New jam rules: 450 grams of fruit per kilogram from 2028
Serbia's Agriculture Ministry raised the minimum fruit content of jam from 350 to 450 grams per kilogram, and of extra jam from 450 to 500 grams. The rules apply from January 1, 2028.
From January 1, 2028, a kilogram of jam sold in Serbian shops will have to contain at least 450 grams of fruit pulp or puree, up from 350 grams today. That is set out in amendments to the Rulebook on the Quality of Fruit Jams, Jellies, Marmalades, Pekmez and Sweetened Chestnut Puree, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 95/2026. The rulebook was signed by the caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Dragan Glamocic.
How much fruit must jam contain under the new rules?
The amendments change the 2015 rulebook. For ordinary jam, the minimum rises from 350 to 450 grams of fruit pulp or puree per kilogram of finished product, which means fruit will make up at least 45% of a kilogram of jam, instead of the current 35%. For extra jam, the lower limit rises from 450 to 500 grams, an increase of 50 grams.
Lower values apply to certain fruits. According to N1, they are set as follows:
- jam: red and black currant, rose hip and quince at least 350 grams, ginger 180 grams, passion fruit 80 grams
- extra jam: red and black currant, rose hip, quince, rowan and sea buckthorn 450 grams, cashew apple 290 grams, ginger 280 grams, passion fruit 100 grams
What else changes: marmalade, sugar and labeling
In the rulebook, the name “marmalade” becomes “citrus marmalade”, and producers will be able to replace the word “citrus” with the name of the citrus fruit actually used. The minimum for that category stays the same: 200 grams of citrus product per kilogram, of which at least 75 grams must come from the inner part of the fruit. Biznis.rs notes that the change applies to the marmalade covered by Article 10, not to all fruit spreads.
An exemption is also introduced from the minimum soluble dry matter requirement for products that qualify for the nutrition claim “reduced sugar”. That does not mean every jam will have to contain less sugar, only that such a product is not subject to the general requirement. The provisions on added juices now include concentrated versions, and the provision on preserving raw materials with sulfur dioxide is deleted.
On the label, according to N1, the obligation under Article 26 to state the total sugar content per 100 grams of product disappears. In the same field of vision as the product name, only the amount of fruit will now have to appear.
When does it take effect, and how long can old jam stay on shelves?
Biznis.rs wrote on October 7 about the submitted text of the amendments, and Paragraf reported on October 9 that the rulebook had been published in Gazette No. 95/2026. The rulebook enters into force on the eighth day after publication, but applies only from January 1, 2028.
Products packaged and labeled under the old rules before then may stay on sale until June 30, 2028 at the latest. Biznis.rs points out that the transition period does not extend shelf life: jam that expires earlier cannot stay on the shelf until the end of June on the strength of that provision alone.
