DEAS 1029 : 2020  
ICS nn.nnn.nn  
© EAS 2020                                                                                                                               First Edition 2020   
 
DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Rabbit meat (carcasses and cuts)  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 1029 : 2020  
ii © EAC  2020  – All rights reserved  
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Violators may be persecuted  DEAS 1029 : 2020  
© EAC 2020  – All rights res erved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Conformance  ................................ ................................ ............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
3 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
4 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
5 Symbols (and abbreviated terms)  ................................ ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.  
6 Clause  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
6.1 Subclause (level  1) ................................ ................................ .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
6.1.1 Subclause (l evel 2) ................................ ................................ .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
6.1.2 Subclause (level  2) ................................ ................................ .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
6.2 Subclause (level  1) ................................ ................................ .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7 Clause  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
8 Special  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ Error! Bookmark not defined.  
Annex  A (normative)  Annex title  ................................ ................................ .......... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.2 Clause  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.2.1  Subclause (level  1) ................................ ................................ .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.2.2  Subc lause (level  1) ................................ ................................ .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.3 Clause  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
Annex  B (informative)  Which styles correspond to which element  — Quick reference guide Error! Bookmark not defined.  
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
 
 DEAS 1029 : 2020  
iv © EAC  2020  – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products an d 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.  
In order to achieve this objective, the Comm unity established an East African Standards Committee mandated 
to develop and issue East African Standards.   
The Committee is composed of representatives of the National Standards Bodies in Partner States, together 
with the representatives from the private  sectors and consumer organizations. 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 accordan ce with the procedures 
of the Community.  
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 .  
EAS nnn-n was prepared by Technical Committee EAS/TC 004, Meat, poultry, game, eggs and their products . 
 
 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1029 :2020  
 
© EAC 2020  – All rights reserved  1 
 Rabbit meat (carcasses and cuts)  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African standard specifies the requirements, sampl ing and method of test for rabbit meat 
(carcass and cuts) intended for human consumption.  
2 Normative references  
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application 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.  
CAC/GL 50,  General guidelines on sampling  
CAC/MRL 2 , Maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs in food  
CAC/RCP 58 , Code of hygienic pr actice for m eat 
CODEX STAN 192, General standard for food additives  
EAS 38;  Labelling of pre -packaged foods — Specification  
EAS 39,  Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms — 
Part 1: Colony count at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique  
ISO 5961 , Water quality — Determination of cadmium by atomic absorption spectrometry  
ISO 6633,  Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of lead content — Flameless atomic 
absorption spectrometric method  
ISO 6637 , Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of mercury content — Flameless atomic 
absorption method  
ISO 6579,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizont al method for the detection of Salmonella 
spp.  
ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food and 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 7251,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
ISO 7937,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
Clostridium perfringens — Colony count technique  DEAS 1029 : 2020  
2 © EAC  2020  – All rights reserved  
 ISO 10272 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for detection and enumeration of 
Campylobacter spp. — Part 1: Detection method  
ISO 11290 -1, Microbiolo gy of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of 
Listeria monocytogenes and of Listeria spp. — Part 1: Detection method  
ISO 16649 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of beta -glucuronidase -
positive Escherichia coli — Part 1: Colony -count technique at 44 degrees C using membranes and 5 -bromo -4-
chloro -3-indolyl beta -D-glucuronide  
ISO 17294 -2, Water quality — Application of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP -MS) — Part 
2: Determin ation of 62 elements  
ISO 17604,  Microbiology of the food chain — Carcass sampling for microbiological analysis  
OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall 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  
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/  
3.1  
meat  
parts of an animal that are intended for and have been judged as safe and suitable for, human consumption  
3.2  
rabbit meat  
all parts of a rabbit that are intended for, or have been judged  as safe and suitable for human consumption  
 
3.3  
boning  
means the r emoval of meat from bones of a carcass or a portion of carcass  
3.4  
dressing  
the removal of head, skin, viscera (including or excluding the kidneys) genital organs, bladder, feet up to  the 
carpal and tarsal joints and for female animals, the mammary glands.  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Rabbits shall be slaughtered in a hygienically managed slaughter -house in accordance with CAC/RCP 
58. The slaughter shall be supervised by a competent authority an d shall be prepared in licensed premises.   
4.2 The carcass shall be certified as being sound and free from contagious and infectious diseases and fit 
for human consumption by a competent person.  
4.3 The certified carcasses and cuts shall bear suitable mar ks of such inspection, the symbol or number or 
name of the establishment where they were prepared, and the legend 'PASSED' denoting wholesomeness of 
the carcass. The marking fluid used shall be food grade ink.  DEAS 1029 : 2020  
© EAC 2020  – All rights res erved  3 
 4.4 Cutting, trimming and boning of cuts shal l be accomplished with sufficient care to maintain cut integrity 
and identity and to avoid scores in the lean. Ragged edges shall be removed close to the lean surfaces. 
Except for cuts that are separated through natural seams, all cross -sectional surfaces shall form approximate 
right angles with the skin surface. Minimal amounts of lean, fat, or bone may be included on a cut from an 
adjacent cut. For boneless cuts, all bones, cartilage, and visible surface lymph glands shall be removed.  
5 Quality characteri stics of rabbit meat  
5.1 Carcasses and cuts  
Carcasses and cuts shall be:  
a) Intact, taking int o account the presentation;  
b) Free from v isible blood clots or bone dust;  
c) Free from any visible foreign matter (e.g. dirt, wood, plastic, metal particles);  
d) Free of offensive odours;  
e) Free of visible bloodstains;  
f) Free of unspecified protruding o r broken bones;  
g) g. Free of bruises;  
h) Free of freezer -burn;  
i) Free of spinal cord (exce pt for whole unsplit carcasses); and  
j) Free from fur.  
 
5.2 Grading carcasses  
For the purpose of  this standard, the rabbit meat category shall be determined as follows in table 1;  
Table 1 — Grading of Rabbit meat carcasses  
SN Category  Description  
i)  Very young rabbit  Weaned rabbits four to five weeks  
ii)  Young rabbit  Less than 12 weeks of age  
iii)  Young mature rabbit  12 weeks to 6 months of age  
iv)  Mature rabbit  More than 6 months of age  
v)  Open doe  More than 6 months of age, unfertilized mature rabbit  
vi)  other  Can be used to describe any other category of rabbit  
 DEAS 1029 : 2020  
4 © EAC  2020  – All rights reserved  
 6 Preparation of r abbit carcasses and c uts  
6.1 Rabbit carcasses shall be properly dressed, washed, butchered, trimmed, weighed, properly packaged 
and labelled and shall be free from bruises or blemishes of any kind. They shall also be neatly trimmed with 
head, feet, and all offal removed.  
6.2 Temperature treatment – rabbit carcasses and cuts shall be subjected to the following temperature 
treatment.  
6.1.1  Chilling – Fresh rabbit carcasses sides or cuts shall be brought  to a temperature of between 1 ˚C and 
3 ˚C within 24 hours. Carcasses and cuts meant for chilling shall be further chilled to temperatures of -2 ˚C to 
4 ˚C and should be consumed within a period of 4 weeks.  
6.1.2  Freezing and Storage – The rabbit carcasses sides or cuts shall be pre -chilled before freezing. 
Freezing shall be at minus ( -) 18 ºC and ( -) 12 ºC at the highest. The rabbit carcasses and cuts shall be stored 
at (-) 12 oC at the highest. The frozen product shall be consumed within 12 months  
6.3 Rabbit carcass and cuts may be pr esented according to the following in relation to temperature 
treatment:  
6.3.1  Fresh Carcass -The deepest part of the carcass near the bone shall be cooled to the atmospheric 
temperature when delivered and shall show no evidence of deterioration.  
6.3.2  Fresh, Chilled Carcass - The carcass shall be chilled so that the temperature at the deepest portion of 
the flesh near the bone shall be 1°C and shall show no evidence of deterioration.  
6.3.3  Fresh, Frozen Carcass -The rabbit meat shall be quick frozen pre ferably at a temperature of not 
higher than -12oc for frozen and -18oc for deep frozen in the minimum possible time and shall show no 
evidence of deterioration, such as dehydration and advanced changes in texture.  
6.3.4  Rabbit meat cuts, fresh -These shal l be prepared from carcasses which conform to the requirements 
given in fresh carcass.  
7 Food additives  
Food additives , if used in rabbit meat  shall comply with CODEX STAN 192. 
8 Contaminants  
8.1 Heavy metals  
Rabbit meat shall comply with maximum l imits for heavy metals as specified in Table 2, when tested in 
accordance with the methods given therein.  
Table 2 — Maximum limits of heavy metals  
S/No.  Heavy metals  Maximum limits  
ppm  Test method  
i)  Arsenic (Ar)  0.1 ISO 17294 -2 
ii)  Lead (Pb)  0.1 ISO 6633  
iii)  Cadmium (Cd)  0.05 ISO 5961  
iv)  Mercury (Hg)  0.03 ISO 6637  DEAS 1029 : 2020  
© EAC 2020  – All rights res erved  5 
  
8.2 Veterinary drugs residues  
The Rabbit meat shall comply with the maximum residue limits specified in CAC/MRL 2.  
8.3 Pesticide residues  
Rabbit meat  shall comply with the maximum pesticide residue lim its as specified by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission . 
9 Hygiene requirements  
9.1 Rabbit carcasses and cuts shall be produced and handled in accordance with CAC/RCP 58 and EAS 
39. 
9.2 Rabbit carcasses and cuts shall comply with the microbio logical limits given in Table 2.  
              Table 3 — Microbiological limits for r abbit carcasses and cuts  
S/No.  Microorganism  Limits,  
Max.  Test method  
i)  Total plate count, cfu/g  105 ISO 4833 -1  
ii)  Staphylococcus aureas , cfu/g  103 ISO 6888 -1  
iii)  Escherichia Coli , cfu/g  102 ISO 16649 -1 
iv)  Escherichia Coli  0157:H7 per 25  g Absent  ISO 16654  
v)  Salmonella  spp, per 25 g  Absent  ISO 6579  
vi)  Clostridium perfringes , per 25 g  Absent  ISO 7937  
vii)  Listeria monocytogens , per 25 g,  Absent  ISO 11290 -1 
viii)  Campylobacter  per 25 g  102 ISO 102 72-1 
ix)  Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cfu/g  102 ISO 13720  
10  Packaging  
10.1 Packaging of Fresh, chilled and frozen rabbit meat shall be done in food grade packaging materials that 
protect the meat product from any physical, microbiological, chemical or any ot her type of contamination 
during storage, distribution and handling.  
10.2 Vacuum -packed cuts shall be delivered intact.  
11 Transportation  
Transportation of the products covered by this standard shall be in accordance with the relevant  regulations of 
the partner states  
Chilled meat shall be handled and transported at temperature between 1 ˚C and 4 ˚C.  
Frozen meat shall be transported below -12 ˚C and the packages shall be handled with  care to preserve 
quality and safety of the product.  DEAS 1029 : 2020  
6 © EAC  2020  – All rights reserved  
 12 Labelling  
Each c arcass inspected and passed as fit for human consumption shall bear an approval mark  on a label  
attached to the package.  In addition to the requirements given in EAS 38 , the following labelling requirements 
shall apply and shall be legibly and indelibly la belled.  
a) name of the product “Rabbit meat”;  
b) name of the cut as appropriate  
c) rabbit carcasses and cuts grades  
d) name, and physical address of manufacturer ;  
e) net weight in metric unit;  
f) rabbit carcasses and cuts grades  
g) declaration of preservatives used;  
h) date of packaging;  
i) expiry  date;  
j) batch number;  
k) storage conditions;  
l) country of origin   
m) date; 
n) inspection stamp  
13 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with CAC/GL 50 for general sampling and ISO 17604 for 
microbiological analysis.  DEAS 1029 : 2020  
© EAC 2020  – All rights res erved  7 
 Bibliography  
[1]  
[2]  
[3]  
[4]  
[5]  
 DEAS 1029 : 2020    
 
© EAC 2020  – All rights reserved