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EAS 747:2010
ICS 67.080.20
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
© EAC 2010
First Edition 2010
iDevelopment of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements governing quality of products and services in East Africa. It is envisaged that through harmonized standardization, trade barriers which are encountered when goods and services are exchanged within the Community will be removed.
In order to meet the above objectives, the EAC Partner States have enacted an East African Standardization, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Test Act, 2006 (EAC SQMT Act, 2006) to make provisions for ensuring standardization, quality assurance, metrology and testing of products produced or originating in a third country and traded in the Community in order to facilitate industrial development and trade as well as helping to protect the health and safety of society and the environment in the Community.
East African Standards are formulated in accordance with the procedures established by the East African Standards Committee. The East African Standards Committee is established under the provisions of Article 4 of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006. The Committee is composed of representatives of the National Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the private sectors and consumer organizations. Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in accordance with the procedures of the Community.
Article 15(1) of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006 provides that “Within six months of the declaration of an East African Standard, the Partner States shall adopt, without deviation from the approved text of the standard, the East African Standard as a national standard and withdraw any existing national standard with similar scope and purpose”.
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards they are implementing.
© East African Community 2010 — All rights reserved*
East African Community
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*© 2010 EAC — All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for EAC Partner States’ NSBs.
iiThis standard was developed with support from the Policy Analysis and Advocacy Programme (PAAP) of the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA). This was possible though a grant by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This support was used in the process of formulation and mobilization of stakeholders to review the standard in national and regional fora.
ASARECA is a non-political association of agricultural research institutes in: Burundi, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. ASARECA serves as a platform for promoting regional research and in the sharing of benefits and spillovers that derive from such research. The mission of ASARECA is to “Enhance regional collective action in agricultural research for development, extension and agricultural training and education, to promote economic growth, fight poverty, eradicate hunger and enhance sustainable use of resources in Eastern and Central Africa”.
Development of standards has been part of PAAP’s contribution to changing the way business is done in crucial agricultural sectors to increase efficiency and/or reduce waste through rationalization and harmonization of policies, laws, regulations and procedures. Rationalization focuses on how countries conduct business in a given subsector, and determines what should be done to make the procedures and processes more efficient. Harmonization brings together regionally different approaches (policies, laws, regulations and procedures) into unified approaches that are applied across the countries. This harmonization process allows commodities and factors to move freely across national boundaries, thereby improving domestic and foreign investment by expanding markets beyond national borders. Over time this will lead to gradual attainment of seamless borders for trade in potatoes and potato products across the region.
Removal of regulatory bottlenecks to transboundary movement of potato products in the region will enhance competitiveness of trade and value addition in the sub-sector. It will improve the value chains by supporting product differentiation and hence increased trade in potato products in the region. This will ultimately contribute to incomes, employment generation and improved welfare in the region. This fits snugly with the aspirations of ASARECA as a key player contributing to economic development of the region.
iiiPotato chips are one of the deep-fried snack foods available on the market. Such products are very popular for reasons of taste and nutritional value. Fried potato chips, also known as potato French fries, are usually prepared by peeling and slicing potato and deep-fat frying the slices in suitable edible oil or fat, or combinations thereof. In the case of sliced potato, these are sliced breadthwise to give thin slices. The slices/shreds are washed and fried in fat/oil or combinations thereof, held at proper temperature and time to render them ready. Salt and other seasonings are added after frying. When groundnut or other unsaturated oils are used, permitted antioxidants in the frying medium are sufficient to give protection to the potato chips.
Success in deep frying of chips depends upon several factors, such as:
This standard will assist in the processing and sale of standardized, nutritious and safe products. It provides requirements for assessing the quality and safety of potato chips. Complying with these requirements will enable the products to meet the minimum quality and safety requirements of consumers and regulators.
ivFried potato chips — Specification
This East African Standard specifies requirements and methods of sampling and test for deep fried potato chips ready for consumption.
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EAS 38, General standard for labeling of prepackaged foods
EAS 39, Code of practice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry
EAS 103, General standard for food additives
EAS 321, Edible oils and fats — Specification
EAS 35, Specification for edible (fortified) salt
EAS 98, Spices and Condiments — Specification
EAS 217-5, Methods for the microbiological examination of foods — Part 5: Enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci
ISO 7251, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique
CAC/RCP 67, Code of Practice for reduction of acryl amide in foods
EAS 748, Fresh potatoes — Specification
EAS 746, Frozen potato chips
fried potato chips
product prepared from clean, mature, sound potato tubers or frozen potato chips subjected to a deep frying process to make them crispy and ready for consumption
The following materials shall be used in the preparation of fried potato chips:
NOTE Using the oil several times may lead to poor quality and affect the safety of the chips
In addition to the essential ingredients specified in 4.1, the following optional ingredients may be added:
Fried potato chips shall:
The fried potato chips shall conform to the requirements given in Table 1.
| Characteristic | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Acid insoluble ash, % by mass (on dry basis), max. | 0.15 |
| Free fatty acid %, by mass max. | 0.5 |
| Peroxide value, meq. oxygen/kg fat, max. | 10 |
| Fat content % by mass max (on dry basis). max | 20 |
| Acrylamide | As specified in CAC/RCP 67 |
Additives may be used in accordance with EAS 103;
Fried potato chips shall comply with the maximum residue limits for pesticides established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.
Fried potato chips shall comply with the maximum levels of the Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CODEX STAN 193).
The fried potato chips shall be prepared, packaged and stored under hygienic conditions in accordance with EAS 39; The chips shall conform to the microbiological limits in Table 2.
| Micro-organism(s) | Maximum limit | Method of test |
|---|---|---|
| Total viable count, CFU per gram, max | 104 | EAS ISO |
| Escherichia coli, CFU per gram | Shall be absent | ISO 7251 ISO 4833; |
| Salmonella | Shall be absent | ISO 6579 |
| Yeasts and moulds, CFU per gram | 103 | EAS ISO ISO 21527-2 |
Potato chips shall be packaged in a food grade material to safe guard the hygienic and nutritional quality of the product. The container shall be moisture and air proof, oil proof and well sealed to prevent spoilage or contamination.
Potato chips shall be packaged in accordance with Weights and Measures requirements of the destination country.
3In case of fried potato chips for distribution (under controlled conditions), in addition to the requirements of EAS 38, the following specific labeling requirements shall apply and shall legibly and indelibly marked.
Representative samples for determining the conformity of the material to the requirements of this specification shall be drawn in accordance with the relevant East African standard.
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