DEAS 1168:2023  
ICS 67.200.10  
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                          First Edition 2023 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
 
Edible coconut oil − Specification  
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY   DEAS 1168:2023  
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  DEAS 1168:2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East A frican Stand ards has been  neces sitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when good s and servic es are exchan ged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the Nat ional 
Standa rds Bodies in  Partn er States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders in cluding gove rnment, acade mia, c onsumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and inc orporated be fore finaliza tion o f standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Stand ards are the refore expect ed to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 015, Oil seeds, edible fats 
and oils .  
Attention is drawn to  the possibility that som e of t he elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all  such patent rights.  
 
 
 
 
 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1168:2023  
 
 Edible coconut oil − Specification  
1 Scope   
This draft East African Standard specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for virgin and refined 
coconut  oil derived from the kernel of the coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) intended for human consumption . 
2 Normative references   
The foll owing documents are referred to in the tex t in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of thi s docu ment. Fo r dated reference s, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edi tion of the referenced docume nt (in cluding any amendments) applies . 
EAS 38, Labelling of prepackaged foods  Specification  
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  Code of practice  
EAS 769, Fortified edible oils and fats — Specification  
EAS 803, Nutrition labelling — Requirements  
EAS 804, Claims —General requirements  
EAS 805, Use of Nutrition and health cla ims —Requirements  
CXG 66, Guidelines for the Use of Flavourings  
CXS 192, General Standard for Food Additives  
ISO 660, Animal and vegeta ble fats and oils — Determination of acid value and acidity  
ISO 661, Animal and vegetable fats and oils —Preparation of t est sample  
ISO 662, Animal and Vegetable fats and oils —Determination of moisture and volatile matter content  
ISO 663, Animal and veget able fats and oils —Determination of insoluble impurities content  
ISO 3657, Animal and vegetable fats and oils —Determina tion of saponification value  
ISO 3961, Animal and vegetable fats and oils —Determination of iodine value  
ISO 3960, Animal and vegetabl e fats and oils —Determination of peroxide value KS ISO 5555, Animal and 
vegetable fats and oils  Sampling  
ISO 6320, Anima l and vegetable fats and oils —Determination of refractive index  
ISO 10539, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of alkal inity 
ISO 12193, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of lead by direct graphite furnace atomic 
absorption spectroscopy  
ISO 13547 -2: Copper, lead, zinc and nickel sulfide concentrates —Determination of arsenic  Part 2: Acid 
digestion and induc tively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometric method  
ISO 17189, Butter, edible emulsions and spreadable fats —Deter mination of fat content (Reference method)   DEAS 1168:2023  
 ISO 21033 Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of trace elements by inductivel y coupled 
plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP -OES)  
3 Terms and definiti ons  
For the p urposes of this document, the following  terms and definitions apply . 
3.1  
virgin coconut oil  
edible coconut oil obtained without altering its nature that may be obta ined by use of mechanical procedures 
such as expelling or pressi ng, with or without  the application of heat and  without the u se of solvents. It  may 
have bee n purified by washing with water, settling, filtering,  and centrifuging only . 
3.2  
refined  (non-virgin) coconut oil  
edible coconut oil obtained by mec hanical procedures and/or solv ent extraction and subjected to ref ining 
processes . 
3.3 
fats and oils 
food stuffs which are composed of glycerides of fatty acids of plant and animal origin. They may contain  
small amounts  of other  lipids such  as phosp hatide s, unsaponifiable  constituents  and free fatty acids  naturally  
present in  the fat or oil  
3.4 
foreign  matter  
any material  visible  with naked  eye in a packaged  virgin  and refined coconut  oil 
3.5  
food grade  packaging  material  
packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for the intended use and wh ich will not 
impart any toxic subs tance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product  
4  Requ irements  
4.1 General requirements  
Edible  coconut o il shall;  
a) be free from foreign matter  
b) be free from rancid or undesirable  odour and/or taste.   
c) have  colour char acteristic of cocon ut oil  
4.2 Specific  requirements  
Edible coconut oil shall comply with the specific requirements given in Table 1, when test ed in accordance 
with the methods specified therein.  
Table 1―Specific requirement for Edible coconut oil  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i).  Moisture  and Volatile  matter  at 105 °C, %, 
m/m,  max.  0.2 ISO 662 
ii).  Insoluble  impuri ties, %, m/m,  max.  0.07 ISO 663 
iii).  Soap  Content,  %, m/m,  max.  0.005   ISO 10539  
iv).  Acid value,  (mg/KOH/g  (max).  
• Virgin   
4.0  ISO 660  DEAS 1168:2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 • Refined 0.6 
v).  Pero xide value,  (mEq  oxygen/kg  (max.))  
• Virgin  
• Refined   
15 
10  ISO 3960  
vi).  Iron (Fe) mg/kg,  max. \ 
• Virgin  
• Refined   
5.0 
1.5  ISO 21033  
 
vii).  Copper,  mg/kg,  max. 
• Virgin  
• Refined   
0.4 
0.1 
viii).  Iodine  Value  6.3-10.6  ISO 3961  
ix).  Saponification  value,  mg KOH/g  oil 248-265  ISO 3657  
x).  Refractive  index,  ND 40ºC 1.448 - 1.450   ISO 6320  
5 Fortification  
Refined e dible cocon ut oil may be fortified in accorda nce with EAS 769 . 
6 Food additives  and fla vouring agents  
6.1 Edible virgin coconut  oil shall not contain food additives  and flavouring  agents .  
6.2 Food additives when used in edible  refined  coconu t oil shall comply with CXS 1 92. 
6.3 Flavouring agents whe re used in edible refined coconut oil shall comply with CXG 66.  
6 Contaminants  
6.1 Pesticide residues  
Edible coconut oil shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity . 
6.2 Heavy metal contaminants   
Edible coconut oil shall comply with those maximum limits specified i n Table 2 when tested in accordance 
with the methods specified therein  
Table 2 — Heavy metal co ntaminant limits in Edible coconut oil  
S/ N Contaminant  Maximum Limit  
mg/kg Test method  
i) Lead  (Pb) 0.08 ISO 12193  
ii) Arsenic (As)  0.1 AOAC  952.13  
7 Hygiene  
Edible coconut oil shall be produced, processed, handled,  and stored in accordanc e with EAS 39 .  DEAS 1168:2023  
 8 Packaging   
Edible coconut oil shall be packaged in containers made f rom food grade packaging material  and sealed in a 
manner that will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional and organo leptic properties of the product  throughout  the 
shelf  life of the product.  
9 Labelling  
In addition to the lab elling requirements specifi ed in EAS 38  and EAS 803 , the following information shall be 
legibly and indelibly labelled;  
a) name of the prod uct as Coconut  oil  
b) type of the oil  as  
i). Virgin  
ii). Refined  (Non-virgin ) 
12 Nutrition and health claims  
Edible  coconut oil  may have claims on nutrition and health. Such claims when declared shall comply with 
EAS 804 and EAS 805  
10 Sampling  
Sampling and sample preparation for testing shall be carried out in accordance with ISO 5555 and ISO 661 
respectively.  
 DEAS 1168:2023    
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved