DEAS 1008 :2023 
ICS 67.10 0.10  
 
© EA C 2023                                                                                                                         Second  Edition 2023 
  EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Fermented (cultured) milk — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 DEAS 1008 : 2023 
ii © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
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  DEAS 1008 : 2023 
© EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has be en 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 exch anged 
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 in 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, aca demia, 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 finali zation 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 expec ted to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 017, Milk and milk products.  
This second e dition cancels and replaces the  first edition (EAS 1008 : 2021), which has 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.  
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1008 :2023 
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  1 
 Fermented (c ulture d) milk  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for fermented 
(cultured) milk for human consumption.  
This standard does not apply to yoghurt covered in EAS 33.  
2 Normati ve 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 document.  For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of  the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
CXC  57, Code of  hygienic  practice for milk and milk products  
CXS 192, General standard for food additives  
EAS 104 , Alcoholic beverages — Methods of sampling and test  
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -pack aged foods — General requirements  
EAS 39,  Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
EAS 803, Nutrition labelling ― Requirements  
EAS 804, Claims on foods ― General requirements  
EAS 805, Use of nutrition and health claims ― Requ irements  
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  
ISO 13580, Yoghurt — Determination of total solids content (Reference method ) 
ISO 14501, Milk and milk powder — Determination of aflatoxin M1 content — Clean -up by immunoaffinity 
chromatography and determination by high -performance liquid chromatography  
ISO 17792 , Milk, milk products and mesophilic starter cultures —Enumeration of citrate -fermenting lactic acid 
bacteria —Colony -count technique at 25 degrees C  
ISO 22662 , Milk and milk products —Determination of lactose content by high -performance liquid 
chromatography (Reference method)  
ISO 23318 , Milk, dried milk products and cream —Determination of fat content —Gravimetric method  
ISO 4832, Micro biology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms — Colony -count technique   
2 © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the dete ction, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp. ISO 6611, Milk and milk products — 
Enumeration of colony -forming units of yeasts and/or moulds —Colony -count technique at 25 degrees C  
ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food a nd animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 1: Technique using 
Baird -Parker agar medium  
ISO 707, Milk and milk products — Guidance on  sampling  
ISO 896 8-1, Milk and milk products —Determination of nitrogen content —Part 1: Kjeldahl principle and crude 
protein calculation  
ISO/TS 11869, Fermented milks — Determination of titratable acidity — Potentiometric method  
ISO/TS 6733,  Milk and milk products — Determi nation of lead content — Graphite furnace atomic absorption 
spectrometric method  
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  at the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1 
fermented (cultured) milk  
milk product prepared from one or combination of the following; whole milk, partially or skimmed milk, 
concentrated milk, recons tituted milk, buttermilk , which are pasteurised or sterilized and fermented  by means 
of specific mesophilic  micro -organisms resulting in reduction of pH  with or without coagulation  
3.2 
plain  (natural ) fermented milk  
 milk fermented using appropriate cultur es without addition of any other ingredients  
3.3 
flavoured fermented milk  
fermented milk into which permitted flavours and/or  sweeteners , food colours ha ve been added  
3.4 
stirred fermented milk  
plain or flavoured fermented milk whose coagulum has been broke n through stirring or agitation process to 
obtain a free flowing product  
3.5 
set fermented milk  
plain or flavoured fermented milk whose coagulum has not undergone any stirring or agitation process  
 
3.6  
Lactose free fermented milk  
fermented milk whose lac tose content  has been significantly reduced using appropriate  method s 
3.7 
Drinks based on Fermented Milk  
Composite milk products obtained by mixing fermented Milk with potable water with or without the addition of 
other ingredients such as whey, other non -dairy ingredients, and flavourings.   
© EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 3.8 
 foreign matter  
any kind of undesirable physical material introduced to a food product at any point in its production, handling, 
processing or distribution  
4 Categories of fermented (cultured) milk  
The categories ba sed on fat conte nt shall be as follows:  
a) fermented whole  milk; 
b) fermented  low fat milk; 
c) fat reduced fermented milk ; 
d) fermented fat free milk ; and  
e) fermented high fat milk . 
5 Types of fermented (cultured) milk  
fermented milk  as presented in the form of either s et, stirred or any other appropriate form may be classified in 
either of the following types:  
a) Plain/natural  fermented milk ; 
b) flavoured  fermented milk ; 
c) lactose -free fermented milk ; and  
d) Drinks based on Fermented Milk . 
6 Requirements  
6.1 Raw materials  
One or combination of the following raw materials shall be used:  
a) Whole milk,  
b) partially skimmed milk  
c) or skimmed milk,  
d) concentrated milk,  
e) buttermilk,  
f) reconstituted milk ,  
g) recombined  milk,  
h) toned milk,   
4 © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 i) cream  
6.2 Essential ingredients  
6.2.1 Starter cultures  
The starter culture used in the making of fermented milk products with their corresponding fermentation 
products levels are given in Table 1. Titratable acidity and ethanol shall be tested in accordance with ISO/TS 
11869 and EAS 104 respectively.  
Table 1 — Designation , starter cultures and elements of ferment ation  
S/No  Designation  Culture  Titratable acidity, 
expressed as % 
lactic acid,  (% m/m)  
min. Ethanol  
(% vol/w)  
min. 
i.  Fermented milk  The following can be used to manufacture 
fermented milk separately or in combination : 
Streptococcus lactis  
Streptococcus diacetylactis  
Streptococcus cremoris  
Leuconostoc citrovorum  
Leuconostoc dextranicum  
Streptococcus thermophilus  0.3 - 
ii.  Cultured buttermilk  Streptococcus lactis  
Streptococcus diacetolactis  
Streptococcus cremor is 
Leuconostoc citrovacum  
Leuconostoc dextranicum  0.6 - 
iii.  Kefir Starter culture prepared from kefir grains, 
Lactobacillus kefiri , species of the genera 
Leuconostoc, Lactococcus  and Acetobacter  
growing in a strong specific relationship. 
Kefir grains constit ute both lactose 
fermenting yeasts ( Kluyveromyces 
marxianus ) and non -lactose -fermenting 
yeasts ( Saccharomyces unisporus, 
Saccharomyces cerevisiae  and 
Saccharomyces exiguus ). 0.6 - 
iv.  Kumys  Lactobacillus delbrueckii  subsp. Bulgaricus 
and Kluvyeromyces marxia nus  0.7 0.5 
Note:  Specific starter cultures of harmless micro -organisms shall be used. Other harmless microorganisms than those 
constituting the specific culture(s) may be added. Those microorganisms shall be viable, active and abundant in the 
finished products at the time of sale for consumption. If the product is heat treated after fermentation the requirement for 
viable microorganisms does not apply  
 
 
6.3 Optional ingredients  
The following optional ingredients comply ing with relevant standards  may be  used :  
© EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  5 
 a) sodium chloride;  
b) non-dairy ingredients such as nutritive and non -nutritive sweeteners, fruits and vegetables  as well as 
juices, purees, pulps, preparations  and preserves derived there from, cereals, honey, chocolate, nuts, 
coffee, spices and other h armless natural flavouring foods may be added and shall not exceed 50 % 
m/m;  
c) potable water in drinks based on fermented milk  (Drinks Based on Fermented Milk contain a minimum 
of 40% (m/m) fermented milk ); 
6.4 General requirements  
Fermented ( cultured ) milk shall:  
a) be free from off flavours and off odours such as metallic and yeast flavour; and  
b) have the characteristic texture and taste of the type of fermented (cultured) milk.  
c) Be free from foreign mat ter other than declared ingredients  
d) not whey off  
6.5 Specifi c requirements  
Fermented (cultured) milk shall comply with the specific requirements given in Table 2 when tested in 
accordance with the test methods specified therein.  
Table  2 — Specific requirements f or fermented (cultured) milk 
S/No  Characteristic  Requi rement  Test 
method  
Fermented 
whole milk  Fat 
reduced 
fermented 
milk Fermented 
low fat milk  Fermented 
fat free milk  Fermented 
high fat 
milk 
i.  Milk fat  content,  
%, m/m 3.25 – 4.5 1.51 – 3.24 0.5 – 1.50 < 0.5 4.6 – 10 ISO 23318  
ii.  Milk solids no n-
fat, %, m/m, min. 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 ISO 13580  
iii.  pH 4.0 – 4.6 4.0 – 4.6 4.0 – 4.6 4.0 – 4.6 4.0 – 4.6 Annex A  
iv.  Sum of 
microorganisms 
constituting the 
starter culture  
(Bacteria in 
fermented milk 
derived from  
starter culture) , 
CFU/ g in totala 
min 107 107 107 107 107 
ISO 17792  
v.  Labelled 
microorganisms  
cfu/g in totalb 
min 106 106 106 106 106 
vi.  Milk protein 
%minimum  2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 ISO 8968 -1  
6 © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 S/No  Characteristic  Requi rement  Test 
method  
Fermented 
whole milk  Fat 
reduced 
fermented 
milk Fermented 
low fat milk  Fermented 
fat free milk  Fermented 
high fat 
milk 
vii.  [Lactose 
contentc ,% 
m/m max ] [0.1] [0.1] [0.1] [0.1] [0.1] ISO22662/  
AOAC 
984.15  
a The requirement on sum of microorga nisms and labelled microorganisms  do not apply for heat treated fermented milk . 
b Applies where a conte nt claim is made in the labelling that refers to the presence of a specific microorganism (other than those 
specified in Table 1 for the product concerne d) that has been added as a  supplement to the specific starter culture . This parameter does 
not apply to Kumys and Kefir.  
 
c Lactose content applies to lactose free fermented milk  
7 Food additives  
Food additives permitted for fermented milk products in CX S 192 may be used . 
8 Hygiene  
Fermented (cultured)  milk shall be prepared in accordance with EAS 39 and CXC 57. 
9 Microbiolog ical limits 
Fermented (cultured) milk shall comply with the  microbiological limits given in Table 3, when tested in 
accordance with the test methods specified therein.  
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for fermented (cultured) milk  
S/No  Microorganism  Maximum limit  Test method  
i.  Coliforms , CFU/ g, max. < 10 ISO 4832  
ii.  Salmonella spp ,  in 25 g, max. Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
iii.  Staphylococcus aureu s, CFU/g, max.  <10 ISO 6888 -1 
iv.  Yeasts and mouldsa, CFU/ g, max. 102 ISO 6611  
aFor both kefir and kumys, the Yeast and moulds specification shall be 104 CFU/g minimum  
 
 
Note : <10  CFU/g  should be interpreted as equivalent to “ absent ” based on the limit of  detection for the method applied  
10 Contaminants  
10.1 Pesticide  residues  
Fermented (cultured) milk shall comply with the maximum limits of pesticide residues as specified by the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission.   
© EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  7 
 10.2 Veterinary  drugs residues  
fermented (cultured) milk shall comply with the maximum limits for antibiotics and other veterinary drugs set 
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in CX/MRL2.  
10.3 Heavy metals  
The level of lead (Pb) shall not exceed 0.02 mg/kg when tested in accordance with ISO/TS 6733 . 
10.4 Aflatoxins  
When tested in accordanc e with ISO 14501, the level of a flatoxin M 1 shall not exceed 0.5µg/kg . 
11 Packaging  
Fermented (cultured)  milk shall be packaged in food grade  packaging material that safeguards the quality, 
integrity and safety of t he product  
12 Labelling  
12.1 General labelling requirements  
In addition to the requirements given in EAS 38, each package shall be legibly and indelibly labelled with the 
following:  
a) Name of the product shall either be “fermented milk”or “cultured buttermil k”or “kefir”or “kumys”.  
Note: In addition to the requirement of 12.1.a (NAME), any other local/common name of the product 
such as bongo, Ikivuguto, mursik, mtindi, Rob , makamo may be added.  
b) Type either “plain/natural” or “flavoured” or “lactose free” or “d rinks based on fermented milk”  
c) Category based on fat content as either  whole or low fat or fat reduced or fat free or high fat  
d) Fat content  
e) [Declaration of lactose content for lactose free fermented milk]  
12.2 Nutrition labelling and claims  
Nutrition label ling shall be done in accordance with EAS 803. Nutrition and health claims may be used in 
accordance with EAS 804 and or EAS 805 as appropriate.  
13 Sampling  
Sampling of fermented (cultured) milk shall be done in accordance with ISO 707.  
  
8 © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 Annex A  
(normative ) 
 
Determination of pH  
A.1 General  
The pH value or hydrogen ion concentration gives a measure of the true acidity of fermented milk . The 
relationship between pH and acidity of yoghurt  is only approximate. In fermented milk  the pH ranges from 4. 0 
to 4.6. Th e value is reduced by the development of acidity. The pH of fermented milk  may be determined 
rapidly by using the indicator strips.  
A.2 Indicator strips  
Indicator paper strips or discs are made by soaking strips of absorbent paper in a suitable indicator a nd drying 
them.  
A rough estimate of pH is obtained by dipping a strip of the prepared paper in fermented milk  and observing 
the colour. Bromocresol purple (pH range from 4 to 7,  colour changes from yellow to purple) and bromothymol 
blue (pH range from 4  to 7, colour changes from straw yellow to bluish -green) are commonly used as 
indicators. Both narrow and wide range ready -made indicator papers are available over the pH range 2.0 to 
10.5.  
Indicator paper strips shall always be kept in closed containers  and under dry conditions.  
A.3 pH meter  
The pH meter may be used to determine pH in fermented milk.  
A.4 Interpretation  
On an average,  fermented milk  gives a pH of 4.6. Fermented milk  of pH over 4.6 should be regarded with 
suspicion as indication of poor ferment ation as a result of starter culture inhibition . pH below 4.0 is as a result 
of over fermentation.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
© EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  9 
 Bibliography  
1) EAS 1008: 2021 Fermented (cultured) milk — Specification  (First edition)  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DEAS 1008 : 2023   
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved