DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS 2999 :2024  
ICS 67.200.20  
First Edition  
  
 © KEBS 2024  
 Blended or m ixed nut and oilseed 
butters  — Specification  
 
  
 
 
DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS 2999 :2024  
ICS 67.200.20  
First  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  ii 
  TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
University of Nairobi  
Egerton University  
Kapa Oil Refineries Ltd.  
Bidco Africa Ltd.  
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)  
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI)  
Government Chemists Department  
Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) — Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate (NOCD)  
Kakuzi PLC Limited  
Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH)  
Upfield Kenya Limited  
Fairoils EPZ Limited  
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
 
 DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS 2999 :2024  
ICS 67.200.20  
First  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  iii 
  REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed.  Suggestions for 
improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, are 
welcome.  
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 2024  
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 130 of 2001 of the Laws of Kenya, copyr ight subsists 
in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 25 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Burea u of Standards 
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing f rom the 
Managing Director.   DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS 2999 :2024  
ICS 67.200.20  
First  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  iv 
  Blended or m ixed nut and oilseed butters  — 
Specification    
 
 
Kenya Bureau of Standards,  Popo Road, Off Mombasa Road,  
P.O. Box 54974 - 00200,  Nairobi, Kenya  
 +254 020 6948000, + 254 722202137, + 254 734600471  
 info@kebs.org  
 @KEBS_ke  
 kenya  bureau of standards (kebs)  
  
DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS 2999 :2024  
ICS 67.200.20  
First  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  v 
  Foreword  
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Edible fats and oils  Technical Committee under the guidance of the 
Standards Projects Committee, and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau of Standards  
Value addition in the oilseeds and nuts value chain has led to innovations in production of butter from nuts or 
oilseeds which may include but not limited to macadamia butter, almond butter, hazelnut butter, walnut butter. 
sesame seed butter, pistachio butter and coconut butte r other than the commonly used peanut and cashew 
nuts. Additionally, these nut and oilseed butters can be blended  and/or mixed with other essential or added 
ingredients to f orm other butters.  This standard was thus developed to cover butters obtained from these nuts 
or oilseeds and/or their blends and mixes .  
This standard addresses the quality and safety requirements necessary to produce a safe product for human 
consumption  
During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following document s 
         KS EAS 60, Peanut butter – Specification  
         KS EAS 1003, Cashew butter – Specification  
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from these source s 
 
I 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 2999 :2024  
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  vi 
   
 
Blended or m ixed nut and oilseed butters  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This draft Kenya standard specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for butters obtained by mixing nut 
and oilseed butters and/or their blends with other ingredients intended for human consumption . 
2 Normative references  
The following referenced documents 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 re ferenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
CXG 66, Guidelines for the Use of Flavourings  
CXS 192, General Standard for Food Additives  
KS EAS 35, Fortified edible salt — Specification  
KS EAS 36, Honey — Specification  
KS EAS 38, Labelling of prepackaged foods  — Specification  
KS EAS 3 9, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  — Code of Practice  
KS EAS 803, Nutrition Labelling — Requirements  
KS EAS 804,  Claims — General requirements  
KS EAS 805, Use of  Nutrition and health claims — Requirement s 
KS EAS 1032, Cocoa butter for food industry —Specification  
KS EAS 1033, Chocolate and chocolate products — Specification  
KS ISO 662, Animal and Vegetable fats and oils — Determination of moisture and volatile matter content  
KS ISO 729, Oilseeds — Determination of acidity of oils  
KS ISO 735, Oilseed residues ― Determination of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid  
KS ISO 5555, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Sampling  
KS ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
KS ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase -
positive Staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 1: Method using Baird -Parker agar 
medium  
KS ISO 12193, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of lead by direct graphite furnace atomic 
absorption spectroscopy  DKS 2999 :2024  
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  2 
 KS ISO 13547 -2, Copper, lead, zinc and nickel sulfide concentrates — Determination of arsenic Part 2: Acid 
digestion and by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and spectrometric method  
KS ISO16050, Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products — High-performance liquid chromatographic method  
KS ISO16649 -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  
S ISO 21527 -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  
 
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.   
3.1. nut or oilseed butters  
cohesive, comminuted food product prepared from clean, sound shelled nuts  or oilseeds  by grinding 
roasted /fried mature kernels  or oilseeds. This may apply but not limited to: macadamia butter, almond butter, 
hazelnut butter, walnut butter. sesame seed butter, pistachio butter and coconut butter   
3.2. blended nut and oilseed butters  
cohesive, comminuted food product s prepared by blending two or more nut or oilseed butters.  
3..3 mixed nut and oilseed butters  
cohesive, comminuted food product prepared by mixing  nut or oilseed butters  and/or their blends with other 
added ingredients described in clause 4.1.2  
3.4. foreign matter  
any undesirable material visible with naked eye in a packaged blended or mixed nut or oilseed butter  
3.5 food grade packaging material  
packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for the intended use and which will not 
impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product . 
4 Requirements  
4.1 Ingredients  
4.1.1  Essential ingredients  
4.1.1.1  Blended nut and oilseed butters  shall comprise at least 90 % of the specific nuts or oilseed blend  
4.1.1.2 Mixed nut and oilseed butters  shall comprise of at least 50% of the named nut or oilseed butters and/or 
their blends mixed with other optional ingredients  
4.1.1. 3 Nuts or oilseeds used shall comply with the relevant Kenya standards.  
4.1.2 Optional /added  ingredients  DKS 2999 :2024  
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  3 
 In addition to the essential ingredients, optional /added  food grade ingredients may be used. These may 
include but not limited to:  
a) edible salt (sodium chloride) complying with KS EAS 35;  
b) sugars complying with relevant Kenyan sugar standards;  
c) honey complying with KS EAS 36; and.  
d) edible oils or fats complying with relevant Kenya standards  
e)          chocolate and chocolate products conforming to KS EAS 1033  
f)           cocoa butter for food industry conforming to KS EAS 1032  
4.2 General requirements  
Blended or mixed nut and oilseed butter shall:  
a) be free from shells;  
b) be free from any foreign matter; and  
c) have an aroma and flavour typical of roasted/fried nut or oilseed . 
4.3 Specific requirements  
Blended or m ixed nut and oilseed butter shall comply with the specific requirements given in Table 1, when 
tested in accordance with the test methods specified therein.  
Table 1 — Specific requirements for blended or mixed nut and oilseed butter  
S/No.  Characteristic  Requirement  
max.  Test method  
i) Moisture and volatile matter 
content, %  3.0 KS ISO 662  
ii) Acid value, mg KOH/g  4.0 KS ISO 729  
iii) Acid insoluble ash, % m/m  1 KS ISO 735  
 
5  Food additives  
Food additives when used in blended or mixed nut and oilseed butters shall comply with CXS 192  
6  Flavouring agents  
Flavouring agents when used in blended or mixed nut and oilseed butters shall comply with CXG 66.  
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Aflatoxin  DKS 2999 :2024  
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  4 
 Aflatoxin levels in blended or mixed nut and oilseed butters  shall not exceed the limits given in Table 2 when 
tested in accordance with the test method specified therein.  
Table 2 — Aflatoxin limits for blended or mixed nut and oilseed butter  
S/No.  Characteristic  Maximum limit  
µg/kg  Test method  
i) Total aflatoxin  10 
KS ISO 16050  
ii) Aflatoxin B1  5 
 
7.2 Pesticide residues  
Blended or mixed nut and oilseed  butter s shall comply with those maximum residue limits for the commodities 
from which they are derived from established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.  
7.3 Heavy metal contaminants  
Blended or m ixed nut and oilseed butters  shall comply with the maximum limits of heavy metals as specified in 
Table 3 when tested in accordance with the test methods therein.  
              Table 3  Heavy metal contaminants limits in blended or mixed nut and oilseed butters  
S/N Contaminant (mg/kg)  Max. limit  Test method  
i) Lead (Pb)  0.08 ISO 12193  
ii) Arsenic (As  0.1 ISO 13547 -2 
 
8  Hygiene  
8.1 Blended or m ixed nut and oilseed  butter s shall be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with 
KS EAS 39.  
8.2 Blended or m ixed nut and oilseed  butter s shall comply with the microbiological requirements given in 
Table 4 when tested in accordance with the test methods specified therein.  
Table 4 — Microbiological requirement for blended or mixed nut and oilseed butters  
S/No
. Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i) Escherichia coli,  CFU/g  Absent  KS ISO 16649 -2 
ii) Salmonella spp. in 25 g  Absent  KS ISO 6579 -1 DKS 2999 :2024  
© KEBS 2024 – All rights reserved  5 
 ii) Staphylococcus aureus, 
CFU/g  Absent  KS ISO 6888 -1 
iv) Yeast and moulds  103 KS ISO 21527 -2 
 
9  Packaging  
Blended or m ixed nut and oilseed  butter s shall be packaged in food grade packaging material that will safeguard 
the hygienic, nutritional, technological and organoleptic qualities of the product . 
10  Labelling  
10.1  In addition to the requirements given in KS EAS 38, the name of the product shall be legibly and 
indelibly labelled as “ Xxx Blended or Mixed Nut or oilseed butter  and/or the added ingredient  . 
11  Nutrition and health claims   
Nutrition and health claims shall comply with the requirements given in KS EAS 803, KS EAS 804 and KS EAS 
805. 
11 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with KS 1SO 5555.  
 
 DKS 2999 :2024    
 
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