KENYA STANDARD         KS 2954 : 2021  
 ICS 67.060  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     Cake Mixes  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 20 21         First Edition 2021  
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  KS 2954: 2021  
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The following organizations were represented on the Technical Commit tee: 
 
Bidco Africa Ltd  
Egerton University  
Government Chemist's Department  
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute  
Kenya Medical Research Institute  
Mombasa Maize Millers Ltd  
National cereals and produce board  
National Public Health Laboratories -Food Safety and Nutritional Reference Laboratory  
Nestle Kenya Ltd 
Nutrition and Dietetics Unit, Ministry of Health  
Pembe Flour Mills Ltd  
Society of Crop Agribusiness Advisors of Kenya  
State Department for Industrialization  
The Technical University of Ken ya 
UNGA LIMITED  
University of Nairobi  
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to keep abreast with the progress in the industry, Kenya standards shall be regularly reviewed. 
Suggestions for improvement of published st andards are welcome and should be addressed to the Managing 
Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards.  
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 20 21 
 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 12 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyright subsists in 
all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau of Standa rds may 
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior per mission in writing from the Managing 
Director . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 KS 2954: 2021  
© KEBS 20 21 – All rights reserved                                                                                                                       3 
 
  
 
 
KENYA STANDARD           KS 2954: 2021  
 ICS 67.060   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cake  Mixes  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi -00200, Te l.: (+254 020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020) 604031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org,  Web:http://www.kebs.org   
 
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Fax: (+254 041) 229448    Fax: (+254 057) 21814               
 
 KS 2954: 2021  
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Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was developed by the Processed Cereals and Pulses Technical Committee under the 
guidance of the Standards Projects Committee, and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau 
of Standards.  
 
This standard covers the essential quality and safety  requirements of cake mixes available in the mar ket. 
 
During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following documents:  
 
KS 1042 , Specification for cakes  
 
GSO 852/1997 , Cake Mixes  
 
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for assistance derived from these sources.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 KS 2954: 2021  
© KEBS 20 21 – All rights reserved                                                                                                                       5 
 
  
 
Cake  Mixes  — Specification  
 
1 SCOPE  
This Kenya Standard specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for cake mixes  
 
2 Normative references  
 
The following standards are indispensable in the application of this standard.  
 
AOAC 999.10, Official meth od for lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, and iron in foods Atomic Absorption 
Spectrophotometry after microwave Digestion  
 
CXS 192, Codex Gene ral Standard for food additives  
 
KS EAS 901 , Cereals and pulses - Test methods  
KS EAS 39 , Code of practice for hygiene i n the food and drink manufacturing industry  
 
 
KS EAS 38 , Labelling of pre -packaged foods  
 
 
KS 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 11866 -1, Milk and milk products — Enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Part 1: Most probable 
number technique using 4 -methylumbelliferyl -beta-D-glucuronide (MUG)  
KS ISO 6888 -3, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 3: Detection and MPN 
technique for low numbers  
 
 
KS ISO 21528 -2, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration o f 
Enterobacteriaceae — Part 2: Colony -count technique  
 
 
3 Terms and definitions  
 
3.1  
Cake mix  
Food product prepared from a finely ground soft flour and other ingredients according to cake type.  
 
 KS 2954: 2021  
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 4 Requirements  
 
4.1 Essential ingredients  
Raw materials and  ingredients used in the production for the cake mixes shall comply with the relevant Kenya 
standards .  
4.3 General requirements  
Cake mixes shall:  
a) have characteristic taste, smell, texture and colour; according to the cake type  
b) It shall be, free from forei gn materials, living insects, fungus and insects’ infections, rodent contamination 
and objectionable tastes  
c) be free from off -flavours and odour.  
 
4.4 Specific  requirements  
 
Cakes shall comply with the compositional requirements in Table 1.  
 
Table 1  — Compo sitional requirements for cake  mix 
 Characteristic  Requirement  
  
Test method  
 
Moisture, % by mass, m ax  
12 % 
  
KS EAS 901  
Acid insoluble as h (on dry 
matter basis), % by mass, 
max.  0.1 
 KS 241  
 
 
5 Food additives  
 
Only the food additives permitted for the se products by the CXS 192 may be used without exceeding the limits.  
 
6 Hygiene  
6.1 The product shall be produced and handled in accordance with KS EAS 39.  
6.2       The product shall comply with the microbiological limits given in Table 2 when tested in a ccordance with 
the test methods specified therein.  
Table 2 — Microbiological requirements for cake  mixes  
S/N Micro -organism  Limit  Test method  KS 2954: 2021  
© KEBS 20 21 – All rights reserved                                                                                                                       7 
 
 i.  Eschirichia coli, CFU/g  
 102 ISO 11866 -1 
ii.  Staphylococcus aureus (coagulase 
positive), CFU/ g  Absent  KS ISO 688 8-3 
iii.  Salmonella spp, CFU/25 g  Absent  KS ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Yeast and moulds,  per g  104 KS ISO 21528  
 
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Pesticide residues  
The product  shall comply with maximum limits residues set by Codex Alimentarius Commission.  
7.3 Heavy Metal  
The product s hall comply with the microbi ological limits given in Table 3  when tested in accordance with the test 
methods specified therein.  
Table 2 — Heavy metal  limits  for cake mixes  
 
S/N Contaminant  Maximum  limits  
(mg/kg ) Test method  
i) Lead (Pb)  0.2 AOAC 999.10  
 
ii) Cadmium  0.2  AOAC 999.10  
 
 
7.4 Mycotoxins  
When tested in accordance with KS  EAS 901 , the total aflatoxins limits for the cake  mixes shall not exceed 10 
µg/kg  and 5 µg/kg  for aflatoxin B1.   
8 Packaging  
The cake mixes  shall be packaged in food grade m aterials that will ensure the safety and integrity of the product 
throughout the shelf life.  
9 Labelling  
The containers shall be labelled in compliance with the requirements of KS EAS 38 and KS EAS 804, KS EAS 
805. In addition, the following particulars sh all be legibly and indelibly labelled on the container:  
a) Name of the product  
b) list of ingredient in descending order of proportion,  KS 2954: 2021  
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 c) net content in SI units;  
d) name and physical address of manufacturer;  
e) batch or code number;  
f) the date of manufacture and expi ry date;  
g) instruction for storage and use; and  
h) Country of origin.  
 
10 Sampling  
Sampling for cake mixes  shall be done in accordance with KS EAS 901