ICS 67.160.20  
 
Reference number
DRS 79: 2022
© RSB 2022
  
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  RS 
79 
 
Third  edition  
yyyy-mm-dd  
 
 Flavoured soft drinks — Specification 
   
DRS 79: 2023 
©RSB 2022- All rights reserved                  ii 
 In order to match with technological development and to keep continuous progress in industries, 
standards are subject to periodic review. Users shall ascertain that they are in possession of the latest 
edition 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© RSB 2022 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized 
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without 
prior written permission from RSB. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to: 
Rwanda Standards Board 
P.O Box 7099 Kigali-Rwanda 
KK 15 Rd, 49 
Tel. +250 788303492 
Toll Free: 3250 
E-mail: info@rsb.gov.rw  
Website: www.rsb.gov.rw  
ePortal: www.portal.rsb.gov.rw  DRS 79: 2023 
iii                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Contents Page 
Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................ iv 
1 Scope ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 
2 Normative references ...................................................................................................................................... 1 
3 Terms and definitions ..................................................................................................................................... 2 
4 Classification ................................................................................................................................................... 2 
5 Ingredients ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 
5.1 Essential ingredients ................................................................................................................................... 2 
5.2 Optional ingredients ..................................................................................................................................... 3 
6 Requirements ................................................................................................................................................... 3 
6.1 General requirements .................................................................................................................................. 3 
6.2 Specific requirements .................................................................................................................................. 3 
7 Food additives ................................................................................................................................................. 4 
8 Hygiene ............................................................................................................................................................. 4 
9 Microbiological requirements ........................................................................................................................ 4 
10 Contaminants ................................................................................................................................................. 4 
10.1 Pesticides residues .................................................................................................................................... 4 
10.2 Heavy metals ............................................................................................................................................... 4 
11 Packaging ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 
12 Labelling ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 
13 Sampling ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 
Annex A  (normative)  Method of sampling for flavoured soft drinks .......................................................... 6 
A.1 Scale of sampling ........................................................................................................................................ 6 
A.2 Test samples and reference samples ........................................................................................................ 6 
A.2.1 Samples for microbiological tests .......................................................................................................... 6 
A.2.2 Samples for other tests ............................................................................................................................ 6 
 DRS 79: 2023 
©RSB 2022- All rights reserved                  iv 
 Foreword 
Rwanda Standards are prepared by Technical Committees and approved by Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) 
Board of Directors in accordance with the procedures of RSB, in compliance with Annex 3 of the WTO/TBT 
agreement on the preparation, adoption and application of standards. 
The main task of technical committees is to prepare national standards. Final Draft Rwanda Standards 
adopted by Technical committees are ratified by members of RSB Board of Directors for publication and 
gazettment as Rwanda Standards. 
DRS 79 was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 001, Non-alcoholic beverages.  
This third edition cancels and replaces the secondedition (RS 79: 2018) and RS 381:2018 Plant flavoured soft 
drinks—Specification , which have been technically revised. 
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Non-alcoholic beverages  
(RSB/TC 001) in the preparation of this standard. 
BRALIRWA 
La pervenche Ltd 
MINIMEX Ltd 
Mwezi Co.Ltd, 
National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA), 
Nyabihu TVET 
Nyarutarama Business Incubation Center 
Rwanda Consumer's Rights Protection Organization (ADECOR)  
Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority 
SORWATOM  
SPIC Ltd 
Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) – Secretariat DRS 79: 2023 
v                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
   DRS 14: 2023 
1                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Flavoured soft drinks — Specification 
1 Scope 
1.1 This Draft Rwanda Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for flavoured soft 
drinks. 
1.2  This standard applies to soft drinks flavoured with fruits, plant parts or their extracts other than fruits, or 
other food flavourings (natural/synthetic). 
1.3 This standard does not apply to soft drinks covered by specific individual standards  
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. 
AOAC 950.17, Official Method Citric Acid in non-alcoholic Beverages  
AOAC 950.27, Solids (total) in non-alcoholic beverages  
AOAC 950.29, Sucrose in non-alcoholic beverages  
AOAC 950.31, Official Method, Glucose (Commercial) in non-alcoholic Beverages  
AOAC 980.19, Tin in food, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 999.10, Lead, cadmium, zinc, copper and iron in food, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry  
RS CXC 1, General principles of food hygiene  
RS CXS 192, General standard for food additives  
RS EAS 12, Potable water — Specification  
RS EAS 38, General standard for labeling of prepackaged foods  
RS 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  
RS ISO 1842, Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of pH   
©RSB 2022- All rights reserved                  2 
 RS ISO 4833-1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
microorganisms — Part 1: Colony count at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique  
RS ISO 6579-1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp.  
RS 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 
RS 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 standard, the following terms and definitions apply. 
3.1 
flavoured soft drink 
 non-alcoholic beverage which may be flavoured with either fruits or other plant parts or their extracts or any 
other food flavouring, which may be natural or synthetic. 
3.2 
food grade packaging material 
packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use and which will not 
impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product 
4 Classification 
Flavoured soft drink shall be classified as concentrated or ready-to-drink. 
5 Ingredients 
5.1 Essential ingredients 
The following essential ingredients shall be used in flavoured soft drinks and shall comply with relevant 
standards: 
a) potable water complying with RS EAS 12; 
b) fruit or plant parts or their plant parts or their extracts or any other food flavouring which may be natural or 
synthetic. DRS 14: 2023 
3                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 5.2 Optional ingredients 
The following ingredients may be used in flavoured soft drinks and shall comply with relevant standards.They 
include but are not limited: 
c) sugar complying with RS EAS 5 or RS EAS 16 or RS EAS 749; 
d) honey complying with RS EAS 36;and  
e) nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. 
6 Requirements 
6.1 General requirements 
Flavoured soft drink shall: 
a) be free from any extraneous matter; 
b) be free from signs of fermentation;  
c) be free from any substances injurious to health;  
d) possess characteristics  of the flavours used;  
e) be free from off-flavour and off-odours; and 
f) be physically homogeneous. 
6.2 Specific requirements 
Flavoured soft drinks shall comply with the specific requirements stipulated in Table 1 when tested in 
accordance with test methods specified there in. 
Table 1 — Specific requirements for flavoured soft drinks 
S/N  Characteristic Requirements Test method 
Ready to drink Concentrated  
i.  Brix, %, min 5 35 AOAC 950.29 
ii.  pH 2.4 - 5.8 2.4 - 5.8 RS ISO 1842 
iii.  Total Acidity as anhydrous citric-acid, 
g/l, max. 12.0 12.0 AOAC 950.17 
iv.  Sucrose, %, m/m, max 9.0 
 70 AOAC 950.29  
©RSB 2022- All rights reserved                  4 
 v.  Ethyl alcohol, %, v/v, max. 0.5 0.5 RS EAS 104 
7 Food additives 
Food additives which may be used in the manufacture of flavoured soft drinks shall be in accordance with RS 
CXS 192  
8 Hygiene 
Fruit flavoured soft drink shall be produced and handled under hygienic conditions in accordance with RS 
CXC 1. 
9 Microbiological requirements 
Flavoured soft drinks shall comply with the requirements given in Table 2, when tested in accordance with test 
methods specified therein. 
Table 2 ▬ Microbiological limits for flavoured soft drinks 
S/N  Microorganism  Maximum limit Test method 
i.  Total Viable Counts, CFU/ml  102 RS ISO 4833-1 
ii.  E.coli ,CFU/ml  absent RS ISO 16649-2 
iii.  Staphylococcus aureus , CFU/ml  absent RS ISO 6888-1 
iv.  Salmonella spp  in 25 ml  absent RS ISO 6579-1 
v.  Yeasts and moulds, CFU/ml  10 RS ISO 21527-2 
10 Contaminants 
10.1 Pesticides residues 
The products covered by the provisions of this standard should comply with those maximum residue limits for 
pesticides established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
10.2 Heavy metals 
Flavoured soft drinks shall not contain heavy metal contaminants in excess of the limits stipulated in Table 3 
when tested in accordance with test methods specified therein. 
Table 3 ▬ Limits for heavy metals in flavoured soft drinks 
S/N  Characteristics Maximum limit (mg/kg) Test method 
i.  Lead 0.03 AOAC 999.10 
ii.  Tin as Sn  150 AOAC 980.19 DRS 14: 2023 
5                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 11 Packaging 
Fruit flavoured soft drinks shall be packaged in food grade packaging materials that that ensure the integrity 
and safety of the product. 
12 Labelling 
9.1 In addition to requirements specified in RS EAS 38, the following requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked: 
a) name of the product ‘’ flavoured soft drink”; preceded by  the predominant flavour used; 
b) Name and address of the manufacturer/ packer/distributor/importer/exporter/vendor; 
c) list of ingredients in descending order; 
d) food additives used; 
e)  declaration of allergens; 
f) batch/lot number; 
g) net content; 
h) date of manufacture; 
i) country of origin; 
j) expiry date; 
k) storage conditions; 
9.2 The following labelling shall be prohibited: 
a) misleading information of the flavoured soft drink through pictorials is prohibited; and 
b) nutrition and health claims are prohibited except if they are used in accordance with RS EAS 805 
13 Sampling 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with Annex A 
  
©RSB 2022- All rights reserved                  6 
 Annex A 
(normative)  
 
Method of sampling for flavoured soft drinks 
A.1 Scale of sampling 
A.1.1 All bottles in a consignment belonging to the same batch of manufacture shall constitute a lot. If the 
consignment is declared to consist of different batches of manufacture, bottles of the same batch shall be 
grouped together and each group so formed shall constitute a separate lot and each lot shall be sampled. 
A.1.2 The number of bottles to be selected from a lot for testing for microbiological and other requirements 
shall depend on the size of the lot and shall be in accordance with Table A.1. 
Table A.1 — Number of bottles to be selected for sampling 
No. of bottles in the lot (L) No. of bottles to be selected 
Microbiological testing Other tests 
L ≤ 1 300 12 18 
1 300 < L ≤ 3 200 18 24 
L > 3 200 24 30 
A.1.3 The bottle to be selected for testing shall be chosen at random from the lot by the following procedure. 
Starting from any bottle, count them as 1, 2, 3... up to r. Every rth bottle thus counted shall be withdrawn r 
being the integral part of N/n, where N is the total number of bottles in the lot and n is the total number of 
bottle to be chosen. 
A.2 Test samples and reference samples 
A.2.1 Samples for microbiological tests 
The sample bottle selected for microbiological tests (see Table A.1) shall be divided at random into three 
equal sets and labelled with all particulars of sampling. One of these sets of sample bottles shall be for the 
purchaser; another for the vendor and the third set is the reference. 
A.2.2 Samples for other tests 
The sample bottles selected for other tests (see Table A.1) shall be divided at random into three equal sets 
and labelled with all the particulars of sampling. One of these sets of sample bottles shall be for the purchaser, 
another for the vendor and third is the reference. 
 
 DRS 14: 2023 
7                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Bibliography 
[1] RS 79: 2018 Fruit flavoured soft drinks — Specification 
[2] RS 381: 2018 Plant flavoured soft drinks — Specification 
 DRS 14: 2022 
 
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