DEAS 1169:2023  
ICS 67.200.10  
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                           First Edition 2023 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
 
Raw Macadamia nuts - inshell  — Specification  
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY   DEAS 1169:2023  
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  DEAS 1169:2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East A frican Standards  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 services a re ex changed 
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 
Standards Bodie s 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 governme nt, academia, 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 before  finalization 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 therefo re ex pected 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 some 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 1169:2023  
 
 Raw Macadamia nuts - inshell  — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard speci fies the requirements, samplin g and test methods for raw macadamia 
nuts- inshell of varieties grown from Macadamia integrifolia, and Macadamia tetraphylla, and their hybrids 
whose kernels are 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 cont ent constitutes 
requirements of thi s docu ment. For dated reference s, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced docume nt (in cluding any amendments) applies . 
CXC 6 Code of Hygienic Practice for Tree Nuts  
ISO 665, Oilseeds — Determination of moisture and volatile matter content  
ISO 658 , Oilseeds — Determination of content of impurities  
ISO 16050, Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatox in B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products — High-performance liquid chromatographic method  
ISO 21294 Oilseeds – Manual or automatic discontinuous sampling  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the p urposes of this document, the following  terms and definitions apply . 
3.1  
macadamia nuts in -shell  
The seed of the plant Macadamia integrifolia  and tetraphylla and their hybrids whose outer cover (husk) has 
been removed  
3.2  
macadamia nuts in -husk  
The seed  of the plant Macadamia integrifolia  and tetraphylla and their hybrids whose outer cover(husk) is 
intact . 
3.3  
shell  
the inedible woody part of the in -shell nut that protects the kernel  
3.4 
foreign matter  
organic and inorganic materials other than raw mac adamia nuts in shell  which may include insects, molds, 
insect fragments, mites, excrements and rodents.   DEAS 1169:2023  
 3.5 
broken nut in -shell  
nut whose shell is split or seriously damaged to the extent that the kernel is visible to the naked eye. This 
excludes natural l ines in the shell .  
3.6 
pest damaged nut in -shell  
nut which show damage or owing attack by rodents, insects, mites or other pests or other causes that may 
be noticed without having to cut the nuts to examine them  
3.7 
disease damaged nut in -shell  
Nuts which  are affected by mould growth, rotting, or bacterial decomposition, or other causes that may be 
noticed without having to cut the nuts to examine them  
3.8 
husk  
 the outer hull of the macadamia nut, which covers the shell  
3.9 
total defectives  
The percentag e of damaged nuts such as the immature, broken, mouldy, and insect damaged nu ts’by 
weight present in the sample.  
4  Requ irements  
4.1 General requirements  
In all classes, subject to the special provisions for each class and the tolerances allowed, the mac adamia 
nuts in -shell shall : 
a) have the colour characteristic of the variety rangi ng brown, dark brown, slightly black in colour r  
b) be free from foreign matter  
c) be free from any undesirable flavours and off odours ;  
4.2 Specific requirements  
Raw macadamia nuts  in-shell shall comply with specific requirements given in Table 1 when tested in 
accordance with the methods specified therein . 
Table 1 - Specific requirements for raw macadamia nuts in -shell  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test Methods  
i) Moisture and vol atile matter cont ent % (m/m) max  10 ISO 665  
ii) Total defectives % by mass, max.  20 ISO 658  
iii) Out of total defecti ve, Mouldy nuts %, max.  5 ISO 658  
iv) Foreign matter, % by mass, max  2 ISO 658   DEAS 1169:2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 5 Size classification   
5.1 Sizing is optional . However,  when sized, size is determined by the diameter of the shortest axis of the 
shell measured in (millimetres or inches).  
Uniformity in size is expressed by:  
5.2 A size range defined by a maximum size and a minimum size which must not exceed  
• ±5 mm (1/5 in ch) of difference or,  
• Screening defined as a minimum size in diameter.  
5.3 In case size designations are used or indicated, Table 2 shall apply:  
Table2 Designation of size for inshell macadamia nuts  
Size designations  Diameter(mm)  Diameter (inches)  
Extra-large* > 28mm  > 1.1 inches  
Large * >23-28 mm  >0.9-1.1 inches  
Medium * >18-23 mm  >0.7-0.9 inches  
Small * 16-18mm  0.6-0.7 inches  
Undersize * < 16mm  <0.6 inches  
*Tolerance allowed in  all size designations  is 10% 
6  Hygi ene 
Raw macadamia nuts in -shell shal l be produced, prepared, handled and stored in accordance with CXC 6 . 
7 Aflatoxin  
Aflatoxin levels in raw macadamia nuts  shall not exceed the limits given in Table 3 when tes ted in 
accorda nce with the test method spe cified therein  
Table  3 — Aflatoxin  limits for raw macadamia  nut inshell  
S/No. Characteristic  Maximum limit  
µg/kg  Test method  
i.  Total  aflatoxin  10 
ISO 16050  
ii.  Aflatoxin B 1 5 
8 Packaging  
Raw macadamia nuts in -shell shall be packaged in appropriate materials that  will safeguard the hygienic, 
nutritional and organoleptic properties of the product during storage and transportation.  
9 Labelling  
Each package shall have the following information in the accompanying documents,  
a) product name as “Raw macadamia nuts -in shell”;   DEAS 1169:2023  
 b) Size where applicable  
c) name, address and physical location of the producer or packer or distributor or mporter or exporter or 
vendor  
d) lot/batch/code number where applicable  
e) net weight, in kilograms;  
f) crop year;  
h) country of origin ’  
10 Sampling  
Sampling shall be do ne in accordan ce with ISO 21294  
 DEAS 1169:2023    
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved