| ITEM | STANDARD |
| Appearance | White or almost white crystal or crystalline powder |
| Identification | Positive |
| Melting point | 191 °C ~ 192°C |
| pH (5%, w/v) | 2.2 ~ 2.5 |
| pH (2%,w/v) | 2.4 ~ 2.8 |
| Specific optical rotation | +20.5° ~ +21.5° |
| Clarity of solution | Clear |
| Heavy metals | ≤0.0003% |
| Assay (as C 6H 8O6, %) | 99.0 ~ 100.5 |
| Copper | ≤3 mg/kg |
| Iron | ≤2 mg/kg |
| Mercury | ≤1 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | ≤2 mg/kg |
| Lead | ≤2 mg/kg |
| Oxalic acid | ≤0.2% |
| Loss on drying | ≤0.1% |
| Sulphated ash | ≤ 0.1% |
| Residual solvents (as methanol) | ≤ 500 mg/kg |
| Total plate count (cfu/g) | ≤ 1000 |
| Yeasts & molds (cfu/g) | ≤ 100 |
| Escherichia. Coli/g | Absence |
| Salmonella/ 25g | Absence |
| Staphylococcus aureus/ 25g | Absence |