AFDC 21 (1178) CD3 
ICS 67. 230 
0 
  
 
 
DRAFT TANZANIA STANDARD  
 
 
Cassava sorghum composite flour — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TANZANIA BUREAU OF STANDARDS  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 AFDC 21 (1178) CD3 
ICS 67. 230 
1 
 0. Foreword  
Cassava  sorghum composite flour  is locally produced and some is being  imported.  
The demand for the cassava  sorghum composite flour  is increasing  thus, the need to ensure the safety 
and quality of the product produced  and/or marketed for local consumption and export market . 
 
In developing this standard assistance was drawn from stakeholders who provided necessary in formation 
and samples.  
 
In reporting the result of a test or analysis made in accordance with this standard, if the final value 
observed or calculated, is to be rounded off, it shall be done in accordance with TZS 4 (See clause 2).  
 
1 Scope  
 
This Tanzania standard  prescribes  requirements , sampling and test  methods  for cassava sorghum  
composite flour 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.  
 
TZS 4, Rounding off numerical values  
TZS 109, Food Processing units - Code of h ygiene  
TZS 122 -1/ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, 
enumeration and serotyping of Salmonella - Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
TZS 125 -3 / ISO 6888 -3, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the 
enumer ation of coagulase -positive staphylococci ( Staphylococcus aureus  and other species) - Part 3: 
Detection an d MPN technique for low numbers  
TZS 330 (EAS 900) , Cereals and Pulses – Sampling  
TZS 465 (3rd Ed), Dried cassava chips — Specification  
TZS 466(3rd Ed) , Cassava flour — Specification   
TZS 472: 2010 (3rd Ed), Cassava and cassava products — Determination of total cyanogen’s — 
Enzymatic assay method   
TZS 538 /EAS 38 , Labelling of pre -packag ed foods — General requirements  AFDC 21 (1178) CD3 
ICS 67. 230 
2 
 TZS 731/ ISO 7251 , Microbiology of f ood and animal feeding stuffs -  Horizonta l method for the detection 
and enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli - Most probable number technique  
TZS 765 , Sorghum flour – Specification  
TZS 799 (3rd Ed)/ISO 16050 , Foodstuffs -Determination of aflatoxin B 1, and the total content of aflatoxins 
B1, B2, G1 and G 2 in cereals,  nuts and derived products - High performance  liquid chromatographic 
method  
TZS 961/ISO 1666, Starch - Determination of moisture content - Oven -drying method  
TZS 1581 -2, Determination of cadmium content – Method flame atomic absorption spectrometry  
TZS 2044/ISO 5985 , Animal feeding stuffs – Determination of ash insoluble in hydrochloric   
TZS 2426 -1/ ISO 21527 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of yeasts and moulds - Part 1: Colony count technique in products with w ater activity g reater 
than 0.95  
ISO 9648, Sorghum — Determination of tannin content  
ISO 5498, Agricultural food products — Determination of crude fibre content — General method  
CODEX STAN 193, Codex general standards for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
 
3 Terms and definitions  
 
For the purpose of this standard, the following term s and definition s shall apply.  
 
3.1 
cassava sorghum composite flour  
 
flour obtained by blending flou rs from dried cassava and sorghum   
or flour obtained by milling cassava  chips or grits  and /sorghum  grains or  milling cassava flour and 
sorghum grains, or cassava chips or grits  and sorghum flour  
 
3.2  
foreign matter  
inorganic matter such as sand, glass, metal, stones, clay , mud and organic matter such as chaff, straw, 
weed seeds , live insects, insect fragments  and rodent hairs  
 
3.3  
food grade material  
material that will not transfer non -food chemicals into the food and contains no chemicals which would be 
hazardous to human health  
 
 
 
 AFDC 21 (1178) CD3 
ICS 67. 230 
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 4 Requirements  
 
4.1 General requirements  
 
4.1.1 Cassava  sorghum  composite flour  shall be produced from cassava flour,  grits and/or chips 
complying  with TZS 466 and/or TZS 465, respectively  and sorghum grains  or flour  complying with TZS 
765. 
 
4.1.2   Cassava sorghum  composite flour shall be  
 
(a) homogen eous in particle size and colour;  
 
(b) practically free of filth and foreign matter;  
 
(c) free from rancid , objectionable odours  or flavours  
 
4.2 Specific  requirements  
 
4.2.1 Particle size  
 
Testing for particle size shall be done in accordance with ISO 3588 . Particle size for  fine flour 100% shall 
pass through 0.5  mm sieve and for medium flour 100% shall pass through 1  mm sieve.  
 
 
4.2.2 Cassava  sorghum  composite flour shall conform to the compositional quality requirements shown in 
Table 1.  
 
Table 1 — Compositional requirement s of cassava sorghum composite  flour   
 
S/NO  Characteristics  Limits  Methods of test  
1 Crude fibre content, % by mass on dry 
matter basis, max.  5 ISO 5498  
2 Acid insoluble ash,  % by mass, max.  0.4 TZS 2044  
3 Moisture content, % by mass, max.  12.5  TZS 96 1 
4 Potential cyanide , mg/kg,  max 10  TZS 472  
5 Tannin content,  % by mass, max.  0.3 ISO 9648  
 
5 Hygiene  
 
Cassava  sorghum composite flour shall be prepared and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance  
with TZS 109 and shall conform to microbiological l imits specified in Table 2 .  
 
 
             Table 2 — Microbiological limits for cassava sorghum  composite flour   
 
S/N Micro -organism(s)  limits  Method of test  
1 Escherichia coli, cfu/g,  absent  TZS 731  AFDC 21 (1178) CD3 
ICS 67. 230 
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 2 Salmonella  spp per 25g,  absent  TZS 122 -1 
3 Yeas ts and moulds,  cfu/g, max.  104 TZS 2426 -1 
4 Staphylococcus aureus cfu/g max  102 TZS 125 -3 
 
 
6 Contaminants  
Cassava  sorghum composite flour shall not contain any metal contaminants in excess of levels specified 
in Table 3.  
 
Table 3 – Limit s for heavy meta l contaminants in  cassava  sorghum composite flour   
S/NO   
Characteristics   
Maximum (mg/kg)   
Method of Test  
1.  Lead (Pb)  
 0.2 TZS 1502  
 
2.  Cadmium (Cd)  0.2 TZS 1581 -2 
 
6.1 Pesticide residues  
 
Cassava  sorghum  composite flour shall conform to maximum residue lim its for pesticide residues 
established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.  
 
6.2 Mycotoxins  
 
 Table 4  – Limit s for mycotoxin  in cassava  sorghum composite flour   
 
S/NO  Characteristics  limits  Methods of test  
1 Aflatoxin Total, ppb, max  
 10 
  
 
TZS 799  2 Aflatoxin B1, ppb,max  
 5 
 
3 Fumonisin , ppm max  
 2 
  
 
7 Pack ing, marking and labelling  
 
7.1 Packing  
Cassava  sorghum  composite flour shall be pack ed in suitable food grade materials.   
7.2 Marking and labelling  
 
In addition to the requi rements of TZS 538 ; the following labeling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked  
 
a) the common name of the food to be declared on the label shall be ‘ Cassava  sorghum  composite 
flour (Indicate particle size fine/medium) '; 
b) the net weight;  
c) the name and physical address of the manufacturer / distributor;  AFDC 21 (1178) CD3 
ICS 67. 230 
5 
 d) the country of origin;  
e) batch number ; 
f) date of manufacture  
g) Expiry  date 
h) storage conditions  
i) instructi ons on disposal of used package  
j) The language on the label shall be Swahili and /or English Another language may be used 
depending on the designated market.  
 
 
8 Sampling and test  
8.1 Sampling  
Sampling of cassava  sorghum composite flour shall be done according to TZS 330 . 
8.2 Test  
Testing of cassava  sorghum composite flour shall be done acc ording to test methods prescribed in this 
standard.  
 
NOTE: The TBS Standards Mark of Quality may be used by the manufacturers only under license  from 
TBS. Particulars of conditions under which the license  are granted may be obtained from TBS.