DEAS 893: 2023  
ICS 67.080.20 
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                              Second  Edition 
2023 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Chilli sauce — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 893: 2023 
ii © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
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© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.2 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.1.1  Ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  2 
4.1.2  Quality requirements ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................  3 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
5 Food additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 3 
6 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  3 
6.1 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
6.2 Heavy metal contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
7 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
8 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
9 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  4 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination of specific gravity  ................................ ................................ ................  6 
A.1 Principl e ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  6 
A.2 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
A.3 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
A.4 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  6 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
 DEAS 893: 2023 
iv © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and servic es in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standa rds Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizat ions 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 finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East Afr ican Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EAS/TC 025, Processed fruits, 
vegetables and tubers . 
This second/third/… edition cancels and replaces the first/second/… edition (US nnn-n:yyyy), which has been 
technically revised.  
Attent ion 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 893: 2023 
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  1 
 Chilli sauce — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Sta ndard specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for chilli sauce for human  
consumption.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this doc ument.  For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
CODEX STAN 192, General standard for food additives  
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foo ds — Specification  
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
ISO 750, Fruits and vegetables — Determination of titratable acidity  
ISO 1842, Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of pH  
ISO 2173, Fruit and vegetab le products — Determination of soluble solids — Refractometric method  
ISO 4833 (All parts), Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal methods for the enumeration of 
microorganisms  
ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the det ection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
ISO 6633, Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of lead content — Flameless atomic 
absorption spectrometric method  
ISO 16649 -2, Microbiology of food a nd 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 21527 -1, Microbiology of food and anim al feedingstuffs — Horizontal methods for the enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds  
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 a t the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  DEAS 893: 2023 
2 © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 3.1 
chilli sauce  
condiment prepared from sound chillies, vinegar, salt and other optional permitted ingredients  
3.2 
chillies 
whole, mature pungent fruits of botanical species Capsicum frutescens (Linnaeus). The fruits varies from red 
to other colours”  
3.3 
foreign matter  
any organic or inorganic substances which affects the appearance, texture and typical smell/taste of the c hilli 
sauce  
3.4 
sound  
not overripe, not soft and free from diseases or insect damage, or bruising or physical injuries affecting 
keeping quality of the fruit  
3.5 
mild chilli sauce  
chilli sauce with low pungency with a Scoville scale measure of 100 – 10 000 ’Scoville Heat Units (SHU)  
3.6 
hot chilli sauce  
chilli sauce high pungency with a Scoville scale measure of above 10 000’Scoville Heat Units (SHU)  
NOTE  Scoville scale is a measurement of pungency of chilli peppers using Scoville organoleptic test  
4 Require ments  
4.2 General requirements  
4.1.1  Ingredients  
4.1.1.1  Basic Ingredients  
Chilli sauce shall consist of the following ingredients which shall comply with the relevant applicable 
standards;  
a) fresh chili (Capsicum spp.) or processed chili such as chili powde r ground from dried chili, roasted  
b) chili, ground chili, chili preserved in vinegar or in brine;  
c) vinegar or other permitted acid;  
d) salt; 
4.1.1.2  Optional Ingredients  
The following optional ingredients may also be used in the product and they shall comply to the relevant 
standards:  
a) mango, papaya, tamarind and/or other fruits;  
b) tomato, garlic, onion, carrot, sweet potato, yellow pumpkin and/or other vegetables;  DEAS 893: 2023 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 c) spices and herbs;  
d) sugars;  
e) chili extract;  
f) starch ; and  
g) other edible ingredients as appropriate to the pr oduct . 
4.1.2  Quality requirements  
Chilli sauce shall:  
a) be free from insect or fragments;  
b) be free from foreign matter;  
c) be practically free from defects;  
d) possess good body and consistency;  
e) be of uniform colour;  
f) be of good keeping quality and shall show no s ign of fermentation;  
g) be free from burnt or any other objectionable flavours; and  
h) have the characteristic taste and flavour of chilli sauce  
4.2 Specific requirements  
Chill sauce shall conform to the specific requirements in Table 1 when tested in accordance  with the methods 
prescribed therein.  
Table 1 — Specific requirements for chilli sauce  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i)  Total  soluble  solids  percent  by mass  (Brix),  
percent by  mass at 20 °C,  7 – 18 ISO 2173  
ii)  Acidity  expressed  as anhydrous  acetic acid, 
percent by  mass, min.  0.8 ISO 750 
iii)  Specific  gravity  at 20 °C 1.027  73 – 1.074  13 Annex  A 
iv)  pH Not higher than 4.5  ISO 1842  
 
