KENYA STANDARD         KS 1792 :2023  
                    ICS 67.140.30
  
                                                                                                                                                    
        
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Malt-based cocoa products  — Specification  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT , DECEMBER 2023  
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 2023          Third Edition 2023  
 
 
 KS 1792 :2023  
 
ii  © KEBS 2023  — All rights reserved  TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
 
Nestle  Kenya L imited   
Government Chemist’s Department  
Cadbury (K) Ltd.  
Proctor & Allan E.A Ltd . 
Trufoods Ltd . 
Excel Chemicals  Ltd.   
University of Nairobi – Department of Food Technology and Nutrition  
Consumer Information Network  
Kenya Industrial and Research Development Institute  (KIRDI)  
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
 
 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA ST ANDARDS  
 
In order to keep abreast of progre ss in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestions for 
improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, are 
welcome.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Burea u of Standards, 2023  
 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 12 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyr ight subsists in 
all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard pr oduced by Kenya Bureau of Standards may 
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing from the Managing 
Director . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
© KEBS 2012 — All rights reserved   iii  
KENYA STANDARD              KS 1792 : 2023  
       ICS 67.140.30  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Malt-based cocoa products  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254  020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020)  604031  
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Coast Region  Lake Region           Rift Valley Region  
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       Fax: (+254  041) 229448          Fax: (+254 057) 21814  
 
 
 
Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard has been prepared by the Cocoa and Cocoa Products Technical Committee under the 
guidance of the Standards  Projects Committee and it is in accorda nce with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau 
of Standards.  KS 1792 :2023  
 
iv  © KEBS 2023  — All rights reserved   
This standard standard covers  malt-based cocoa products. A malt -based cocoa product is a product made 
primarily from malt, cocoa and su gar Other optional ingredients can also be added.  
 
 
This standard gives the quality specifications, the microbiological limits and the heavy metal contaminants for 
malt-based cocoa products.  
 
Implementation of this standard will ensure that products offered for sale are safe for human consumption.  
 
During the prepar ation of this standard, reference was made from the following documents:  
 
Codex S tandards for cocoa products and chocolate.  
 
             Codex Stan 1 92- Codex Standard for Food Additives – 1995 . 
 
             Codex Stan 193 - Codex Standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed.  
 
IS 1164 : 1986 reaffirmed 2007( Revision 3 First Reprint July 2009 inclu ding amendment 1 and 2 ).    
 
Indian Standard  - Specification for cocoa powder.  
 
 MS 871 : 2001 -Specification for Malaysian cocoa powder.  
 
 Cocoa and Cho colate T echnology1974 by B.W .Minifie , Oxford University Press . 
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from these sources.KENYA STANDARD   KS 1792 : 2023  
© KEBS 2023  — All rights reserved   1
   
Malt-based cocoa products — Specification  
 
 
1 Scope  
 
This Kenya Standard specifies the requirements and test methods for malt -based cocoa products . It covers  
products presented as  powdered and granulated  meant for human consumption  
2 Normative references  
 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this Kenya Standard. For dated 
references, only the  edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document 
(including any amendments) applies.  
 
I. KS 38, Plantation (mill) white sugar — Specification  
 
II. KS EAS 35 , Fortified Edible salt — Specification  
 
III. KS EAS 36 , Honey — Specification  
 
IV. KS 345, Glucose syrup — Specification  
 
V. KS EAS 1031 , Cocoa powder and cocoa powder mixture — Specification  
 
VI. KS 660, Guide to the safe use of food additives  
 
VII. KS 1701, Refined white sugar — Specification      
 
VIII. KS 1812 -2, Cocoa and cocoa products — Test metho ds Part 2: Determination of  moisture  
 
IX. KS 1812 -3, Cocoa and cocoa products — Test methods  Part 3: Determination of  water -insoluble, water 
soluble and acid -insoluble ash  
 
X. KS 1812 -4, Cocoa and cocoa products  — Test methods  Part 4: Determination of pH.  
 
XI. KS 1812 -5, Cocoa and cocoa products  — Test methods  Part 5: Determination of cocoa powder fineness 
- Water sieving method  
 
XII. KS CODEX STAN 54, Codex standard for powdered dextrose (icing dextrose)  
 
XIII. KS EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — Specification  
 
XIV. KS EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
 
XV. KS ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp. 
 
XVI. Codex Stan 192, Codex general standard for food additives  
XVII.  KS ISO 4831 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs  Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of coliforms  
XVIII.  KS ISO 7251  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs  Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli  KS 1792 : 2023  
 
2  © KEBS 2023  — All rights reserved  XIX. 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.  
XX. KS ISO 688 8-3 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  
XXI. KS 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 than or equal to 
0,95 
XXII.  ISO 16050  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 method  
XXIII.  ISO 15141  Cereals and cereal products  Determination of ochratoxin A  - High performance liquid 
chromatographic method with immunoaffinity column cleanup and fluorescence detection  
XXIV.  ISO 2292  Cocoa beans  -Sampling  
XXV.  CAC/GL 50 General guidelines  on sampling  
 
 
3 Definitions  
  
For the purpose s of this standard, the following definitions shall apply.  
 
3.1 
cocoa  powder  
is the final product obtained from the cocoa liquor through cocoa press cake from which the fat (cocoa butter) 
has been partially removed.  Cocoa liq uor is derived from the cocoa beans after these have first been fermented , 
dried, cleaned, roasted, cracked and substantially freed from the shell to obtain the nibs, which are then ground.  
The beans, nibs, cocoa liquor and cocoa press cake may sometim es be alkalized by suitable alkalizing agent.  
 
Shall  be as defined in KS EAS 1031  
 
3.2 
malt-based  cocoa product  
shall be the product made from malt extract to which cocoa, sugars and any other opt ional ingredient (as stated 
in Clause  4.2) have been added    
 
3.3 
malt extract  
shall be a golden brown viscou s liquid  (syrup ) or a free flowing powder  extracted from  malted barley .  
 
 
4 Compositional requirements  
 
4.1 Basic raw materials  
 
4.1.1 Cocoa powder   
 
This shall comply with KS EAS 1031 . The amount of cocoa powder in malt-based product s shall not be less than 
5 % m/m .  
  
4.1.2 Malt extract   
 
The amount shall  not be less than 20  % m/m . 
 
4.1.3 Sugars  
                                                                                                KS 1792 : 2023   
3  © KEBS 2023  — All rights reserved  For the purpose s of this standard, any or a combination of the follo wing sugars can be used and shall comply 
with the relevant Kenya S tandards. These shall be:  
 
a) Fructose ; 
 
b) Dextrose complying with KS  Codex Stan 54;  
 
c) Icing sugar complying  with KS 38;  
 
d) Dry or liquid  glucose syrup complying with KS 345; 
 
e) Honey complying w ith KS EAS 36   
 
f) Mill white sugar complying with KS 38; 
 
g) Refined sugar complying with KS 1701;  
 
h) Caramel sugar . 
 
4.2 Optional i ngredients  
 
4.2.1 Milk and m ilk products, comply ing with the relevant Standards.  
 
4.2.2 Salt, complying with KS EAS 35. 
 
4.2.3 Vitamins  and minerals ,  and incase a claim is made it  shall comply  with in EAS  805. 
 
4.2.4 Any other food grade ingredients limited by GMP . These shall be those approved by the Foods, Drug 
and Chemical Substances Act , Cap. 254 of the Laws of Kenya and/or the C odex  Alimentarius  Commission . 
  
 
5 Food additives  
 
The use of food additives shall comply Codex Stan 19 2. 
 
6 Quality requirements  
 
6.1 General quality requirem ents  
 
6.1.1 Malt-based cocoa product s shall be free from impurities and shall not contain any foreign matter.  
 
6.1.2 It shall have a uniform colour and shall be free from burnt particles.  
 
6.1.3 The product shall not have off -flavors  and tastes.  
 
6.2 Chemical requirements  
 
When tested in accordance with the referenced test methods, malt-based cocoa products shall comply with the 
chemical requirements stipulated in Table 1.  
  
Table 1 — Chemical requirement s for malt-based coc oa products  
 
SL No Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i) Moisture content, % mass  by mass, max.  
a) Granules   
3.0 KS 1812 -2 KS 1792 : 2023  
 
4  © KEBS 2023  — All rights reserved  b) Powder  7.0 
ii) Total ash, m/m % max.  8.5 KS 1812 -3 
 Acid ins oluble ash , m/m % max  1 KS 1812 -3 
iii) pH 6-8 
 KS 1812 -4 
 
iv) Particle size distribution  
(through a 300 -micron sieve)  
a) Dust, % max.  
b) Granular, % min.  
c)  Powder , % min  
  
 
15 
85 
99 KS 1812 -5 
 
 
 
 
7 Hygiene  
 
7.1 The product shall be manufactured in approved and licensed premises wh ich shall comply with  EAS 39 , 
the Public Health Act , Cap. 242 Laws of Kenya.  
 
 
 
7.3 Malt-based cocoa products shall not contain any pathogenic microorganisms and when tested , the 
product shall comply with the microbiological requirements stipulated in Table 2.  
 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for malt-based cocoa products  
 
SL No Type of m icro-organism  Max. limit 
[not detected ] Test Methods  
i) Presumptive c oliforms,  cfu  per g  Absent  KS ISO 4831  
ii) E-coli ,cfu  per 25g absent  KS ISO 7 251 
iii) Salmonell a, cfu per 25 g absent  KS ISO  6579 
iv) Staphylococcus a ureaus , cfu  per g  absent  KS ISO 688 8-3 
v) Yeast and moulds , cfu per g , Max  102 KS ISO 21527 -2 
 
  
 
 
8  Contaminants  
 
8.1 Mycotoxins  
Malt-based cocoa products  shall not exceed maximum limits for mycotoxins given in Table 5  when tested in 
accordance with test methods specified therein.  
Table 3 — Maximum  limits for mycotoxins  
S/N Mycotoxin  Maximum  limit,  μg/kg 
 Test method  
I.  Total aflatoxin  10  ISO 16050  
II.  Aflatoxin B 1  5 ISO 16050  
III.  Orchratoxin A  10  ISO 15141  
 
 
 
8.2 Heavy Metals                                                                                                KS 1792 : 2023   
5  © KEBS 2023  — All rights reserved  Malt – based cocoa prod ucts shall not exceed maximum heavy metal limits es tablished by the  Codex 
Alimentarius Commission.  
8.3 Pesticides residues  
Malt – based cocoa prod ucts where applicable shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits 
established  by the Codex Pesticide Online Database.  
      
 
                                              
 
9 Packaging  
 
9.1 The product shall be packaged in food grade materials that secure the integrity and safety of the 
product . 
 
9.2 The weight of the product shall comply with the Weights and Measures Act , Cap. 513 Laws of Kenya.  
 
 
 
10 Labelling   
 
In addition to the la beling requirements in EAS 38 , the fol lowing specific declarations shall be legibly and 
indelibly made : 
 
i) Name of the product  with an indication clearly on its presentation as “granul ated” or “powdered ” or any 
other form ; 
 
ii) Name, address and physic al location of the manufacturer;  
 
iii) Declaration of any v itamins or fortificants ; 
 
iv)         Manufacturing date ; 
 
v) Net weight , in grams or kilograms ; 
 
vi)         List of ingredients in descending order of proportion ; 
 
vii) Expiry date ; 
 
viii) Instructions for use ; 
 
ix)  Storage  instruction s; 
 
x) Country of origin ; 
 
xi) Lot/batch number;  
 
Xii)       Instructions  for disposal of used package ; 
 
Xiii)      GMO status ; where applicable ;  
 
Xiv)      Irradiation status ; where applicable . 
 
12 Sampling  
 KS 1792 : 2023  
 
6  © KEBS 2023  — All rights reserved  Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 2292  and CAC /GL 50 .