DEAS 1049: 2021 
ICS 85.080.20  
 
© EAC 2021                                                                                                                              First Edition 2021  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Paper hand towel sheets ( multi -fold hand towels) — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 
 
 DEAS 1049: 2021 
ii © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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© East African Community  2021 — All rights reserved  
East African Community   
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be prosecuted . DEAS 1049: 2021 
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
4 Classification of the product  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  2 
5 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
5.1 Requirements for materials and manufac ture ................................ ................................ ....................  2 
5.1.1  Ply ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
5.1.2  Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  2 
5.1.3  Chemicals  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  3 
5.1.4  Paper  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  3 
5.1.5  Construction of sheet  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
5.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
5.2.1  Physical and chemical requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 3 
5.2.2  Dimensional requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  3 
5.2.3  Microbiological limits  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  4 
5.2.4   Freedom from holes  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................  4 
6 Packaging and labelling ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  4 
6.1  Wrapping  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
6.2  Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
6.3 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  4 
6.3.1  Labelling on the unit package  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  4 
6.3.2  Labelling on the bulk package  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  5 
7 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  5 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
 
 DEAS 1049: 2021 
iv © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been 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 whe n goods and services are exchanged 
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 t he 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 
stakehold ers 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 a nd incorporated before finalization 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 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 EASC /TC 065, Paper and Paper 
Products.  
Attention is drawn to th e 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 1049: 2021 
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  1 
 Paper hand towel sheets ( multi -fold hand  towels) — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements , sampling  and test methods for paper hand towel 
sheets used for general hygiene.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their conten t 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.  
ISO 186, Paper and board — Sampling to determine av erage quality  
ISO 287, Paper and board — Determination of moisture content of a lot — Oven -drying method  
ISO 6588 -1, Paper, board and pulps — Determination of pH of aqueous extracts — Part 1: Cold extraction  
ISO 8784 -1, Pulp, paper and board — Microbiologi cal examination — Part 1: Enumeration of bacteria and 
bacterial spores based on disintegration  
ISO 12625 -4, Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 4: Determination of tensile strength, stretch at break 
and tensile energy absorption  
ISO 12625 -5, Tissue pap er and tissue products — Part 5: Determination of wet tensile strength  
ISO 12625 -6, Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 6: Determination of grammage  
ISO 12625 -7, Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 7: Determination of optical properties — Measureme nt 
of brightness and colour with D65/10° (outdoor daylight)  
ISO 12625 -8, Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 8: Water -absorption time and water -absorption 
capacity, basket -immersion test method  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document , the following terms and definitions apply.  
3.1  
cross -direction (CD)  
direction in the plane of a paper perpendicular to the machine direction   
3.2  
machine direction (MD)  
the direction of a paper corresponding to the direction of flow of the stuff on th e paper machine   
2 © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 3.3  
sheet  
individual hand towel sheet of a particular dimension as specified in the Standard  
3.4  
hole 
an area in a sheet void of fibres and having a diameter that exceeds 4 mm  
3.5  
lot 
packs of the same grade and color which have been manufactured from the same base material and under 
essentially the same conditions  
3.6  
ply 
layer of single sheet  
3.7  
virgin paper  
tissue made from  virgin pulp  
3.8  
recycled paper  
tissue made from recycled pulp  
3.9  
blended paper  
tissue made from a mixture of virgin and recycled pulp  
3.10 
pack  
group of paper sheets wrapped together  
4 Classifi cation of the product  
Classification of hand towel sheets shall be in accordance with t he kind of paper and as follows:  
a) Virgin paper hand towel sheets  not including any mechanical pulp;  
b) Recycled paper hand towel sheets ; and  
c) Blended paper hand towel sheets . 
5 Requirements  
5.1 Requirements for materials and manufacture   
5.1.1 Ply  
The paper hand towel sheets shall comprise  a single or multiple ply tissue paper.  
5.1.2 Hygiene  
Paper hand towel sheets shall  not at any time during the manufacture and packing be e xposed to conditions 
that do not conform to good hygienic practice.   
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  3 
 5.1.3  Chemicals  
All chemicals including dyes used in manufacture of paper hand towel sheets shall  not cause irritation of the 
skin. 
5.1.4 Paper  
5.1.4.1  The paper shall be free from delete rious defects (e.g. fibre bundles, wood splinters) and from 
defects that may impair its serviceability.  
5.1.4.2   The paper shall be white or colored and shall comply with the requirements given in tables 1 , 2 
and 3 . 
5.1.5  Construction of sheet  
The sides of  each sheet shall be neatly cut.  
5.2 Specific requirements  
5.2.1  Physical and chemical requirements  
When tested in accordance with the methods given, the paper hand towel sheets shall comply with the 
requirements as given in Table 1. 
Table 1 — Physical and  chemical requirements  for paper hand towel sheets  
 
5.2.2  Dimension al requirements  
The paper hand towel sheets dimensional requirements sha ll be as given in Table 2 when determined in 
accordance with ISO 11093 -4 S/N Property  Requirement  Test method  
i) Grammage, 
g/m2, Min. 
 Per ply for 2 
ply product  Virgin tissue  19  
ISO 12625 -6 Blended tissue  19 
Recycled tissue  19 
Per ply for 1 
ply product  Virgin tissu e 38 
Blended tissue  38 
Recycled tissue  38 
ii) Dry t ensile strength, N/m of 
width, Min. MD 600  
ISO 12625 -4 
CD 350 
iii) Wet t ensile strength, N/m of 
width, Min. MD 33 ISO 12625 -5 
iv) Water absorptiveness, g/m2, Min. 20 ISO 12625 -8 
v) pH value 4.4 – 8.5 ISO 6588 -1 
vi) Moisture content, %.  4.0 – 7.0 ISO 287  
vii) Brightness of white paper, %, Min. 73 ISO 12625 -7  
4 © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 Table 2  — Dimensional requirements for paper hand towel sheets  
S/N Characteristics  Requirement  Tolerance on 
declared number  
i) Sheet size, mm, 
Min. 195 x 195   3 
ii) Number of sheet s 
per pack, Min. 100  2 
 
5.2.3  Microbiological limits  
Paper hand towel sheets shall comply with microbiological limits specified in Table 3 when tested in 
accordance with the test method  specified therein . 
Table 3  — Microbiological limits for paper hand  towel sheets  
S/N Characteristic  Limit  Test method  
i) Total plate count,cfu/g,max.  300  
 
ISO 8784 -1 ii) Pseudomonas aeruginosa , cfu/g  Not detected in 1 g of the 
product  iii) Staphylococcus aureus , cfu/g  
iv) Candida albicans , cfu/g  
v) Escherichia  coli, cfu/g  
 
5.2.4   Freedom from holes  
The average number of holes in the sheets of a pack shall not exceed 5 per hundred sheets.  
6 Packaging and labelling  
6.1  Wrapping  
A pack of paper  hand towel sheets shall be fully wrapped  
6.2  Packaging  
6.2.1 Sheets shall be packed in suitable  material  that does not negatively affect the quality of the hand 
towel sheets during handling, transportation and storage.  
6.2.2 Paper hand towel sheets of the same size , length and color shall be packed together.  
6.3 Labell ing 
6.3.1  Labelling on the unit package  
Each package shall be legibly and indelibly marked in either  English, Kiswahili or French or combination with 
the following information : 
a) name and physical address of the manufacturer/importer/distributor and/or  trad e mark  
b) name of the product shall appear as "paper hand towel sheets"  or “multi -fold paper hand towels” ;  
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  5 
 c) colour(s) of the paper hand towel sheets;  
d) description of fibre composition shall appear as “virgin”, “blended” or “recycled”;  
e) indicate number of ply;  
f) length of the sheet;  
g) number of sheets of each pack; and  
h) country of origin/manufacture.  
6.3.2  Labelling on the bulk package  
Each package shall be legibly and indelibly marked in either  English, Kiswahili or French or combination with 
the following information : 
a) name  and address of the manufacturer and/or trade mark;  
b) name of the product " Paper hand towel sheets”  or “multi -fold paper han d towels” ; 
c) number of unit packages;  
d) batch number/identification code;  
e) gross weight  
f) colour of the p aper hand towel sheets;  
g) the words” ,virgin, blended or recycled fibre”;  
h) country of origin or manufacture .  
7 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done  in accordance with ISO 186   
6 © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
KS 2669:2017, Paper hand towel sheets (folded hand towels) — Specification   
 DEAS 1049: 2021   
 
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved