DEAS 1063: 2021  
ICS xxxxxx  
 
© EAC 2021                                                                                                                            First Edition 2021 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Dried meat  ― Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 1063:2021  
ii © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
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 DEAS 1063:2021  
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitat ed 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 goods and services are exchanged 
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 National 
Standards Bodies in Partner St ates, 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 including government, academia, consum er 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 incorporated before finalization of sta ndards, 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 Standards are therefore expected to ensur e that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 004 , Meat and meat 
products . 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the 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 1063:202 1 
 
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  1 
 Dried meat  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This d raft East African Standard specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for dried meat . 
2 Normative references  
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated referenc es, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (in cluding any amendments) applies . 
EAS 769 , Specification for edible fats and oil  
EAS 35,  Edible salt – Specification  
Codex Standard GSFA 192  
EAS 39 , Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry - Code of practice  
ISO 22000 , Food safety management systems - Requirements for any organization in the food chain  
EAS 151 , Hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP)  
CAC/MRL 2 , Maximum Residue Limits for Veterinary Drugs in Food  
EAS 38 , Labelling of pr e-packaged foods  
ISO 4832 , — Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs -- Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms — Colony -count technique  
ISO 16649 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs -— Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
beta-glucuronidase -positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony -count technique at 44 degrees C using 5 -
bromo -4-chloro -3-indolyl beta -D-glucuronide  
ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagu lase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 1: Technique using 
Baird -Parker agar medium  
ISO 6579 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of Salmonella 
spp. 
ISO 11290 – 1, Microb iology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of 
Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. -- Part 1: Detection method  
CAC/RCP 58 -2005,  Codex code of hygienic practice for meat  
EAS 12 , Specification for potable water   DEAS 1063:2021  
2 © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
 ISO 17604 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - carcass sampling  
ISO/TS 17728 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - sampling techniques for microbiological 
analysis of foods and feeds  
ISO 16654 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding  stuffs - Horizontal method for the detection of Escherichia 
coli 0157:H7  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following  terms and definitions apply . 
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the  following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1 Meat  
all parts of an animal that are intended for, and have been judged as safe and suitable for human 
consumption  
3.2 Meat  product  
Is meat that has been subjected to treatment irreversibly modifying its Organoleptic and physiochemical 
characteristic (OIE)  
3.3 Dried m eat  
meat product that has undergone water loss to achieve desired moisture content obtained through appropriat e 
techniques such as but not limited to sun drying, solar drying, oven drying, air drying, heat drying and freeze 
drying  
3.4 Food producing animals  
are gazetted animals that are wholesome and fit for human consumption  
3.5 Ready -to-eat 
Products that are in tended to be consumed without any further cooking steps  
3.6 Meat speciation  
method of analysis for species identification in raw, heated and/or processed  meat products offered for sale  
4 Raw materials  
4.1 Meat shall be inspected and approved as wholesome a nd fit for human consumption and free from 
objectionable odours, flavours and other contamination.  
4.2 All ingredients shall be of acceptable biological, chemical and physical quality and complying with the 
relevant East African  standards.  
5 Requirements  
5.1 General requirements  
5.1.1  The meat used for preparing dried meat product shall be obtained from food producing animals which 
have been slaughtered in accordance  with CAC/RCP 58.  
5.1.2  The meat shall be inspected and approved as fit for human consumptio n by a competent authority.  DEAS 1063:2021  
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  3 
 5.1.3  The meat used for this processing shall be from one type and its flavor must be characteristic of that 
type.  
5.1.4  The products shall be free from foreign bodies, dirt, sign of spoilage and unacceptable odors.  
5.2 Specific  requirements  
The Dried meat shall comply with the specific  requirements given in Table 1 , when tested in accordance with 
the test methods specified therein . 
Table 1 — Specific  requirements for dried meat  
 
S/No.  Parameters  Limits for the final product  
% m/ m Test method  
i.  Moisture content, max.  30 ISO 936  
ii.  Crude fat, max.  25 ISO 1442  
iii.  Crude protein, min.  20 ISO 937  
iv.  Total ash, max.  5 ISO 936  
 
5.2.2 Quality requirements  
Dried meat shall comply with the following quality requirements.  
5.2.2.1  The appearanc e of the dried meat shall be as uniform as possible. The absence of large wrinkles and 
notches indicates the desired steady and uniform dehydration of meat.  
5.2.2.2  The colour  of the surface, as well as of the cross -cut should be uniform and dark red. A da rker 
peripheral layer and bright red colour in the centre indicates excessively fast drying. Because of the remaining 
higher water content in the centre, these meat parts may still be susceptible to microbiological growth.  
5.2.2.3  The texture  of properly d ried meat shall be hard, similar to frozen meat. A softer texture can be 
recognized by pressing the meat between your fingers. These pieces shall be kept for one more day in the 
dryer for finishing.  
5.2.2.4  Taste and flavour  are very important criteria for  the acceptance of dried meat by the consumer. Dried 
meat shall possess a mild salty taste which is characteristic for naturally dried meat with no added spices. Off -
odours shall not occur. However, a slightly rancid flavour, which occurs because of chemic al changes during 
drying and storage, is commonly found in dried meat and is acceptable. Dried meat with a high fat content 
shall not be stored for a long period but used as soon as possible in order to avoid intensive rancidity.  
6 Optional ingredients  
 
a) Spices, Seasonings and Condiments shall comply with relevant East African Standard ; 
b) Edible fat and oil complying with EAS 769 ;  
c) Salts complying with EAS 35 ; 
d) Curing agents complying with Codex GSFA.  
7 Food additives  
The food additives used in the dried meat p roduct shall be in accordance with Codex Standard GSFA 192.  DEAS 1063:2021  
4 © EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  
 8 Hygiene requirements  
Dry meat products shall be prepared in hygienic conditions as stipulated in EAS 39.  
9. Microbiological limits  
Dried meat  shall comply with the microbiological limits  in Table 2, when tested in accordance with the test 
methods specified therein . 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for dried meat  
 
S/No.  Type of organisms  Dried meat  Test method  
Ready to eat  Further processing  
i.  Enterobacteriaceae, cfu/g, max.  102 103 ISO 2152 8-2 
ii.  Escherichia coli , cfu/g, max.  absent  103 ISO 16649 -2 
iii.  Coagulase positive  staphylococcus 
aureus, cfu/g, max.  absent  103 ISO 6888 -1 
iv.  Salmonella, per 25g  absent  absent  ISO 6579  
v.  Listeria monocytogenes cfu/g  absent  absent  ISO 11290 -2 
vi.  Yeast and mould s, cfu/g  102 104 ISO 21527 -2 
 
10 Dried meat speciation  
The identification/isolation of meat species shall be done according to the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) 
test and Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) procedure amongst other validated metho ds. 
11 Contaminants  
11.1 Veterinary drug residue s 
Dried meat shall have a maximum Residual limit for veterinary drugs in accordance with CAC/MRL -2. 
 
11.2 Pesticide residues  
Dried meat shall have a maximum pesticide residues limit as in accordance with Code x Alimentarious 
standards.  
12 Heavy metal s  
Dried meat  shall not contain heavy metal contaminants in excess of the limits given in Table 3 , when tested in 
accordance with the test methods specified therein.  
Table 3 — Heavy metal contaminants limits for dried meat  
S/No.  Contaminants limits  Maximum limits  
ppm  Test method  
i.  Arsenic (As ) 0.1 ISO 17294 -2 
ii.  Lead (Pb)  0.1 ISO 6633  
iii.  Cadmium  (Cd) 0.05 ISO 5961  
iv.  Mercury  (Hg) 0.03 ISO 6637  DEAS 1063:2021  
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  5 
 13 Packaging  
Dried meat  shall be packaged in suitable food grade material s which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, 
technological and organoleptic properties  of the product.  
14 Labelling  
Labelling of packages of dried meat shall be done in accordance with the requirements stipulated in EAS 38 . 
Labelling of pre -packaged food  shall include the following:  
a) Name of the product (of meat used) as appropriate ;  
b) Name, location and address of manufacturer;  
c) Net weight, in g or kg;  
d) Declaration as either “raw”,” cooked” “smoked’’ ; 
e) Declar ation as either “ ready -to-eat” or “for further proc essing ”; 
f)     Declaration of method of drying ; 
g) List of ingredients in descending order;  
h) Nutrit ional information;  
i)    Declaration of preservatives used;  
j)    Date of manufacture;  
k) Expiry date;  
l)     Batch number;  
m) Instructions for use;  
n) Storage conditions;  and 
o) Count ry of origin .  
15 Sampling  
Samples shall be taken in accordance with the prov isions of  ISO/TS 17728.     
 
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved