat Contribution: Unsweetened material carries roughly two-thirds of its weight as coconut fat, which reduces the shortening a formula needs and must be counted in the total fat balance.
- Sugar Load and Surface Browning: Sweetened grades add sucrose that raises the browning rate, often requiring a lower oven temperature or a shorter bake to avoid over-coloring.
- Structure and Bulking: Coarse grades hold their cut through mixing and give a discrete bite in bars and clusters, while fine grades disperse into the matrix and act mainly as a bulking solid.
- Dry-Blend Compatibility: Flows and distributes evenly in dry mixes when moisture is held at spec, though the free fat can cause bridging in hoppers at warm ambient temperatures.
- Adhesion and Coating Retention: The tacky surface of sweetened material adheres to wet-anointed product without a separate binder, while unsweetened grades need a syrup or fat carrier to hold on the surface.
- Moisture Migration Control: Dry unsweetened material draws water from adjacent higher water activity components, which can firm a filling or soften the coconut unless the system is balanced or a barrier is used.
- Oil Release Under Heat: Fat releases during baking, toasting, and frying, which contributes surface gloss and mouthfeel but requires attention to oil migration in laminated doughs and chocolate-coated pieces.
Benefits for Commercial Manufacturing
- Grade Selection Against Process Requirements: Four grades from extra fine to coarse shred let a single supply relationship cover dispersed and visible-inclusion applications without reformulating around one cut.
- Sweetening and Toasting Handled Upstream: Buying the sugar infusion or roast in the ingredient removes a processing step, capital requirement, and yield loss from the plant.
- Organic Chain of Custody: Segregated handling and transaction records let certified lots carry through to a certified finished product across all grades.
- Clean Declaration Option: Fits short ingredient list programs, while sweetened grades are available for legacy formulas already built around them.
- Documentation Suited to Supplier Approval: Lot-level testing and origin records support incoming inspection and FSVP files without a separate data request cycle.
- Packaging Sized for Batch Handling: Lined 25 kg bags protect against moisture and odor pickup while sizing the material for single-charge addition; cartoned formats suit sweetened grades that cake under bag pressure.
- Predictable Fat and Fiber Contribution: A stable composition lets the ingredient carry part of the fat and fiber targets in a formula rather than functioning only as a flavor and texture inclusion.
