DEAS 1189 :2023 
ICS 67.120.10 
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                              First Edition 2023 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Marinated meat — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 1189 : 2023 
ii © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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Violators may be prosecuted . DEAS 1189 : 2023 
© 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 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.2 Raw materials requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  2 
4.2.1  Meat ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  2 
4.2.2  Marinades  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  3 
5 Hygiene requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
5.2 Microbiological limits  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  3 
6 Food additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 3 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  4 
7.1 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
7.2  Veterinary drug residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  4 
7.3 Heavy metal contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
9 Meat identification  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
10 Packaging and labelling ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  4 
10.1  Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
10.2  Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  4 
11 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  5 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
 DEAS 1189 : 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 services 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 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, 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 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 004, Meat, poultry, game, 
eggs and related products.  
This second/third/… edition cancels and replaces the first/second/… edition (US nnn-n:yyyy), 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.  DEAS 1189 : 2023 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  v 
 Introduction  
A paragraph.  
The introduction  is an optional preliminary element used, if required, to give specific information or 
commentary about the technical content of the document, and about the reasons prompting its preparation. It 
shall not contain requirements.  
The introduction shall not be numbered unless there is a need to create numbered subdivisions. In this case, it 
shall be numbered 0, with subclauses being numbered 0.1, 0.2, etc. Any numbered figure, table, displayed 
formula or footnote shall be numbered normally beginning with 1.  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1189 : 2023 
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  1 
 Marinated meat — Specification  
1 Scope   
This draft East African S tandard Specifies requirements, sampling and test methods  for marinated meat  
intended 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 document.  For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
CX/MRL 2, Maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs in food   
ISO 16649 -2, Microbiology of food and a nimal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for enumeration of β -
glucuronidase -positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony -count technique at 44 °C using 5 -bromo -4- chloro -3-
indolyl β -D-glucuronide  
ISO 6579 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of Salmonella 
spp. 
ISO 11290 – 1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of 
Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. — Part 1: Detection method.  
CAC/RCP 58, Meat hygiene — Code of practice  
Codex standards 192, General standard for food additives   
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged food   
EAS 39, Code of Hygiene Practice for Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry   
ISO 4833, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of micro -organisms   
AOAC 972.25, Lead in food. Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method  
CD-ARS 1287:2022, Hygienic production and transportation of meat  
ISO/TS 20224  Molecular biomarker analysis  - Detection of animal -derived materials in foodstuffs and 
feedstuffs by real -time PCR  (part 1 -9) 
ISO/TS 17728  Microbiology of the food chain  Sampling techniques for microbiological analysis of food and 
feed samples  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.   
2 © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 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 
meat  
Whole or parts of slaughtered animal carcasses that are intended for and have been passed as fit for human 
consumption by competent  authority  
3.2  
meat product  
meat that has been subjected to treatment irreversibly modifying its Organoleptic and physiochemical 
characteristic  
3.3 
marinade  
liquid or sauce that can either be acidic or enzymatic in which meat is soaked to enrich it with flavor through 
the use of salt, herbs, and spices  and/or to tenderize it.  
3.4 
marination  
process of tenderizing and/or flavouring meat often in an acidic, liquid, sauce or a rub before cooking.  
3.5 
rub 
Mixture of dry herbs and spices containing neither acidic element nor  enzyme that is sprinkled or patted onto 
meat to infuse the meat with flavour before cooking. Rub do not contain the elements needed to tenderize the 
meat in the same way that marinades do.  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  Marinated meat shall have characteristic odour , flavour and colour  of the marinade used  
4.1.2  Once the rub is applied to meat or chicken the meat shall be covered and placed in cold storage ( 0C 
to 4 C ) to marinate   
4.1.3  . Marination  process shall  take place in a facility  comply ing with EAS 39   
4.1.4  Marinades used for raw meat or poultry may be boiled for 5 minutes  to kill harmful bacteria and used 
to baste ingredients as they cook, or for a sauce . 
4.1.5  The marination process shall be conducted in a manner that will not compromise on the keeping  
quality and safety of the product. The cold chain shall be maintained at all times.  
4.1.6 Marinati on time shall depend on the meat type  and quantity,  size of the cuts,  and the type of 
marinade  
4.2 Raw materials requirements  
4.2.1 Meat  
4.2.1.1  The meat  for marination shall be obtained from animals slaughtered according  to CAC/RCP 58  
and comply with relevant East African standards  for carcasses and cuts   
4.2.1.2  The product shall be prepared according to the hygienic re quirements prescribed in EAS 39.   
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 4.2.1.3  The meat shall be free from objectionable odo urs, flavors , blood clots and any other 
contamina nts. 
4.2.1.4  The meat used for this processing shall be from one type and its flavo ur shall be characteristic of 
that type.  
4.2.1.5   The meat shall be free from foreign matters , sign of spoilage and unacceptable odours.  
4.2.2 Marinades  
4.2.2.1  The following i ngredients may be used in marinade and they shall comply  with the specific East 
African standards ; 
a) Fat/Oil:  olive, sesame, peanut and infused oils  
b) Acid:  vinegar, wine, sherry, citrus juice, yoghurt and buttermilk  
c) Enzyme  
d) Seasonings : Garlic, ginger , onions, spices, honey and sugar , citrus peel, soy sauce, mustard, edible 
salt and pepper, and herbs and spices.   
4.2.2.2  The marinade shall be hygienically prepared as per EAS 39.  
4.2.2.3  The marinade for one batch shall not be used in another batch  
4.2.2.4  Marinades used for raw meat shall not be used for cooked meat  
5 Hygiene requirements  
5.1 Marinated meat shall be produced, processed, handled, and stored in accordance with CAC/RCP 58 
and EAS 39  
5.2 Microbiological limits  
Marinated meat shall comply with the microbiological limits given in Table 1 when tested in  accordance with 
the test methods specified therein.  
Table 1 — Microbiological limits for marinated meat  
S/N Micro -organism  Max. limit  Test method  
i.  Escherichia coli O157:H7  in 25g  Absent  ISO 16654  
ii.  Staphylococcus aureus , cfu/g 103  ISO 6888 -1 
iii.  Salmonella  ssp in 25 g  Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Listeria monocytogenes  in 25 g  Absent  ISO 11290 -1 
6 Food additives  
Food additives if used shall comply w ith Codex S TAN 192.  
4 © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 7 Contaminants  
7.1 Pesticide residues  
The marinated meat shall comply with maximum pesticide residue limits set by Codex Alimentarius 
Commission   
7.2  Veterinary drug residues  
Marinated meat shall comply with the maximum veterinary drugs residue limits prescribed in CX/MRL 2  
7.3 Heavy metal contaminants  
Marinated meat shall not contain Lead (Pb) in amounts exceeding 0.1 mg/kg, when tested in  accordance with 
AOAC 972.25.  
9 Meat identification  
The identification/isolation of meat species shall be done according to ISO/TS 20224  
10 Packaging  and labelling  
10.1 Packaging  
Packaging of marinated meat shall be done in food grade packaging materials that protect the meat product 
from any physical, microbiological, chemical or any other type of contamination during storage and distribution  
10.2  Labelling  
In addition to the requirements given in EAS 38, marinated meat shall be legibly and indelibly labelled with the 
following information : 
a) name of the product (type of meat or meats used) as appropriate;  
b) list of ingredients in the marinade  
c) allergens declaration  
d) name  and address of manufacturer /importer/distributor ; 
e) net weight, in metric  units  
f) date of manufacture;  
g) expiry date;  
h) batch number;  
i) instructions for use;  
j) storage conditions; and  
k) country of origin.   
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  5 
 11 Sampling  
Sampling shall be carried out in accordance with CAC/GL 50. For microbial analysis samples shall be carried 
out in accordance with ISO/TS 17728.   
6 © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
DKS 2830: 2018,  Marinated meat  — Specification  DEAS 1189 :2023   
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved