© EAC 2023 – All rights  reserved  iii  
DEAS 1160:2023  
 
DRAFT  EAST  AFRICAN  STANDARD  
Breakfast Cereals -Specification  
EAST AFRICAN  COMMUNITY   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights  reserved  iii  
DEAS 1160:2023  
 
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DEAS 1160:2023  
  
 
Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing 
requirements  governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is 
envisaged that through  harmoni zed standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when 
goods and services are exchanged  within  the Community  will be removed.  
 
In order to achieve this objective, the Community established an East African Standards Committee 
mandated  to develop  and issue  East African  Standards.  
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.  
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.  
 
 
 © EAC 2023 – All rights  reserved  iii  
DEAS 1160:2023  
  
 
Introduction  
 
Breakfast cereal foods can be classified based on either the amount of time required for domestic 
cooking, the form of the breakfast cereal or the cereal used as a raw material.  
 
The types that require no cooking are called ready -to-eat cereals and these are available in a 
variety of forms. These ready -to-eat cereals are usually consumed with milk or water and with or 
without added sugar.  
 
 © EAC 2023  – All rights  reserved  1  
  
 
Breakfast Cereals  — Specification  
 
 
1. Scope  
 
This draft East African Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for 
breakfast cereals intended for human consumption.  
 
2. Normative  references  
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.  
 
AOAC 999.11, Determination of Lead, Cadmium, Copper, Iron, and Zinc in Foods, Atomic 
Absorption Spectrophotometry after Dry Ashing  
 
CXS 193, General standards for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
 
EAS 805 Guidelines for nutrition and health claims.  
 EAS 38, Labelling  of pre -packaged  foods  — Specification  
EAS 39, Hygiene  in the food and drink  manufacturing  industry  — Code of  practice;  
 
EAS 900,  Cereals and pulses — Sampling  
 
EAS 901,  Cereals and pulses — Test methods  
 
ISO 6579 -1 Microbiology  of the food chain  — Horizontal  method  for the detection,  enumeration  
and serotyping  of Salmonella  — Part 1: Detection  of Salmonella  spp. 
 
ISO 21527 -2, Microbiology  of food and animal  feedstuffs  — Horizontal  method  for the enumeration  
of yeasts                and moulds  — Part 2: Colony  count  technique  in products  with water activity  less than or 
equal  to 0.95 
 
ISO 16050  Foodstuffs  - Determination  of aflatoxin  B1, and the total content  of aflatoxins  B1, B2, G1  
and G2  in cereals,  nuts and derived  products  - High-performance liquid  chromatographic  method   
 
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 7305 Milled cereal products — Determination of fat acidity  
 
ISO 5985, Animal feeding stuffs — Determination of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid© EAC 2023  – All rights  reserved  2  
 3.0 Terms  and definitions  
 
For the purposes of  this standard,  the following  terms  and definitions  shall apply.  
3.1 
flaked breakfast cereals   
ready to eat breakfast cereals made by pressing cooked whole grain  kernel or part of kernel or the 
grain  grits through rollers or by extrusion.  
 
3.2 
puffed breakfast cereals   
ready to eat cereals made by exploding cooked grains from a pressurized chamber.  
 
3.3 
cereal bar  
ready to eat breakfast cereal made of a mixture of different cereal grains which are either flaked or 
puffed with optional additional ingredients such as dried  fruits,  nuts, seeds and may be coated with 
products like chocolates or any to other suitable food coating.  
 
3.4 
muesli  
loose mixture of rolled cereal grains and other ingredients including dried fruits nuts and seeds.  
 
3.5  
food grade packaging material  
packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use and 
which will not impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product  
  
3.6 
extruded flaked cereals  
ready -to-eat cereal flakes where the grit for flaking is formed by extruding mixed ingredients 
through a die and cutting pellets of the dough into the desired size  
 
3.7 
gun-puffed whole grains  
ready -to-eat cereal flakes formed by cooking the grains and then subjecting them to a sudden large 
pressure drop. As steam under pressure in the interior of the grain seeks to equilibrate with the 
surrounding lower - pressure atmosphere, it forces the grains to expand quickly or "puff."  
 
3.8 
extruded gun -puffed  
ready -to-eat cereal flakes that use a meal or flour as the starting ingredient instead of whole grains. 
The dough cooks in the extruders and is then formed into the desired shape when extruded through 
a die  
 
3.9 
oven -puffed cereals  
ready -to-eat cereal flakes made almost exclusively using whole -grain rice or corn, or mixtures of 
these two grains, because rice and corn inherently puff in the presence of high heat and the proper 
moisture content  
 
3.10 © EAC 2023  – All rights  reserved  3  
 shredded whole grains  
ready -to-eat cereal flakes which are continuously produced by pelletizing agglomerates of cooked, 
tempered, whole cereal grain particles  
 
3.11 
extruded shredded cereals  
ready -to-eat cereal flakes where the grit for flaking is formed by extruding mix ed ingredients 
through a die and cutting pellets of the dough into the desired size  
 
3.12 
granola cereals (cereal mixes ) ready -to-eat cereals that are prepared by taking regular, old -
fashioned whole -rolled oats or quick -cooking oats and mixing them with other ingredients, such as 
nut pieces, coconut, brown sugar, honey, malt extract, dried milk, dried fruits, water, cinnamo n, 
nutmeg and vegetable oil.  
 
4 Product descriptions  
 
Breakfast cereals are categorized as  
a) traditional cereals that require further cooking or heating before consumption; examples may 
include but not be limited to products from oats, farina (wheat),rice , corn (excluding corn 
grits); and  
 
b) ready -to-eat cereals that  can be consumed from the package or with the addition of  milk. They 
are typically grouped by cereal form rather than the type of grain used. These groups include flaked 
cereals, extruded flaked  cereals, gun -puffed whole grains, extruded gun -puffed cereals, oven -
puffed cereals, shredded whole grains, extruded shredded cereals, cereal bar and granola cereals.  
 
5. Requirements  
 
5.1 Ingredients  
The following ingredients  complying to  relevant standards shall be used in the processing of 
breakfast cereal but not limited to the following;  
 
5.1.1 Essential ingredients  
Cereals grains and derived products  
 
5.1.2 Optional ingredients  
In addition to the essential ingredients specified under 4.2.1, any of the following ingredients may be 
used in the manufacturer of breakfast cereals in singly or in combination : 
 
(a) sugar or sweentening agents  
(b) dried fruits  
(c) salt  
(d) Nuts and  oilseeds  
(e) edible fats and oil  
(f) micronutritients  
 
5.2 General  requirements  
 
Breakfast cereal shall be 
 
(a) Tender , crispy, and reasonably uniform in size and of characteristic flavo ur and  colour.  © EAC 2023  – All rights  reserved  4  
 (b) Free from sogginess and d ampness  
(c) Free from rancid, musty, sour  and other undesirable tastes.  
(d) Free from insects and foreign matters.  
(e)  fit for consumption as per the serving suggestion  
 
5.3 Specific  requirements  
 
Breakfast cereals shall comply with the requirements given in Tables 1 when tested in  accordance to 
the test me thods specified therein . 
 
 
Table  1 — Specific requirements  for 
breakfast cereal s 
S/N Parameter  Limits  Test method  
 
1 Moisture (max) % m/m  Muesli  and 
oats 12 EAS 901 
Clause 5  
Others  7.5 
Cereal bars  14 
2 Fat Acidity,(mg NaOH/ 100g)  4 
[80] ISO 7305  
3 Acid Insoluble Ash Max% 
m/m 
 
 0.2 
 ISO 5985  
 
6. Food  additives  
Food additives  may be used in the making of breakfast cereals and shall comply  with CXS  192 
 
7. Hygiene  
 
7.1 Breakfast cereals  shall be prepared and handled in accordance with EAS 39.  
 
7.2 Breakfast cereals  shall comply with the  limits for microorganism  stipulated  in Table  2 when 
tested to the test methods specified therein . 
 
 
Table  2 — Microbiological  limits  for breakfast cereals  
S/N Parameter  Limits  Test method  
2 Salmonella sp.  25g  absent  ISO 6579 -1 
3 Escherichia coli  cfu/g  absent  ISO 16649 -2 
4 Staphylococcus aureus /25 g  absent  ISO 6888  
5 Yeast and moulds cfu/g , max  
 < 50  
[102  ] ISO 21527 -2 
 
 
8. Contaminants  
 © EAC 2023  – All rights  reserved  5  
 8.1 Heavy metals  
Breakfast cereals shall comply with the heavy metals l imits as stipulated in Table 3  
 
Table 3 — Heavy metal contaminants limits  
 
S/N Heavy metals  Limits (max) in 
ppm  Test method  
i Arsenic (As),  0.1  
 
AOAC 999.11  Ii Lead (Pb),  0.2 
 
iii Cadmium (Cd)  0.1 
 
 
8.2  Mycotoxin  
 
Breakfast  cereals shall comply with the maximum limits for mycotoxins given in Table 4 when tested 
in accordance with the test methods prescribed therein.  
 
Table 4 — Mycotoxin limits for breakfast cereals  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8.3 Other contaminants  
Ingredients used to make breakfast cereals as well as final product shall conform to those maximum 
levels  as per Codex Stan 193  
 
  
S/N Mycotoxin  limit (max)  Test method  
 
i.  Total aflatoxins µg/kg  10 EAS 901  
Clause 9  ii.  Aflatoxin B 1, µg/kg  5 © EAC 2023  – All rights  reserved  6  
 9. Packaging  
 
Breakfast cereals  shall be packaged  in food grade  packaging  material  which  will safeguard  the 
hygienic,  nutritional,  technological  and organoleptic qualities of  the products.  
 
10. Labelling  
 
10.1 The following specific labelling requirements shall apply and shall be legibly and indelibly 
marked in accordance with the requirements  of EAS  38. 
 
a)  product name  as “breakfast cereals ’ reflecting the true nature of the product    
b) the cereal used for preparation of the breakfast cereal shall be declared before the product 
name.  
c) name, address and physical location of the producer/packer/importer;  
d) Brand name/ trade name;  
e) Country of origin  
f) lot/batch/code number;  
g) net weight, in metric units;  
h) date of manufacture;  
i) Expiry date   
j) storage condition ; 
k) instructions for use ; 
l) declaration  of genetic modified organism (GMO) , if applicable.  
 
 
10.2 Labelling of non -retail containers  
Information detailed in 9.1 shall be given either on the container or in accompanying documents, 
except that the name of the product, lot identification and the n ame and address of the processor or 
packer as well as storage instructions, shall appear on the container.  However, lot identification and 
the name and address of the processor or packer may be replaced by an identification mark 
provided that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanying documents.  
 
10.3 The use of pictorials, which misrepresent the true nature of the product on the label,  is 
prohibited.  
 
10.4 Nutrition and Health claims  
Nutritional labelling, nutrition and health claims may be made in accordance with EAS 803, EAS 804 
and EAS 805  
 
11 sampling  
 
Sampling shall be  done in accordance with EAS  900 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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