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EAS 755:2011
ICS 67.060
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
HS 0713.39.15
© EAC 2011
First Edition 2011
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 2011 — All rights reserved*
East African Community
P O Box 1096
Arusha
Tanzania
Tel: 255 27 2504253/8
Fax: 255-27-2504481/2504255
E-Mail: eac@eachq.org
Web: www.each.int
* © 2011 EAC — All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for EAC Partner States’ NSBs.
iiThis standard has been developed to take into account:
| 1 | Scope | 1 | |
| 2 | Normative references | 1 | |
| 3 | Terms and definitions | 2 | |
| 4 | Quality Requirements | 3 | |
| 4.1 | General requirements | 3 | |
| 4.2 | Specific requirements | 3 | |
| 5 | Contaminants | 4 | |
| 5.1 | Heavy metals | 4 | |
| 5.2 | Pesticide residues | 4 | |
| 5.3 | Mycotoxin limits | 4 | |
| 6 | Hygiene | 4 | |
| 7 | Packaging | 5 | |
| 8 | Labelling | 5 | |
| 9 | Sampling methods | 6 | |
Cowpeas — Specification
This East African Standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for dry cowpeas of the varieties (cultivars) grown from Vigna unguiculata Linn.Sync. Vigna sinensis (L.) Hassk. intended for human consumption.
The following normative documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text constitute provisions of this East African Standard
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice
EAS 38, Labelling of pre-packaged foods — Specification
EAS 79, Cereals and pulses as grain — Methods of sampling
EAS 217, Methods for the microbiological examination of foods
ISO 520, Cereals and pulses — Determination of the mass of 1000 grains
ISO 605, Pulses — Determination of impurities, size, foreign odours, insects, and species and variety — Test methods
ISO 2164, Pulses — Determination of glycosidic hydrocyanic acid
ISO 2171, Cereals, pulses and by-products — Determination of ash yield by incineration
ISO 4112, Cereals and pulses — Guidance on measurement of the temperature of grain stored in bulk
ISO 4174, Cereals, oilseeds and pulses — Measurement of unit pressure loss in one-dimensional air flow through bulk grain
ISO 5223, Test sieves for cereals
ISO 5526, Cereals, pulses and other food grains — Nomenclature
ISO 5527, Cereals — Vocabulary
ISO 6322-1, Storage of cereals and pulses — Part 1: General recommendations for the keeping of cereals
ISO 6322-2, Storage of cereals and pulses — Part 2: Practical recommendations
ISO 6322-3, Storage of cereals and pulses — Part 3: Control of attack by pests
ISO 6639-1, Cereals and pulses — Determination of hidden insect infestation — Part 1: General principles
ISO 6639-2, Cereals and pulses — Determination of hidden insect infestation — Part 2: Sampling
ISO 6639-3, Cereals and pulses — Determination of hidden insect infestation — Part 3: Reference method
ISO 6639-4, Cereals and pulses — Determination of hidden insect infestation — Part 4: Rapid methods
ISO 13690, Cereals, pulses and milled products — Sampling of static batches
1ISO 16002:2004, Stored cereal grains and pulses — Guidance on the detection of infestation by live invertebrates by trapping
ISO 16050, Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products — High performance liquid chromatographic method
ISO/TS 16634-2, Food products — Determination of the total nitrogen content by combustion according to the Dumas principle and calculation of the crude protein content — Part 2: Cereals, pulses and milled cereal products
ISO 20483, Cereals and pulses — Determination of the nitrogen content and calculation of the crude protein content — Kjeldahl method
ISO 24557, Pulses — Determination of moisture content — Air-oven method
CODEX Stan 193, Codex general Standards for contaminants and toxins in Food and Feed
For the purpose of this standard the following definitions and grading factors shall apply:
dry mature seeds of Vigna unguiculata L.
pieces of cowpeas that are less than three-quarters the size of a whole seed
whole or broken cowpeas that are sprouted, frost damaged, heated, damaged by insects, distinctly deteriorated or discoloured by weather or by disease, or that are otherwise
cowpeas which are under-developed and wrinkled over their entire surface excluding wrinkled chickpeas
broken pieces of cowpeas that are less than three-quarters of the whole seed, and cotyledons that are loosely held together by the seed coat
any extraneous matter than cowpeas or other food grains comprising of
any seed which if present in quantities above permissible limit may have damaging or dangerous effect on health, organoleptic properties or technological performance such as Jimson weed — datura (D. fastuosa Linn and D. stramonium Linn.) corn cokle (Agrostemma githago L., Machai Lallium remulenum Linn.) Akra (Vicia species), Argemone mexicana, Khesari and other seeds that are commonly recognized as harmful to health
2Cowpeas shall meet the following general requirements/limits as determined using the relevant standards listed in Clause 2. Cowpeas;
Cowpeas shall be graded into three grades on the basis of the tolerable limits established in Table 1 which shall be additional to the general requirements set out in this standard.
Shall be cowpeas which do not fall within the requirements of Grades 1, 2, and 3 of this standard but are not rejected cowpeas.
Note: For Tanzania and Burundi this requirement shall not apply.
Reject cowpeas shall be peas which are musty, sour, heating, materially weathered, or weevily; which have any commercially objectionable odour; which contain insect webbing or filth, animal filth, any unknown foreign substance, broken glass, or metal fragments; or which are otherwise of distinctly low quality. The characteristics are not within the parameters specified in Table 1. They cannot satisfy the conditions of under grade cowpeas and shall be graded as reject cowpeas and shall be regarded as unfit for human or animal consumption.
3| Characteristics | Maximum limits | Method of test | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | ||
| Foreign matter, % m/m | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.0 | ISO 605 |
| Inorganic matter, % m/m | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.75 | |
| Broken/split grains, % m/m | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Pest damaged grains, % m/m | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| Rotten & Diseased grains, % m/m | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | |
| Discoloured grains, % m/m | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Immature/Shrivelled grains, % m/m | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Filth, % m/m | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
| Total Defective Grains, % m/m | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| Moisture, % m/m | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | ISO 24557 |
| Total Aflatoxin (AFB1+AFB2+AFG1 +AFG2)), ppb | 10 | ISO 16050 | ||
| Aflatoxin B1 only, ppb | 5 | |||
| Fumonisin ppm | 2 | |||
Cowpeas shall comply with those maximum limits for heavy metals established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.
Cowpeas shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity
Note: where the use of certain pesticides is prohibited by some Partner States, then it shall be notified to all Partner States accordingly.
Cowpeas shall comply with those maximum mycotoxin limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity. In particular, total aflatoxin levels in cowpeas for human consumption shall not exceed 10 µg/kg (ppb) with B1 not exceeding 5 µg/kg (ppb) when tested according to ISO 16050.
Cowpeas shall be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with the provisions of appropriate sections of EAS 39
When tested by appropriate standards of sampling and examination listed in Clause 2, the products:
| Type of micro-organism | Limits | Test method | |
|---|---|---|---|
| i) | Yeasts and moulds, max. per g | 104 | EAS 217 |
| ii) | S.aureus per 25 g | Not detectable | |
| iii) | E. Coli, max. per g | Not detectable | |
| iv) | Salmonella, max. per 25 g | Not detectable |
Cowpeas shall be packed in suitable packages which shall be clean, sound, free from insect, fungal infestation and the packing material shall be of food grade quality.
Cowpeas shall be packed in containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, technological and organoleptic qualities of the products.
The containers, including packaging material, shall be made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use. They shall not impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product.
Each package shall contain cowpeas of the same type and of the same grade designation.
If cowpeas are presented in bags, the bags shall also be free of pests and contaminants.
Each package shall be securely closed and sealed.
In addition to the requirements in EAS 38, each package shall be legibly and indelibly marked with the following:
Note: EAC partner states are signatory to the International Labour Organizations (ILO) for maximum package weight of 50 kg where human loading and offloading is involved
Sampling shall be done in accordance with the EAS 79/ISO 13690.
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