DEAS 742:20 21   
ICS 67.230  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD   
 
 
 
 
Food grade cassava starch — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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DEAS 742:2021  
 
Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in East Africa. It is envisaged that through harmonized 
standardization, trade barriers which are encountered when goods and services are exchanged within the 
Community will be removed.  
 
In order to meet the above objectives, the EAC Partner States have enact ed an East African Standardization, 
Quality Assurance, Metrology and Test Act, 2006 (EAC SQMT Act, 2006) to make provisions for ensuring 
standardization, quality assurance, metrology and testing of products produced or originating in a third country 
and tr aded in the Community in order to facilitate industrial development and trade as well as helping to 
protect the health and safety of society and the environment in the Community.  
 
East African Standards are formulated in accordance with the procedures esta blished by the East African 
Standards Committee. The East African Standards Committee is established under the provisions of Article 4 
of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006. The Committee is composed of representatives of the National Standards 
Bodies in Partner State s, 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 incor porated before finalization of 
standards, in accordance with the procedures of the Community.  
 
Article 15(1) of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006 provides that “Within six months of the declaration of an East African 
Standard, the Partner States shall adopt, without deviation from the approved text of the standard, the East 
African Standard as a national standard and withdraw any existing national standard with similar scope and 
purpose”.  
 
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological a dvances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing.  
 
© East African Community yyyy — All rights reserved* 
East African C ommunity   
P O Box1096   
Arusha   
Tanzania   
Tel: 255 27 2504253/8   
Fax: 255 -27-2504481/2504255   
E-Mail: eac@eachq.org   
Web: www.each.org   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 2021  EAC — All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for EAC Partner 
States’ NSBs.  
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  ii  
 DEAS 742:2021  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 iv  
 DEAS 742:2021  
 
 
 
 
Food grade cassava starch — Specification  
 
 
1 Scope  
 
This draft East African Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for food 
grade cassava starch.  
    
 
 
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.  
 
EAS 38, General standard for the labelling of pre -packaged foods  
 
EAS 103, General standard for food addi tives 
 
EAS 738 Fresh sweet cassava  ─ Specification  
 
EAS 739 Dried cassava chips  ─ Specification  
 
ISO 1666, Starch  ─ Determination of moisture content  ─ Oven -drying method  
 
ISO 5809, Starches and derived products  ─ Determination of sulphated ash  
 
ISO 5810, Starches and derived products  ─ Determination of chloride content  ─ Potentiometric  
method  
 
ISO 7251 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection 
and enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
 
ISO 10520 , Native starc h ─ Determination of starch content  ─ Ewers polarimetric method  
 
ISO 21527 -2 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of yeasts and moulds — Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water 
activity less t han or equal to 0,95  
 
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 4833 -1 Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the e numeration of 
microorganisms — Part 1: Colony count at 30 °C by the pour plate technique  
 
 
ISO 5498  Agricultural food products — Determination of crude fibre content — General method  
 
CODEX STAN 193 - Codex general standard for contaminants and toxins in fo ods 
 
 
EAS 740, Cassava flour  ─ Specification  
 
 
EAS 744 Cassava and cassava products – Determination of total   cyanogens – Enzymatic 
assays method  
 
AOAC 943.02 , PH of flour. Potentiometric method  
 
 
 
 
  
 3 Terms and definitions  
 
For the purpose of this standar d, the following term and definition shall apply.  
 
3.1 
food grade cassava starch   
white granular glucose polymer obtained by wet extraction process from mature cassava ( Manihot  
esculenta Crantz) storage root  or cassava chips or cassava flour  
  
3.2  
foreign  matter  
inorganic matter such as sand, glass, metal, stones, clay and mud and organic matter such as chaff, 
straw, weed seeds and insects or insects fragments, rodent hairs  
  
 
4 Requirements  
 
4.1 General requirements  
 
4.4.1 Food grade cassava starch  shall be processed from fresh matured sweet cassava roots or bitter 
cassava roots conforming to EAS 738, dried cassava chips conforming to EAS  739, cassava grits or 
cassava flour conforming to EAS  740. 
 
4.4.2 Food grade cassava starch shall  
a) have characterist ic colour, of the raw material used  
b) be tasteless,  
c)be odourless.  
d)be free from foreign matter  
e) be insoluble in cold water  
f) be insoluble in 96 % ethanol.  
 
4.4.3  Not less than 95 % of mass of food grade cassava starch shall pass through a sieve of 1 40 μm 
mesh screen.  
 
 
4.2 Specific requirements  
 
4.2.1 Food grade cassava starch shall give a blue -black colouration  when tested with iodine.  
 
 
4.2.2 Food grade cassava starch shall conform to the compositional quality requirements shown in 
Table 1.  
 
Table 1 — Compositional Quality requirements   
Analytical characteristic  Requirement  Method of test  
   
Total acidity, %, by mass, max.  1.0  
  AOAC 942.15  
pH 5 - 7 AOAC 943.02  
   
Cyanide content, mg/kg, max.  10.0 EAS 744  
   
Starch content, %, by mass, min.  60 ISO 10520  
   
Moisture, % by mass, max  12.0 ISO 1666  
   
Fibre, % by mass on dry weight basis,  0.2  
max.   ISO 5498  
    
 Sulphated ash, % by mass, max.  0.6 ISO 5809  
   
Chloride, %, by mass, max.  0.64 ISO 5810  
   
 
 
 
5 Food additives  
 
Food -grade ca ssava starch may contain a maximum of 0.2 % ascorbic acid as colour improver and 
other additives in accordance with EAS 103.  
 
 
6 Contaminants  
 
 
6.1 Pesticide residues  
 
Food grade cassava starch shall conform to maximum residue limits for pesticide residues  
established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.  
 
6.2 Other contaminants  
 
Food Grade cassava starch roots shall comply with the maximum levels of the Codex General 
Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CODEX STAN 193).  
 
 
7 Hygiene  
 
Food grade cassava starch shall be prepared and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance  
 
with EAS 39  and shall conform to microbiological limits specified in Table 2 .  
  
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for food grade cassava starch   
Micro -organisms  Maximum limit  Method of Test  
   
Total aerobic count, CFU/g, 
max.  104 ISO4833 -1 
   
Escherichia coli , MPN/g  Absent  ISO 7251  
   
   
Salmonella  Absent  ISO 6579  
   
Yeast and mould, CFU/g, 
max.  103 ISO 21527 -1 
   
 
 
8 Packaging  
 
Food grade starch shall be packaged in food grade materials, which is hermetically sealed to 
safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, and organoleptic qualities of the product. The packaging materials 
shall comply with the environmental legislation of the dest ination country,  
 
 
9 Labelling  
 
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38; the following labeling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked  
 
a) the common name of the food to be declared on the label shall be 'Food grade cassava 
starc h'; 
 
b) the net contents by weight in metric (`Systeme International') units;  
 
c) the name and  physical and address of the manufacturer / distributor;  
 
d) the country of origin;  
 
e) lot identification;  
 
f) date of manufacture and best before date ; 
 
g) the statement `Huma n Food' shall appear on the package;  
 
h) storage conditions as ‘store in a cool dry place away from contaminants’ ; and  
 
i) instructions on disposal of used package.  
 
10  Method of sampling and analysis  
 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with EAS 900  
 
 
 
 
 
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