ICS 67.100.3 0 
 
 Reference number  
WD 50-11: 2023  
© RSB 2023  
  
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS  
50-11 
 
First edition  
2023-xx-xx 
 
Cheese  — Specification  
Part 11: Feta c heese  
   
DRS 50-11: 2023  
©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved                  ii 
 In order to match with technological development and to keep continuous progress in industries, 
standards are subject to periodic review. Users shall ascertain that they are in possession of the latest 
edition  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© RSB 2023 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized 
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without 
prior written permission from R SB. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to : 
Rwanda Standards  Board  
P.O Box 7099 Kigali -Rwanda  
KK 15 Rd, 49  
Tel. +250 799303492  
Toll Free: 3250  
E-mail: info@rsb.gov.rw  
Website: www.rsb.gov.rw  
ePortal: www.portal.rsb.gov.rw  DRS 50-11: 2023  
iii                ©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved  
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  2 
4.1 Raw materials  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  2 
4.2 Essential ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  3 
4.3 Optional ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  3 
4.4 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  3 
4.5 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  3 
5 Food additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  4 
6 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  4 
7 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  4 
8 Microbiological limits  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
9 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 4 
10 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  4 
11 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 5 
 DRS 50-11: 2023  
©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved                  iv 
 Foreword  
Rwanda Standard s are prepared  by Technical Committees and approved by Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) 
Board  of Directors in  accordance with the procedures of RSB, in compliance with Annex 3 of the WTO/TBT 
agreement on the preparation, adoption and application of standards.  
The main task of technical committees is to prepare national standards.  Final Draft Rwanda S tandards adopted 
by Technical committ ees are ratified  by me mbers of RSB Board of Director s for publication and gazettment  as 
Rwanda Standards.  
WD 50-11 was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 004; Milk  and milk products . 
RS 50 consists of the following parts, under the general title Cheese  — Specification : 
⎯ Part 1: General requirements  
⎯ Part 2: Gouda cheese  
⎯ Part 3: Cream cheese  
⎯ Part 4: Processed cheese  
⎯ Part 5: Cheddar cheese  
⎯ Part 6: Cottage cheese  
⎯ Part 7: Mozzarella cheese  
⎯ Part 8: Paneer cheese  
⎯ Part 9: Goat cheese  
⎯ Part 10: Mashanza  
⎯ Part 11: Feta cheese  
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on  Milk and milk products  (RSB/TC 
004) in the preparation of this standard.  
City of Kigali  
Gishwati farms  DRS 50-11: 2023  
v                ©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved  
 Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA)  
Rwanda Inspectorate Competition And  Consumer Protection Authority (RICA)  
Control Union  
National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA)  
Ishyo foods Ltd  
Sight and Life Rwanda  
Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority(RFDA)  
 
  DRS 50-11 2023  
1                ©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved  
 Cheese  — Specification  —Part 11:  Feta c heese  
1 Scope  
This Working Draft specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for  feta cheese intended for direct 
human consumption or for further processing.  
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.  
ISO/TS 6733 , Milk and milk products — Determination of lead content — Graphite furnace atomic absorption 
spectrometric method  
RS CAC/RCP 57 , Code of hygienic practice for milk and milk products   
RS CODEX STAN 192 , General standard for food additives  
RS EAS 35 , Fortified edible  salt—Specification  
RS EAS 38,  Labelling of pre -packaged foods — General requirements  
RS ISO 11290 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of 
Listeria monocytogenes and of Listeria spp. — Part 1: Detection method  
RS ISO 14501 ,Milk and milk powder — Determination of aflatoxin M1 content — Clean -up by immunoaffinity 
chromatography and determination by high -performance liquid chromatography  
RS ISO 16649 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
beta-glucuronidase -positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony -count technique at 44 degrees C using 5 -bromo -
4-chloro -3-indolyl beta -D-glucuronide  
ISO 3433, Cheese  — Determination of fat content — Van Gulik  method  
RS ISO 4832,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms — Colony -count technique  
RS ISO 5534 ,Cheese and processed cheese — Determination of the total solids content (Reference method)  
RS ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  DRS 50-11: 2023  
©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved                  2 
 RS ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase -positive 
staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 1: Method using Baird -Parker agar medium  
RS ISO 707 , Milk and milk products — Guidance on sampling  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the follow ing terms and definitions apply.  
3.1 
cheese  
ripened or unripened soft, semi -hard, hard, or extra -hard product, which may be coated, and in  which the whey 
protein/casein ratio does not exceed that of milk, obtained by:  
a) coagulating wholly or partly the protein of milk, skimmed milk, partly skimmed milk, cream, whey  cream 
or buttermilk, or any combination of these materials, through the action of rennet or other  suitable 
coagulating agents, and by partially draining the whey resulting from the coagulation, while  respecting 
the principle that cheese -making results in a concentration of milk protein (in particular,the casein 
portion), and that consequently, the protein content of the cheese will be distinctly higher  than the 
protein level of the blend of the above milk materials from which the cheese was made;and/or  
b) processing techniques involving coagulation of the protein of milk and/or products obtained from milk  
which give an end -product with similar physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics as the  
product defined under (a).  
3.2 
feta cheese  
 brined white cheese made from sheep's milk , goat's milk ; bleached cow’s milk  or from their mixture. It is soft, 
with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is formed 
into large blocks and aged in brine  
3.3 
food grade packaging material  
packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use and which will not  
impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Raw material s 
Milk and/or products obtained from milk.  DRS 50-11 2023  
3                ©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved  
 4.2 Essential ingredients  
The following e ssential ingredients  complying with relevant standards  shall be used in making  feta cheese : 
a) starter cultures of harmless lactic acid and/or flavour producing bacteria and cultures of other harmless 
micro -organisms;  
b) safe and suitable enzymes;  
c) salt complying with RS EAS 35; and  
d) potable water  complying with RS EAS 12.  
4.3 Optional ingredients  
The optional ingredients which may be used  shall comply with relevant standards . They include but are not 
limited to the following:  
a) Herbs and spices  
b) etc 
4.4 General requirements  
Feta c heese shall have : 
a) compact texture suitable for slicing ; 
b) none to  few holes and cracks ; 
c) have tangy and salty flavour  
d) no actual rind ; and  
e) a body with white to yellowish colour . 
4.5 Specific  requirements  
Feta c heese  shall comply with specific requirements given in t able 1 when tested in accordance with test 
methods specified therein.  
 
Table 1 — Specific  requirements for Feta c heese  
S/N Characteristic   Requirement   Test method  
Soft  Semi -hard  
i.  Fat in dry matter, % min. 40 40 ISO 3433  
ii.  Dry matter, % min. 40 52 RS ISO 5534  DRS 50-11: 2023  
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 5 Food additives  
Food additives,  when used shall  comply with RS CODEX STAN 192.  
6 Contaminants  
6.1 Feta c heese shall comply with maximum limits for pesticides and veterinary drug residues as provided by 
Codex Alimentarius Commission  
6.2 The level of Lead (Pb) shall not exceed 0.02 mg/kg when tested in accordance with ISO/TS 6733.  
6.3 When  tested in accordance with RS ISO 14501, the level of Aflatoxin M1 shall not exceed 0.5 μg/kg.  
7 Hygiene  
Feta c hees e shall be processed, packaged, stored and distributed under hygienic conditions complying with RS 
CAC/RCP 1 and RS CAC/RCP 57 . 
8 Microbiological limits   
Feta c heese  shall not exceed  microbiological  limits in Table 2 when tested in accordance with test methods 
specified therein.  
Table 2 — Microbiological limits in feta cheese  
S/No Microorganism  Maximum limit  Test method  
i.  Salmonella spp  in 25 g absent  RS ISO 6 579-1 
ii.  Staphylococcus aureus , CFU/g absent  RS ISO 6888 -1 
iii.  Escherichia coli , CFU/g absent  RS ISO 16649 -2 
iv.  Listeria monocytogenes  in 25 g absent  RS ISO 11290 -1 
v.  Coliforms, CFU/g 10  RS ISO 4832  
9 Packaging  
Feta c heese shall be packaged in food grade  packaging materials  and shall be well sealed in order to prevent 
contamination of the contents during storage and transportation.  
10 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of RS EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall be legibly and 
indelibly marked:  
a) name of product as “ Feta c heese ”; DRS 50-11 2023  
5                ©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved  
 b) name and address of manufacturer;  
c) date of manufacture;  
d) expiry  date; 
e) list of ingredients;  
f) batch /lot number ; 
g) storage conditions;   
h) country of origin ; and  
i) instructions for use.  
11 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with  RS ISO 707.  
 DRS 50-11: 2023  
©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved                  6 
 Bibliography  
[1] CXS 208 -1999 , Group standard for cheeses in brine  
 
 
 
 
 DRS 50-11: 2023  
Price based on 5 pages  
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