DEAS 1 171:2023  
ICS 67.200.10  
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                           First Edition 2023 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
 
Peanut/groundnut flour — Specification  
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY   DEAS 1171:2023  
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  DEAS 1171:2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East A frican Standards has been neces sitated 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 good s and services are ex changed 
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 Nat ional 
Standards Bodie s in Partn er 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 in cluding government, a cademia, c onsumer 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 inc orporated before fina lization o f 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 Stand ards are therefore ex pected 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 015, Oil seeds, edible fats 
and oils .  
Attention is drawn to  the possibility that  some of t he 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 1171:2023  
 
 Peanut/groundnut flour — Specification  
1 Scope   
This draft East  African Standard specifies requi rements, sampling and test methods for peanut/groundnut 
flour from the varieties of Arachis hypogaea L. intended for human consumption . 
2 Normative references   
The foll owing documents are referred to in the tex t in such a way that some or all of their cont ent constitutes 
requirements of thi s docu ment. For dated reference s, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced docume nt (in cluding any amendments) applies . 
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — General  requirements.  
EAS 39, Code of practice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  
EAS 803, Nutrition labelling — Requirements  
EAS 804, Claims  — General requirements  
EAS 805, Use of Nutrition and health claims — Requirements  
EAS 888, Raw and roasted groundnuts – Specification  
ISO 735, Oilseed residue s — Determination of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid  
ISO 665, Oilseeds — Determination of moisture and volatile matter content  
ISO 729, Oilseeds — Determination of acidity of oils  
ISO 6579 –1, Mi crobiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the de tection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagul ase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other  species) — Part 1: Technique using 
Baird -Parker agar medium  
ISO 16050, Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derive d products — High-performance liquid chromatographic method  
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 215 27-2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds — Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water activity less than or equal  to 
0.95 
ISO 21294 Oilseeds – Manual or automatic discontin uous sampling  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the p urposes of this document, the following  terms and definitions apply . 
3.1  
peanut/ ground nut flour   
product obtained from milling raw/roasted groundnut  kernel s  DEAS 1171:2023  
 3.2 
foreign  matter  
any organic or inorganic ma tter such as insects, insect fragments and mites  flour other than groundnut flour   
3.3 
food grade  packaging  material  
packag ing materia l, made of substances which are safe and suitable for the intended use, and which will not 
impart any toxic substance or undesirable odor or flavor to the product.  
4  Requ irements  
4.1 General requirements  
Peanut/ groundnut flour shall:  
a) have colour and odou r character istic of peanut/ groundnut flour  
b) be from groundnuts that  confo rm to EAS 888  
c) be free from insect or fun gal infesta tion and rancid odour; and  
d) not contain foreign matter ;  
4.2 Specific requirements  
Peanut/groundnut flour shall comply with the requirements given in Table 1 when tested in accordance with 
the test methods specified therein . 
Table 1 ― Specific requirement for Peanut/groundnut flour  
S/No  Character istic Requirement  Test method  
i Moisture,  % m/m,  max.  8 ISO 665 
ii Acid-insoluble ash (on  dry basis), %  
m/m,  max.  1 ISO 735 
iii Free Fatty Acids (FFA) content, %  
m/m,  max.  2 
 ISO 729 
5 Food additives  and flavourings  
No food additives and flavouring  shall be  used in peanut flour.  
6  Hygi ene 
6.1 Peanut/groundnut flour shall be produced, processed, handled and stored in accordance with EAS 39.  
6.2 Peanut/groundnut flour shall comply wi th the microbiological l imits given in T able 2  when te sted in      
accordance with the method specifie d therein.  
Table 2 ― Microbiological limits for full fat groundnut flour  
S/No  Characteristic   Maximum 
limit Test method  
i.  Staphylococcus  aureus , CFU/g , max.  100 ISO 6888 -1  DEAS 1171:2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 ii.  Escherichia coli, MPN/g   Absent  ISO 16649 -2- 
iii.  Salm onella  spp. per 25g  Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Yeasts  and moulds,  CFU/g , max.  104 ISO 21527 -2 
 
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Pesticide residues  
Peanut/groundnut flour shall comply with those maximum residue limits established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity . 
7.2 Aflatoxins  
Aflatoxin levels in Pean ut/groundnut flour shall not exceed the limits given in Table 3 when tes ted in 
accorda nce with the test method spe cified therein  
Table  3 — Aflatoxin  limits  for Peanut/groundnut flour  
S/No. Characteristic  Maximum limit  
µg/kg  Test method  
i.  Total  aflatoxin  15 
ISO 16050  
ii.  Aflatoxin B 1 5 
8 Packaging  
Peanut/groundnut flour shall be packaged in containers made from food grade packa ging mate rial and 
sealed in a manner that wi ll safeguard the hygienic, nutritional and organoleptic properties of the product  
9 Labelling  
In addition to the lab elling requirements specified in EAS 38  and EAS 803 , the name of the product shall 
either be ‘Peanut  flour’ or ‘Groundnut flour ;’  
10 Nutrition and health claims  
Peanut/groundnut flour may have claims on nutrition and health. Such cla ims when declared shall comply 
with EAS 804 and EAS 805   
11 Sampling  
Sampling shall be carried in accordance with ISO 21294  
 DEAS 1171:2023    
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved