DJS
 215: 2023
 
ICS 67.220 .10 
Draf
t Jamaican Standard  
Spec
ification 
for 
Jer
k seasoning and jerk sauce  
BUREAU OF STANDARDS JAMAICA
    PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD:  
 19 JULY 2023 – 17 SEPTEMBER 2023  
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
   
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
    
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
    
 
 
IMPORTANT NOTICE  
 
Jamaican standards are subjected to periodic review. The next amendment will be sent without charge if you cut along the dott ed line 
and return the self -addressed label. If we do not receive this label we have no record that you wish to be kept up-to -date. Our address:  
 
Bureau of Standards Jamaica  
6 Winchester Road  
P.O. Box 113 
Kingston 10  
Jamaica W.I.  
 
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JS 215: 2023 
 
NAME OR DESIGNATION…………………………………………………….………………………………. 
 
ADDRESS……………………………………………………………………….………….……… 
 
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DJS 215 : 2023 
ICS: 67.220.10  
  
JBS CERTIFICATION MARK PROGRAMME  
 
 
The general p olicies of the JBS Certification Mark Programme are as follows:  
 -    The JBS provides certification services for manufacturers participating in the programme and  
licensed to use the gazetted JBS Certification Marks to indicate conformity with Jamaican Standards.  
 
-    Where feasible, programmes will be developed to meet special requirements of the submitter. 
Where applicable, certification may form the basis for acceptance by inspection authorities   responsible for enforcement of regulations.  
 -     I n performing its functions in accordance with its policies, JBS will not assume or undertake any 
responsibility of the manufacturer or any other party.  
 
Participants in the programme should note that in the event of failure to resolve an issue arising from  
interpretation of requirements, there is a formal appeal procedure.  
 
Further information concerning the details of the JBS Certification Mark Programme may be obtained 
from the Bureau of Standards , 6 Winchester Road, Kingston 10.  
   
 
 
CERTIFICATION MARKS  
 
 
 
   
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
            
    
                                         
                     
 
Product Certification Marks                               Plant Certification Mark  
 
 
 
                                      
  
 
              Certification of Agricultural Produce     Jamaica- Made Mark  
                               (CAP) Mark  
  
 
DJS 215 : 2023 
ICS: 67.220.10  
  
    
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Jamaican Standard Specification  
 
For 
 
Jerk seasoning and jerk sauce 
  
 
   
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
Bureau of Standards  Jamaica  
6 Winchester Road  
P.O. Box 113  
Kingston 10  
Jamaica, WI  
Tel: 876 -926 -3140 -5 
Fax: 929 -4736  
E-mail: info@bsj.org.jm
 
 
Month  2023 
 
 
DJS 215: 2023  
 
 
ii 
  © 202 3 Bureau of Standards  Jamaica   
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of a Bureau of Standards publication 
may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means , ele ctronic or mechanical, 
including, photocopying microfilm or scanning, without permission in writing.  
 
ISBN XXX XXX XXX XXX X 
Declared by the Bureau of Standards to be a standard specification pursuant to section 7 of the 
Standards Act 196 9. 
 
First pub lished  March 1998    
 
Revis ed Month  2023 
 
This standard specification was circulated in draft form for  comments under  the reference DJS 215:  
2023  
 
Jamaican standards establish requirements in relation to commodities, processes and practices, but do not purp ort to  include all the necessary provisions of a contract.  
 The attention of those using this standard is called to the necessity of complying with any relevant 
legislation.  
  
Amendments  
 
No. 
  
Date of  
 issue   
Remarks   
Entered by  
 and date  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
DJS 215: 20 23 
 
iii 
 Contents                                                                                                                  Page 
 
           
 
 
 Foreword  iv 
Committee R epresentation  iv 
Acknow ledgeme nt v 
Related documents  
 v 
1    Scope  1 
2    Terms and Definiti ons 1 
3    Product descri ption 2 
4    Classification  3 
5    General requireme nts 5 
6    Packag ing 6 
7    Lab elling  6 
8    Sampling and methods of test  6  
 
DJS 215: 2023  
iv 
 National Foreword  
 
 
This standard is a revision of  and s upersedes JS 215: 1998. The purpose of this standard is to establish 
the sig nificant quality requirements for jerk seasoning and sauces in order to provide users and 
distributors with a common understanding of the natural characteristics of the produ ct. 
 Jerk, an ethnic form of food preservation, is indigenous to Jamaica.  Jerk seasoning and jerk sauces are 
prepared by combining several spices and herbs including pimento.  Jerk seasoning and sauces are used to enhance the flavour of food and its a ccept ance t o consumers.  
  
Committee representation 
 
The preparation of this standard fo r the Standards Council, established under the Standards Act 1969, 
was carried out under the supervision of the BSJ's National Food Standards Technical Committee  
which a t the  time comprised the following members:  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
v 
  
 
 
Acknowl edgement  
  
Acknowledgement is made to the following institutions and authors for permission to reproduce 
material from their respective documents.  
  
Association of Offi cial Analyt ical Chemists  
  
 Official Methods of Analysis 13th and 14th 
edition  
 
Egan, H; Kirk, R.S; Sawyer, R  Pearson's Chemical Analysis of Food, 8th 
Edition  
Food and Drug Administration  BAM, 7th edition  
Ministry of S upply and Servic es (Canada)  Compend ium o f Anal ytical Methods, Vol. 
1 Official Methods of Microanalysis of 
Foods  
Kitic, D. et al. Journal of Food Science 1986, 
51(4):1037).   
  
Related documents  
 This standard makes reference to the following:  
  
Association of Official Analytical 
Chemists  Official Met hods of Analysis 13th and 14th 
edition  
 
Bender, A rnold , E Butterworths  Dicti onary of Nu trition Food Technology 5th 
Edition  
Egan, H; Kirk, R.S ; Saw yer, R Li vingston  Pearson ’s Chemical Analysis of Foods , 8th 
Edition C hurch hill Livingston; Eding burgh  
 
FDA  Bacteriological Analytical Met hod, 7th Edition  
ISO 2859  Sampling procedures and tables for 
inspection by attribut es  
 
Ministry of S upply and Servic es 
(Canada)  Compendium of Analytical Methods, Vol. 1  
Official Methods of Microanalysis of Foods  
 
JS 350  Jamaican Stan dard Specification for Labelling 
of goods - Specific  requirements  for pre -
packaged goods  
JS CR S 5  Jamaican Standard Specification for Label ling 
of pre-packaged foods  
JS 36  Jamaica n Standard S pecification for 
Processed foods (genera l)  
The Sta ndard  (Lab elling of pro cessed 
foods ) regulations, 1974   
 
 
JS CODEX S TAN 192 -1995  Codex General Standard for Food additives  
  
1 
  
 
 
Jamaican Standard Specification  for Jerk seasoning and jerk sauce  
 
 1  Scope  
 
This standard specifies requirements for: 
(a) Jerk seasoning  
i. Style 1 for f oods prior to heat processing  
ii. Style 2 for foods wh ich may not be further heat treated; and  
 
(b) Jerk sauce  
 
 
2 Terms and Definitions  
   
For the purpose of this standard the following terms  and definitions apply:  
 2.1  
approve d   
as indicated and acceptable for u se in the most recent version of the JS CODEX Gene ral standard for 
Food additives . 
  2.2  
chemical preservative  
any approved chemical, that when added to food prevents or retards the  process of fermentation , 
putrefaction or other de composition.   
 
2.3  
flavo ur enhancer     
a food additive, which enhances the existing taste and/or odour of a food.  
 2.4  
ingredient     
any substance, including a food additive, used in the manufacture or preparation of a food and is present 
in the final p roduct although possibly i n a modified form . 
 2.5 
pasteurization  
partial sterilization of a product  to make it safer for consumption and improve its keeping quality . 
 2.6 
salt   
white, refined sodium chloride with or without anti -caking age nt. 
 2.7 
sanitiz er 
an agent that reduces t he microbial load to safe levels.  
 
2.8  
seasoning   
an ingredient  (wet or dry)  added to food primarily for the flavour that it imparts.    
  
2 
  
2.9  
spice   
any aromatic vegetable substance in whole, broken or g round for m, w hose signific ant function in food 
is seasoning and from w hich no p ortion of volatile o il or other flavouring agent has been rem oved . 
 
2.10      
vinegar    
The liquid obtained by the fermentation of an alcoholic liquid which shall contain no l ess than 4g of 
acetic  acid per 100 mL  (4 g/100mL) . 
 
2.11  
water activity  
The water activity of a food  is the ratio between the vapour pressure of the food itself, when in a 
completely  undisturbed balance with the surrounding air media, and the vapour pressure of dist illed  
wate r und er identical  conditions.  
 
NOTE  Equation: a w = RH (Relative Humidity)/ 100 
 
2.12 
Jerk seasoning  
Jerk seasoning refers to a blend of herbs and spices, including pimento (allspice), escallion, thyme, hot 
pepper, an approved acidi fier and salt. Jerk seaso ning can be a wet paste consis ting of fresh 
ingredients and dry spices, or it ma y comprise only the dry ingredients and spices.  
 
NOTE 1 Dry seasoning  does not include  liquid . Wet seasoning includes  a liquid  and is less 
conce ntrated t han dry seasonin g. Wet seasoning  also  has a higher  moisture  content  than  dry 
seasoning.  
NOTE  2 Herbs are products obtained from leaves, seeds or flowers of plants which impart flavours  in 
food  and have reached an appropriate degree of development for  processing. T hese are prepa red in 
an appropriate mann er, undergoing operations such  as cleaning, drying , rubbing, and milling.  
 
 
3     Product description  
 3.1   Jerk Seasoning  
 
3.1.1   Jerk seasoning shall be the product primarily prepared from a com bination of ground, clean  and 
whole some  ingre dients namely :  
 
(a) pime nto ( Pimenta dioica ), 
 
(b) escallion ( Allium fistu losum ),  
 (c) thyme ( Thymus vulgaris ),  
 (d) hot pepper ( Capsicum  species ), and 
 (e) salt. 
 
 
3.1.2   An approved  acidifier  (e.g.  citric acid,  vinega r or acetic acid)  shall  be used  for wet jerk seasoning   
3 
 and may  be used for  dry jerk seasoning.  
 
3.1.3   Optional ingredients  may include the following : 
 
a) anticaking agent , 
 
b) an approved chemical preservative,  
 
c) a flavour enhancer,  
 
d) sugar,  
 
e) black or white pepper ( Piper nigrum ), 
 
f) garli c (Allium sativ um), 
 
g) onion (Allium cepa ), 
 
h) other s pices ; and  
 
i) other ingredients (e.g. fruits or an a pproved food additive). 
 
3.2          Jerk Sauce  
 3.2.1     Jerk sauce shall be the comminuted liquid or semi -liquid product prepared from a combin ation 
of the ingredi ents used for  jerk sea soning and any variations thereof, which may be naturally 
fermented  and aged , and may contain a thickening agent.  
 
3.2.2  Jerk sauce shall be the product described in 3.2.1 which has been pasteurized, and which is 
intended to be used to flavour  other fo ods durin g or after cooking.  
 
 
4     Classification  
 
4.1          Jerk Seasoning  
 
4.1.1  Wet jer k seasoning  shall  be of the following  styles:  
 
a) Style 1 shall be the product as describe d in 3.1.1 to 3.1.3 which is prepared without heat 
and appli ed to  food prior  to cook ing. 
 
NOTE    Applicable  to jerk  marinade,  even  if it is pasteurized  during  production . 
 
b) Style 2 shall be the product as describe d in 3.1.1 to 3.1. 3 which is pasteurized and may be 
consumed without further heat treat ment.  
 
4.1.2  The finished  product  shall  meet  the chemica l requirements  and microbi ological and chemical 
requirements as detailed  in Tables 1 and 2 respectively .  
 
 
Table 1 - Chemical requirements for j erk seasoning  
  
4 
 Characteristic                     Requirement   
Dry  Jerk 
Seasoning  Wet  Jerk  
Seasoning  
 
Style  1 Wet Jerk  
Seasoning  
 
Style  2 
Salt (expressed  as 
sodium  chloride  by 
weight)  - 10% min.  5% min.  
pH -   
> 3.3  
< 4.0 
 Water activity (a w)  <0.6   
< 0.85    
Moisture  12 max  - - 
Acidity   - 1.2%  min . 1.2%  min . 
 
 
 
4.1.3  Microbiolo gical  contamina nts for spices an d jerk seasoning shall con form to  the requirements  as 
detailed in       Table  2. 
 
 
Table 2 - Microbiological requirements for jerk seasoning 
(Styles 1 and 2)  
Characteristic  
                                    Requirement  
Spices  Dry Jerk 
Seasoning  Wet  Jerk  
Seasoning 
Style  1 Wet  Jerk 
Seasoning 
Style  2 
Total  aerobic plate  
count  - - < 106/g or  mL  < 104 g or mL 
Coliform  count  - - < 100/  g or mL < 10/ g or mL 
Faeca l coliform  - - absent  absent  
Yeast  viability  - - negative  nega tive  
Yeast  and moulds  <1.0×105 < 1.0×105 <1.0 x 103/g or 
mL < 1.0 x 10/g  or 
mL 
Salmonella  Absent  in 
25g  Absent  in 25g  Absent  in 25g  Absent  in 25g  
E. coli < 1×102 /g < 1×102 /g Absent  or < 3.0 Absent  or < 3.0 
Extraneous  matter  See Note  1 free  free  free  
NOTE  1 The  requirement  for extra neous matter  for spices  is detailed  in the relevant  
sections.  
 
NOTE  2 The  finished  product  for dry and  wet jerk  seasoning  (style 1 and  style  2) 
shall  be free  of all extraneo us matter  which is  not characteristic  of the ingre dients  
used.   
5 
  
 
4.2         Jerk Sauce 
 
4.2.1   The finished  product  shall  conform to the  chemical  and microbiological  requirements  as 
detailed in Table  3 and Table 4 respectively.  
 
                                        Table 3 - Chemica l Requirement s for Jerk Sauc e 
 
Characteristic  Req uirement  
Salt (expressed  as 
sodium  chloride  by 
weight)  5% Min . 
pH ≤ 4.0 
Acidity   1.9% Min 
 
Table 4- Microbiological Requirements for Jerk Sauce  
 
Characteristic  Requirement  
Total  aerobic  plate  count   ≤ 104 g or mL 
Coliform  count  < 10/ g or mL 
Faecal  coliform  absent  
Yeast  and mould  ≤1.0 x 10/g  or mL 
Yeast  viabil ity negative  
Extraneo us matter  free  
NOTE The finished product shall be free of all extraneous 
matter which is not characteristic of the  ingredients  used.  
 
 
5 General requirements  
 
5.1        Preparation and processing  
 
5.1.1  Raw materi al pr eparation  
 5.1.1.1      All i ngre dients shal l be clean, wholes ome  and of food grade qual ity. Where app licable, they may  
be wash ed in a chlorine dip (7ppm to 10 ppm free chlorine) or other food grade sanitizers 
rinsed in potable water.  
 
5.1.2     Processing and preservation   
 
5.1.2.1   The raw mate rial shall  be pro cessed in such a m anner that will ensure preservation  and 
satisfactory shelf -life for at least 6 months from the date of processing.  
  
6 
 5.1.3     All processing areas, plants, equipment, floors, packaging material, personnel practices and 
hygi enic practi ces observe d in the productio n of jerk seasoning and jerk sauce shall comply with 
the requirements of the JS 36.  
 
5.1.4     The product shall be so mixed as to avoid stratification.  
 5.2           Requirements of the finished product  
 5.2.1     All style s of jerk seasoning an d jerk sa uce shall posses s a mild pungent dis tinctive flavour 
characteristi c of the product.  
 
5.2.2    The finished product shall meet the chemical and microbiological requirements as detailed in  
Table s 1 and 2.   
 
5.2.3    The finished pro duct shall be free of all extrane ous mat ter wh ich is not characteristic of the 
ingredi ents used.  
 
         
6  Packaging  
 
6.2     Only packaging material which is not likely to impa ir the organ oleptic or chemi cal characteristics of 
the prod uct or ma ke the product harmful shall be used.  
 
6.3     All steps in the pac kaging p rocess shall be performed in accordance with good manufacturing  
practices.  
 
 
7 Labelling  
 7.1     The product shall be labelled in accordance with the Processed Food Regulations, and the  JS CRS 5 . 
 
7.2      The label of jerk seasoni ng conf orm ing to Styl e 1 shall cl early state that the product  must only be 
added prior to pasteurization .  
 
 
8 Sampling a nd Methods of test  
 8.1     Samples of the finished product shall be tested for conformity  in accorda nce with the requirements 
of the DJS 369 Standa rd metho ds of test for jerk seas oning. 
 
 
 
 
END OF  DOCUMENT  
  
 
 
  
 
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The Standards Council is the controlling body of the Bureau of Standards and is responsible for the policy and general admini stration 
of the Bure au. 
 
The Council is appointed  by the Minister in the ma nner provided for in the Standards Act, 196 9.  Using its powers in the Standards 
Act, the Council appoints committees for specified purposes.  
 
The Standard s Act, 1968 sets out the duties of the Council  and the  steps to be followe d for the formulation of a standard.  
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 The following is an outline of the procedure which must be followed in the preparation of documents:  
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5. The Standards Council recommends the document t o the Minister for p ublicatio n. 
 
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standard.  
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