DEAS 1004 : 2019  
ICS 67.200.10  
 
© EAC 2019                                                                                                                            First Edition 2019 
 FINAL DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Raw macadamia kernel  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 1004: 2019  
ii © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
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 DEAS 1004: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 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 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are e xchanged 
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 Bodi es in Partner States, 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, consumer 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 fin alization of standards, 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 e xpected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 015, Oil seeds, edible fats 
and oils .  
Attention is drawn to the possibility tha t 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.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 FINAL DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1004: 2019  
 
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved  1 
 Raw macadamia kernel  — Specification  
1 Scope   
This draft East African  Standard specifies req uirements and methods of sampling and test for raw macadamia 
kernels of  varieties grown from  Macadamia integrifolia, Macadamia tetraphylla, Macadamia ternifolia  and their 
hybrids,  intended  for human consumption . 
2 Normative references  
The following documen ts 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 references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (in cluding  any amendments) applies . 
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — Specification  
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
ISO 542, Oilseeds — Sampling  
ISO 665, Oilseeds — Determination of moisture and volatile matter  content  
ISO 729,  Oilseeds — Determination of acidity of oils  
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 metho d 
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  
raw macadamia  kernels  
edible part of macadamia nuts (fruits), whose shells have been removed  
3.2 
whole kernel 
kernel that is not split or separated into halves, and not more than ¼ of the kerne l is chipped off or missing  
3.3 
half kernel/split 
one half of a macadamia kernel  with not more than 1/8 of its size chipped off or missing  DEAS 1004: 2 019 
2 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 3.4 
piece 
unit of a kernel which is less than half a kernel  
3.5 
clean kernel  
kernel which is practically free from di rt or other foreign material.  
3.6 
foreign matter  
organic and inorganic materials other than macadamia kernel  
3.7 
defective/damaged kernels  
kernels of any or all of the following:  
a) kernels that have adhering  foreign  matter;  
b) pest damaged kernels;  
c) immature ker nels;  
d) disease damaged  
3.7.1  
adhering matter  
foreign  matter on the surface of the kernel  
3.7.2 
pest damaged kernels  
kernels which show damage or owing attack by rodents, insects, mites or other pests  
3.7.3 
immature/shrunken/shriveled kernels  
kernels whi ch are underdeveloped with a slight to complete withering of the outer surface of the kernel and or 
are shriveled.  
3.7.4 
disease damaged  
Kernels which are affected by mould growth, rotting, or bacterial decomposition, or other causes that may be 
noticed w ithout having to cut the kernels to examine them  
3.8 
off-flavour  
odour or flavour which is not characteristic of raw macadamia kernels and which appreciably affect the eating 
quality of the kernel  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
In all classes, subject to the special provisions for each class and the tolerances allowed, the raw 
macadamia kernel shall: 
a) have colour characteristic of variety ; 
b) be free from off - flavour ; DEAS 1004: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  3 
 c) be free from pests ; 
d) d) practically Free from foreig n matter . 
4.2 Specific  quality requirements 
Raw m acadamia kernels shall comply with  the requirements/limits stipulated in Table 1 when tested in 
accordance with the methods given therein . 
Table 1 — Requirements limits for raw macadamia kernels  
Characteristic  Limits  Test method  
Moisture and volatile matter , % m/m, max. 2.0 ISO 665  
Foreign matter, % m/m, max . 0.1 ISO 658  
Free fatty acid, (as oleic acid ) % m/m, max  1.0 ISO 729  
 
4.3 Classi fication  
4.3.1  Raw macadamia kernels may be classified into the following classes: 
a) Class I; and  
b) Class II.  
4.3.2  When classified, t he raw macadamia kernels shall comply with  the requirements for class I and class II 
in Table 2.  DEAS 1004: 2 019 
4 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 Table 2 — Specific requirements for each cla ss 
Defects allowed Tolerances allowed (% of defective 
kernels, by number or weight)  Test method 
Class I  Class II  
a) Tolerances for general requirements 
ISO 658 Shrunke n/shrivelled 3 5 
Disease damaged  Nil Nil 
Pest damaged kernels  1.5 2 
Living pests 0 0 
b) Size tolerance s 
For produc e not conformin g to t he size indica ted, if 
sized 7 7 
5 Size classification  
5.1 Sizing of raw macadamia kernels is optional. However, when sized, size is determined by  the 
maximum diameter of the equatorial section of the whole nut or by widest diameter of the designated style size 
requirements. 
5.2 In case style designations are used the provisions in Table 3 shall apply: 
Table 3  ― Designation  of styles for raw macadamia kernels  
Style  Size 
Style 0 (Wholes)  Minimum 95 % whole kernel of a diameter of at least 18 mm, with the 
remaining 5 % co nsisting of pieces of which no more than 1% will pass 
through a 6.25mm (¼ inch) square opening.  
Style I (Wholes)  Minimum 90 % whole kernel of a diameter of at least 16 mm, with the 
remaining 10 % consisting of pieces of which no more than 1% will 
pass thr ough a 6.25mm (¼ inch) square opening.  
Style II ( Wholes and Halves)  Minimum 50 % whole kernel of a diameter of at least 14 mm, with the 
remaining 50 % consisting of pieces of which no more than 2% will 
pass through a 10mm square opening  
Style III ( Cockt ail) 
 The whole kernel shall be at least 20 % of a diameter of at least 14 mm, 
included therein at least 80 % half kernel, with the remaining 
percentage consisting of pieces of which no more than 2% will pass 
through a 10mm square opening.  
Style IV ( Halves and Pieces)  
 Minimum 80 % half kernels of a diameter of at least 9 mm, with the 
remaining percentage consisting of pieces of which no more than 5% 
larger than the half kernels  
Style V ( Large Diced)  
 Shall consists of units which are smaller than half k ernels but of such 
that no more than 5% will pass through a 7.0mm (inch) opening and not 
more than 2% will pass through a 2.34 mm (3/32 inch) square opening  
Style VI ( Chips)  
 Shall consists of units which are smaller than half kernels but of such 
that no more than 5% will pass through a 5mm opening  DEAS 1004: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  5 
 Style VII ( Bits and Diced)  
 Shall consists of units which are smaller than half kernels but of such 
that no more than 5% will pass through a 3 mm opening  
Style VIII ( Fines)  
 Shall consists of units which are smaller than half kernels but of such 
will pass through a less than 3 mm opening  
6 Contaminants  
6.1 Pesticide residues  
Raw macadamia kernels shall comply with  those maximum residue limits for pesticide residues 
established by Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity. 
6.2 Aflatoxins  
Total Aflatoxin shall not exceed 10 μg/kg while aflatoxin B1 shall not exceed 5 μg/kg when tested in 
accordance with ISO 16050.  
7 Hygiene 
Raw macadamia kernels shall be produced, prepared, handled and stored in accordance with EAS 39 . 
Raw macadamia kernels  shall  comply with the microbiological limits given in Table 4 when tested in 
accordance with the method specified therein.  
Table 4 ― Microbiological  Limits for raw macadamia kernels  
S/N Microorganism  Maximum limit  Test methods  
1 Salmonella per 25 g  Shall be absent  ISO 6579 -1 
2 E. coli MPN/g  Shall be absent  ISO 7251  
8 Packaging 
Raw macadamia kernels shall be packaged in containers made from food grade packaging material and 
sealed in a manner that will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional and organolepti c properties of the product  
9 Nutrition and health claims  
Raw macadamia kernels may have claims on nutrition and health. Such claims when declared shall co mply  
with EAS 803, EAS 804 and EAS 805.  
10 Weights and measures  
Raw macadamia kernels shall be packa ged in accordance with the weights and measures regulations of the 
destination country.  
NOTE  EAC Partner States are signatory to the International Labour Organizations (ILO) for maximum package 
weight of 50 kg where human loading and offloading is involved . DEAS 1004: 2 019 
6 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 11 Labelling  
10.1 In addition to the requirements of EAS 38 , the following information shall be legibly and indelibly 
labelled : 
a) name of the product;  
b) class or style or both where applicable  shall be legibly and indelibly declared : 
12 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 542 . 
 DEAS 1004: 2019    
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
  
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