DEAS  98: 2021  
ICS 67.220  
 
© EAC 2021                                                                                                                       Second  Edition 2021  
  DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Curry powder — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 DEAS 98: 2021  
ii © EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  
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 DEAS  98: 2021  
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has bee n 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 excha nged 
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 Bodies i n 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, acad emia, 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 finaliz ation 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 expect ed to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this docu ment is Technical Committee EASC /TC 006, Spices , condiments and 
culinary herbs . 
This second  edition cancels and replaces the first edition (EAS  98: 1999 ), which h as been technically revised.  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that 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.  
 
  DRAFT  EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS  98: 2021  
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  1 
 Curry powder — Specification  
1 Scope   
This draft East African Standard specifies the requirements , sampling and test methods for curry powder, which is 
used as a flavouring mate rial in the preparation of food . 
2 Normative references   
The follow ing documents 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  (including any amendments) applies.  
Codex online guideline  for pesticide residues in food  
CODEX STAN 193, Codex g eneral  standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed   
CODEX STAN 228, General method of analysis for contaminants  
EAS 38, Labelling o f pre-packaged foods  — General requirements  
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
EAS 99, Spices and condiments  — Nomenclature  
EAS 803,  Nutrition labelling — Requirements  
EAS 804,  Claims — General requirements  
ISO 928, Spices and condiments  — Determination of total ash  
ISO 930, Spices and condiments  — Determination of acid -insoluble ash  
ISO 939,  Spices and condiments — Determination of moisture content — Entrainment method  
ISO 948, Spices and condiments — Sampling  
ISO 1108,  Spices and condiments — Determination of  non-volatile ether extract   
ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms 
— Part 1: Colony count at 30 oC by the pour plate technique  
ISO 5498, Agric ultural food products — Determination of crude fibre content — General method  
ISO 6571, Spices, condiments and herbs — Determination of  volatile oil content (hydrodistilation method)  
ISO 6579 (all parts), Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enum eration 
and serotyping of salmonella    DEAS  98: 2021  
2 © EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  
 ISO 16050, Food stuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products — High-perfomance liquid chromatographic 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 prod ucts with water activity less  than or equal to 
0.95 
ISO 16649 -2, Microbiology of food and ani mal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
beta –glucuronidase -positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony count technique at 44ºC using 5 -bromo -4-
chloro -3-indolyl beta –D-glucuronide  
3  Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this do cument, the terms and definitions given in EAS 99  and the following apply.  
3.1  
curry powder  
product used as a condiment prepared by grinding clean and wholesome spices, aromatic herbs and seeds 
and sometime s starch and salts added to it  
3.2   
food grade p ackaging material  
material which wil l safeguard the hygienic, safety, nutri tional, technological and organoleptic qualities of the 
curry powder   
3.3 
extraneous matter   
foreign matters such as roots, soil, skins, stems, leaves, dirt or any material other t han curry powder.  
4 Requirements  
4.1  Ingredients  
The major ingredients shall include turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek and mustard. In addition any of the 
spices and condiments  listed in EAS 99 may be used. The pro portion of spices used in curry powde r shall 
not be less than 85  %. Curry powder may contain edible starch material the nature of which shall be 
declared .,  
4.2 General requirements  
Curry powder shall:  
a) have characteristic fresh taste and odour of the ingredients used ;  
b) free from live insects,  moulds, dead insects, insect fra gments and rodent contamination;  and 
c) be free from extraneous matter.  
4.3 Specific requirements  
4.3.1  Curry powder shall comply with the requirements given i n Table 1  when tested in accordance with 
the methods specified ther ein. 
 DEAS  98: 2021  
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  3 
 Table 1 — Specific r equirements for curry powder  
S/No  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Moisture , % m/m , max.  10.00  ISO 939  
ii.  Volatile oil , ml/100  g, min. 0.25 ISO 6571  
iii.  Non-volatile ether extract , % m/m, min . 7.5 ISO 1108  
iv.  Acid insoluble as h in hydrochloric acid , 
% m/m , max.  1.0 ISO 930  
v.  Salt, % m/m , max.  5.0 Annex A  
vi.  Crude fibre , %, max.  15.0 ISO 5498  
 
4.3.2  Curry powder shall be ground to such fineness that 98% of it passes through a  sieve of 500 micron 
(0.500 mm) . 
5 Food additives  
Curry powder shall be free from added colouring matter , flavouring substances  and preservatives other than 
salt. 
6 Contaminants  
6.1 Pesticide residues  
Pesticide residues in curry powder shall not exceed maximum residue limit s as established in the Codex 
onlin e guideline for pesticide residues in food.  
6.2 Heavy metal s 
Heavy metals in curry powder shall not exceed maximum heavy metal  limits as stipulated in CODEX STAN 
193. 
6.3 Aflatoxin limits  
Total aflatoxin shall not exceed 10 µg/kg and aflatoxin B1 shall not  exceed 5 µg/ kg when tested with ISO 
16050 . 
7  Hygiene  
Curry powder shall be manufactured and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with EAS 39 and shall 
comply with  the microbiological limits stipulated in Table 2  when tested in accordance with the m ethods 
specified therein.  
Table 2 — Microbiological  requirements  for curry powder  
S/No  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Total plate count, cfu/g, max.  105 ISO 4833 -1 
ii.  Yeast  and moulds, cfu/g, max.  104 ISO 21527 -2 
iii.  Salmonella spp ., per 25 g   Absen t ISO 6579  DEAS  98: 2021  
4 © EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  
 iv.  E coli, MPN/g, max.  Absent  ISO 16649 -2 
 
8 Packaging  
The curry powder shall  be packaged in food grade packaging material that secure s the integrity and the  
safety of the product.  
9 Label ling 
In addition  to the requirements of EAS 38 , EAS 803  and EAS 804 , each container  shall be legibly and 
indelibly labelled with the following information:  
a) name of the product  as “Curry powder” ;  
b) trade name or brand name if any;  
c) name, physical and postal address of manufacturer and / or packer ; 
d) batch or code n umber ; 
e) net weight  in metric units ; 
f) a complete list of ingredients in descending order of proportions;  
g) storage conditions ; 
h) manufacturing  date; 
i) expir y date; and  
j) instructions for use.  
k) country of origin  
10 Sampling  
Sampling shall be carried out in accordance with ISO 948 . 
\ 
 
 
 
 
 
 DEAS  98: 2021  
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex  A 
(normative ) 
 
Determination of salt (s odium chloride ) 
A.1 Reagents  
A.1.1  Dilute nitric acid : One volume of concentrated nitric acid (relative density 1.42) diluted with 4 
volumes of water and freed from lower oxides of nitrogen by boiling until colourless.  
A.1.2  Standard silver nitrate solution , 0.1 N   
A.1.3  Ferric indicator solution , saturated solution of ferric ammonium sulphate [FeNH 4. (SO 4)2 
2H2O] 
A.1.4  Standard potassi um thiocyanate solution , 0.1 N  
A.2 Procedure   
Weigh accurately about 2  g to 5 g of the material in a dish preferably of platinum and obtain the total ash as 
described in ISO 928 . Dissolve the ash in hot water. Filter and wash the dish and residue thoroughl y with hot 
water till it is free from chlorides. Collect the filtrate and washings in an Erlenmeyer flask. Add a known 
volume of the standard silver nitrate solution in slight excess, 5 ml of the ferric indicator solution and a few 
millilitres  of nitric ac id. Titrate the excess silver nitrate with the standard potassium thiocyanate solution until 
permanent light brown colour appears  
A.3 Calculation  
Sodium chloride percent by mass  = 5.85 ( V 1N1 -V2N2)100 
                                                                                    M  
where  
V1  is the v olume , in millilitres  of the standard silver nitrate solution used ; 
N1  is the n ormality of the standard silver nitrate solution used ; 
V2  is the v olume , in millilitres  of the standard potassium thiocyan ate solution ;  
N2  is the n ormality of the standard potassium thiocyanate solution ; and 
M  is the m ass, in grams  of the material taken for the test .  
 
 
 
 DEAS  98: 2021    
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved