AFDC 15(160 0) DTZS /REV. TZS 1800:2017  
 
DRAFT TANZANIA STANDARD  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cakes  – Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TANZANIA BUREAU OF STANDARDS 
1 
 0 Foreword  
 
Cake is a baked sweet food made from the mixtu re of flour, fats , sugar and is sometimes iced or 
decorated.  
 
This standard was prepared to ensure safety and quality of cakes  to safeguard the health of the 
consumers a nd enhance fair trade practices.  
 
In the preparation of this  Tanzania Stan dard assistance was drawn  from the following publication s:-  
 KS 1042:2007 Cakes – Specification , published by Kenya Bureau of standards (KEBS)  
 IS 9712:1981 Specification for cakes , published by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)  
 
In reporting the results o f a test or analysis made in accordance with this Tanzania draft Standard, if the 
final value observed or calculated is to be rounded off, it shall be done in accordance with TZS 4 (see 
clause 2).  
 
1.0 Scope  
 
This Tanzania Standard prescribes the require ments , methods  of sampling and test for  cakes  
intended  for direct  human  consumption.  
 
2.0  Reference s 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this standard . For dated 
references, only the edition cited applies. For unda ted references, the latest edition of the referenced 
document (including any amendments) applies ; 
 
TZS 4 Rounding off numerical values  
 
CODEX STAN 192 Codex General Standard for food additives  
 
TZS 109  Food processing units - Code of hygiene – General  
 
TZS 111 Bakery units – Code of hygiene  
 
TZS 538/EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — General requirements  
 
TZS 730 - 2/ISO 16649 -2 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of -b-glucuronidase -positive Escheric hia coli – Part 2 – Colony -count technique at 44 0C 
using 5 -bromo -4-chloro -3-indolyl -b-D-glucuronide  
 
TZS 122 -1: /ISO 6579 -1 - Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, 
enumeration and serotyping of Salmonella - Part 1: Detection  of Salmonella spp  
 
TZS 2426 -1/ ISO 21527 -1 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of yeasts and moulds - Part 1: Colony count technique in products with water activity greater 
than 0.95  
 
TZS 2752: Bakery pro ducts - methods of analysis  
 
TZS 2753: Bakery products - methods of sampling  
 
 
  
2 
 3.0 Terms  and definitions  
 
For the purpose of this  Tanzania  standard the following terms and definitions shall apply:  
 
3.1 cake   
a soft baked  confectionery product made from flour (such as wheat) , eggs, shortenings, sugar and 
baking powder with/without other optional ingredients . 
 
3.2 plain cake   
a non-decorated cake baked from basic ingredients with or without the addition of the permitted food 
additives .  
 
3.3 fruit cakes  
a cake  to which fruit s and/or nuts  in either dry or preserved form ha ve been added .  
 
3.4 sponge cake  
Is a cake in which  more eggs have  been used as main ingredient   
 
3.5 chocolate cake  
A cake in which cocoa powder and/or chocolate have been added.  
 
3.6 decorat ions 
Items used to improve cake appearance and attraction which include  but not limited to icing sugars,  
butter icing, royal icing, coc oa powder, chocolates,  whipping cream, fondants ,   
 
3.7 specialty  cake  
Cake , which has been baked for a special purpose  or added  special ingredient  with or without decoration . 
Examples include  red velvet  cakes , blue  velvet  cake , black forest  cakes, carrot cakes, banana cakes, 
dates cakes , pound cakes  and others . 
 
4.0 Requirements  
 
4.1 General requirements  
 
Cakes shall  
- be well baked with no signs of under baking or over baking.  
- be moist, uniform in texture and with even distribution of added ingredients.  
- have the colour, texture, flavo ur and aroma characteristics  of typical well -baked cakes.  
- be free from any evidenc e of rancidity or other objectionable tastes, insect or fungus, mould infestation 
and foreign matter.  
 
 
4.2    Ingredients  
All ingredients applied in cake manufacture shall be of food grade quality and conform to the relevant 
Tanzania Standard . 
 
4.2.1 Essential  ingredients  
- flour,  
- shortenings,  
- sugar and  
- Raising  agent .  
 
4.2.2 Optional  Ingredients  
In addition to the essential ingredients any or a combination of the following ingredients complying with 
the relevant Tanzania standard may be ad ded to the cake b atter:  
3 
 a) eggs   
b) Candied peel (orange, lemon and grapefruits)  
b)  Glazed cherries  
c)   Crystallized ginger  
d)   Dry f ruits and nuts such as sultana,  raisin s, currants , dates, walnuts, cashewnuts, almonds 
and peanuts  
e)   Cocoa powder or chocol ate 
f)    Desiccated  coconut  
g)   Flavouring essences  
h)   Edible oilseeds, oilseeds flours or oilseed concentrates  
i)     Honey  
j)    Liquid glucose  
k)   Milk and milk products  
I)    Spices and herbs  
m)  Edible starches  
n)    Glycerine  
o)   Semolina  
p)   Defatted or lecithinated soya flour  
q)   Sorbitol liquid or sorbitol powder  
r)    Molasses  
s)    Vegetables  
t)     Gelatin  
 
 
4.3 Specific  requirements  
 
Cakes  shall comply with the  requirements given in Table 1.  
 
Table 1: Specif ic requirements for cakes  
Characteristic  
                                                                                   Requirements  
                            
 
Methods of 
test  Plain cakes  Fruit cakes  Sponge cakes  Speciality  
Moisture,% by 
mass      15 – 25      15 – 25      20 - 27     15 – 25  
 
 
 
 
  TZS 2752 Acid insoluble 
ash (on dry  
matter basis) , % 
by mass , max .              0.1           0.1         0.1         0.1 
Acidity of 
extracted fat (as 
oleic acid) , % by 
mass , max .        1.0        0.5        1.0        1.0 
Fruit content,% 
by mass,min.            
           -         7.0  
            -        
            -  
   Annex A  
 
 
5 Food additives  
Food additives used in the preparation of cakes  shall comply with Codex Stan 192.  
 
6.0 Hygiene  
 
6.1 The cakes shall be prepared and packaged under hygienic conditions in accordance with TZ S 109 
and TZS 111 (see clause 2) .  
  
4 
 6.2 Cakes shall be free from pathogenic organisms and shall comply with microbiological limits in Table 2.  
                             Table 2 – Microbiological limits for cakes  
 
S/No  Types of micro -organism  Limits      Test methods  
1 Yeast and mould (cfu/ g), max.  102       TZS 2426  
  
2 E.coli  cfu/g  Absent         TZS 730 -2  
3 Salmonella  spp in 25g Absent  
       TZS 122 -1  
 
6.0 Contaminants    
 
Presence of heavy metal shall conform to the limits set in appropriate sections of CODEX STAN 193 (see 
clause 2).  
 
7.0 Sampling and method of test  
 
7.1 Sampling  
Sampling of cake shall be done in accordance with TZS 2753 
 
7.2 Test method  
Test shall be carried out as per methods  specified in this Tanzania standard.  
 
8.0 Packaging , marking  and labelling  
 
8.1 Packaging  
The cakes shall be packaged in food grade materials that will en sure the safety and quality  of the product 
throughout the shelf life . 
 
8.2 Marking and l abelling  
 
8.2.1  In additional to  the requirements prescribed in  the TZS 538(EAS 38) , the following particula r shall 
be clearly and indelibly marked on each pack of cake on the outer side of the wrapper; printing ink  if any, 
shall be non -toxic and non -transferable:  
 
i) Name of the product,  shall be “cake”  
ii) Type of cake  
iii) Name and physical address of the manufacturer,  
iv) Batch or code number,  
v) Net weight, in grams(g) or kilograms(kg),  
vi) List of ingredient s in descending order of proportion,  
vii) Date of manufacture,  
viii) Expiry date,  
ix) Coun try of origin,  
x) Storage instructions,  
xi) Instruction for the disposal of packaging waste.  
 
 
8.3 The packaging materials  of the cakes may also be marked  with the TBS certification mark.  
 
NOTE - The TBS Standards Mark of Quality may be used by the manufacturers only under licence from 
TBS. Particulars of conditions under which the licences are granted, may be  obtained from TBS.  
  
5 
  
                                              
Annex - A 
 
Determination of fruit content  
 
A.1   This method determines the contents of both dry fruits and preserved fruit s in fruit cakes.  
 
A.2   Equipment  
 
A.2.1 Bread or cake knife  
 
A.2.2 Brush  
 
A.2.3 Filter paper or clean cloth  
 
A.2.4 weighing balance  
 
A.3    Method  
 
Weigh four  cake slices (approximately 100g) accurately. Pick the pieces of either preserved and /or dry 
fruit and wipe them with a hair brush  on a filter paper or clean cloth. Weigh the fruits so collected and 
calculate the percentage of fruits from the mass of fruits picked out .