5 Food additives  
Food additives used shall comply with CODEX STAN 192.  
6 Contaminants  
 DEAS 893: 2023 
4 © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 6.1 Pesticide residues  
Chilli sau ce shall conform to those maximum residue limits established by the Codex Committee on Pesticide 
Residues for this commodity.  
6.2 Heavy metal contaminants  
When tested in accordance with ISO 6633, the lead content in chilli sauce shall not exceed 0.1 mg/kg . 
7 Hygiene  
7.1 Chilli sauce shall be prepared under hygienic conditions in accordance with EAS 39.  
7.2 Chilli sauce shall be free from pathogenic organisms and shall comply with the microbiological limits 
given in Table 2, when tested in accordance with t he methods prescribed therein.  
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for chilli sauce  
S/N Type  of micro -organism  Limits (number of  count)  Test method  
i)  Total  viable  counts  cfu/g,  max. 10 ISO 4833  (All parts)  
ii)  Yeasts  and moulds  cfu/g  Shall be absent  ISO 21527 -1 
iii)  Escherichia  coli cfu/g Shall be absent  ISO 16649 -2  
iv)  Salmonella  sp., per g Shall be absent  ISO 6579 -1 
 
8 Packaging  
Chilli sauce shall be packed in suitable food grade containers. The containers shall be free from other 
products that may lead to contam ination and alter the quality, composition, flavour, odour and taste of the 
products. Containers shall be airtight and shall be provided with tamper -proof seals and closures. Containers 
shall preclude contamination with or proliferation of microorganisms i n the products during storage and 
transport.  
9 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly labelled on each container:  
a) name of product including the type  shall be “Mild chilli sauce” or “Hot chilli sauce”;  
b) name and physical address of manufacturer;  
c) country of origin;  
d) date of manufacture and expiry date;  
e) list of ingredients in descending order;  
f) net content declared in SI units (metric system);  
g) storage instr uctions;  DEAS 893: 2023 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  5 
 h) instructions for use; and  
i) batch number in code or in clear.  DEAS 893: 2023 
6 © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of specific gravity  
A.1 Principle  
The method involves use of specific gravity bottle which enables a liquid's density to be measured accurately 
by refer ence to an appropriate working fluid which is water. The specific gravity bottle is weighed empty, full of 
water, and full of a liquid whose specific gravity is desired. The ratio of the mass of a unit volume of a 
substance to the mass of a unit volume of water is then calculated as the specific gravity.  
A.2 Apparatus  
Specific gravity bottle/ pycnometer  
A.3 Procedure  
Clean and thoroughly dry the specific gravity bottle and weigh it. Fill it up to the mark with freshly boiled and 
cooled water, which has been  maintained at a temperature of 20 °C ± 1 °C and weigh. Remove the water, dry 
the bottle again and fill it with the material maintained at the same temperature. Weight the bottle again.  
A.4 Calculation  
Specify the temperature of testing  
Calculate as follo ws: 
Specific gravity at 20 °C/20 °C =   
where  
C is the mass, in grams, of the specific gravity bottle with the material,  
A is the mass, in grams, of the empty specific gravity bottle, and  
B is the mass, in grams, of the specific gravity bottle with water . 
 
DEAS 893: 2023 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  7 
 Bibliography  
CODEX STAN 306R -2011, Regional standard for chilli sauce  
 
 DEAS 893: 2023   
  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved