Reference number  
DRS  421: 2019  
© RSB 2019  
 
 
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS   
421 
 
First edition  
2019 -mm-dd 
 
Fried Plantain chips  — Specification  
 
 
  DRS 421: 2019  
©RSB 2019 - 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 2019  
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 R SB. 
Requests for permission to reprodu ce 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  421: 2019  
iii                ©RSB 2019  - All rights reserved  
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  3 
4.1 Essential ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  3 
4.2 Optional ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  3 
4.3 Tolera nce of defects  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  3 
4.4 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  3 
4.5 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  4 
5 Food a dditives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  4 
6 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  4 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  5 
7.1 Pesticides residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  5 
7.2 Other contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  5 
8 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 5 
9 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  5 
10 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 6 
Annex  A (normative)  A nnex title  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  7 
A.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  7 
 DRS 421: 2019  
©RSB 2019 - All rights reserved                  iv 
 Foreword   
Rwanda Standard s are prepared  by Technical Committees and approved by R wanda 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 S tandards adopted 
by Technical committ ees are ratified  by me mbers of RSB Board of Director s for publication and gazettment as 
Rwanda Standards.  
WD xxx  was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 038, Processed fruits and vegetables . 
In the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following standard:  
1) US 998, Plantain — Specification  
The assistance de rived from the above source is hereby ack nowledged with thanks.  
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Processed fruits and vegetables  
(RSB/TC 038) in the preparation  of this standard.  
JD LIUAR  
National Agricultural Export Development Board  (NAEB)  
NETRAPI Ltd  
Nyarutarama Incubation Center  
Shekina Enterprise  
TUZAMURANE Cooperative  
ZIMA Enterprise  
Rwanda  Standards Board  (RSB) – Secretariat  
 DRS  421:2019  
1                ©RSB 2019  - All rights reserved  
 Fried Plantain chips — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft Rwanda Standard specifies  the requirements, sampling and test methods for fried plantain chips 
made from mature  plantain  cultivars in the genus Musa . 
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 934.06,  Moisture in Dried Fruits  
AOAC 963.15,  Fat in Cacao Products —  Soxhlet Extraction Method  
RS CODEX STAN 192,  General standard for food additives  
RS CODEX STAN 193, Codex general standa rd for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
RS EAS 321, Edible fats and oils — Specification  
RS EAS 38, Labelling of pre - packaged foods — General requirements    
RS EAS 803, Nutrition labelling — Requirement    
RS EAS 805 , Use of nutrition and health cla ims — Requirements  
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 bet a-D-glucuronide  
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  
RS ISO 3960,  Animal and vegetable fats and oils —Determination of peroxide value — Iodometric (visual) 
endpoint determination  
RS ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of micro -organisms 
— Part 1: Colony -count at 30 degrees C  — Pour plate technique  
RS ISO 5985, Animal feeding stuffs — Determination of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid   
©RSB 2019 - All rights reserved                  2 
 RS ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella -- Part 1: Detect ion of Salmonella spp . 
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this standard, the follow ing terms and definitions apply . 
3.1 
chips 
thin slices of peeled fruits, deep -fried 
3.2  
plantain chips  
chips prepared by frying the peeled sound and mature plantain  fruit (Musa varieties) sufficient to attain a crispy 
texture with or without the addition of sweetening agent/s, salt/s or other food ingredients and additives packed 
in any suitable packaging materials.  
3.3  
food grade packaging  materials  
packaging mater ial, made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use and which will not 
alter the quality and safety of the product  
3.4  
foreign matter  
organic and inorganic materials (such as sand, soil, glass)  other than extraneous matter in the fr ied plantain 
chips  
3.5  
extraneous matter  
organic matter of plantain origin other than fried plantain chips  
3.6  
filth  
impurities of animal origin including dead insects  DRS  421:2019  
3                ©RSB 2019  - All rights reserved  
 4 Requirements  
4.1 Essential ingredients  
4.1.1.  Plantain fruit to be used shall be sound,  clean and mature from any cultivated variety conforming to the 
characteristics of the fruits of Musa spp. of the Musaceae family.  
4.1.2  Edible oil or fat  comply ing with RS EAS 321.  
4.2 Optional ingredients  
All optional ingredients which may be added to fried plantain chips shall comply with relevant standards, they 
include but are not limited to the following:  
a) sweetening agents such as one or more of the sugars, high intensity sweeteners or artificial sweeteners, 
and honey complying with RS 164;  
b) salt complying  with RS EAS 35; and  
c) permitted flavouring agents.  
4.3 Tolerance of defects  
4.3.1  Defects of fried plantain chips, when packed, shall not contain more than 10 % by mass of small broken 
pieces, slivers and irregular pieces.  
4.3.2  Packed fried plantain chips shall have not more than 1 % of the chips with the following defects:  
a) surface or internal pigmentation;  
b)  black, dark brown or reddish discolouration; and  
c) blisters .  
4.4 General requirements  
Fried plantain chips shall:  
a) have underg one a frying process sufficient to ensure quality and shelf life stability at ambient conditions and 
shall be packed in a ny suitable packaging materials;  
b) The frying medium shall be regularly replaced with fresh batches of oil or fat, or combinations thereo f, to 
comply with Good Manufacturing Practices. Temperature of the frying medium shall not exceed smoke 
point.   
©RSB 2019 - All rights reserved                  4 
 c) have the characteristic colour, aroma, and flavour of plantain ; 
d) have crispy texture with uniform size and shape;  
e) be free from any objectionable s ensory characteristic ;  
f) be free from foreign matter, filth and extraneous matter; and  
g) not appear mouldy.  
4.5 Specific requirements  
Fried plantain chips shall comply with the specific requirements given in Table 1 when tested in accordance 
with test methods s pecified therein.  
Table 1—Specific requirements for Fried plantain chips  
S/N Characteristic  Requirements  Test method  
i.  Moisture content ,% max.  10.0 AOAC 934.06  
ii.  Fat content , % by mass (on dry basis) , max.  35 AOAC 963.15  
iii.  Peroxide value , meq. Oxygen/kg, max.  5.0  RS ISO 3960  
iv.  Acid insoluble ash, % by mass(on dry basis) , 
max.  0.15 RS ISO 5985  
v.  Free fatty acid content % by mass, max.  0. 5  
vi.  Sodium chloride (NaCI) on dry weight basis, %, 
max.  2.0  
5 Food additives  
Food additives which may be used in the manufacture of Fried plantain chips  shall comply with RS CODEX 
STAN 192.  
6 Hygiene  
6.1 Fried plantain chips shall be manufactured and handled in accordance with the hygienic requirements 
stipulated in RS CAC/RCP 1.  
6.2 Fried plantain chips shall not exceed the microbiological limits in Table 2 when tested in accordance with 
test methods specified therein.  
Table 2  — Microbiological limits for Fried plantain chips  
S/N Microorganisms  Limit  Test method  
i.  Total Plate Count, cfu/g max.  103 RS ISO 4833 -1 
ii.  Escherichia coli, cfu/ g max . Absent  RS ISO 16649 -2 DRS  421:2019  
5                ©RSB 2019  - All rights reserved  
 iii.  Salmonella spp  in 25 g max . Absent  RS ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Yeasts  and moulds , cfu/g , max.  102 RS ISO 21527 -2 
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Pesticides residues  
Fried plantain chips shall comply with the maximum residue limits for pesticides established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission.  
7.2 Other contaminants   
Fried plantain chips shall comply  with those maximum levels of the Codex General Standard for contamina nts 
and toxins in food and feed RS CODEX STAN 193.  
8 Packaging  
8.1 Fried plantain chips shall be packaged in food grade materials which will safeguard the hygienic, 
nutritional, technological, and organoleptic qualities of the product . 
8.2 The packaging material shall c omply with the environmental legislation of the destination country.  
9 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of RS EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall be legibly and 
indelibly marked:  
a) name of the product shall be "Fried plantain c hips”;  
b) name, location and address of the manufacturer;  packer and/or distributor.  
c) date of manufacture;  
d) best before date;  
e) country of origin;  
f) list of ingredients;  
g) net content;  
h) lot/ batch number ; 
i) if used, food additives shall be declared;   
©RSB 2019 - All rights reserved                  6 
 j) storage conditions; and 
k) instructions for use.  
10 Sampling  
Sampling of fried plantain chips shall be done in accordance with  
 
 
 
 
 DRS  421:2019  
7                ©RSB 2019  - All rights reserved  
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Annex title  
A.1 General  
   
©RSB 2019 - All rights reserved                  8 
  DRS  421:2019  
9                ©RSB 2019  - All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1]  
 DRS 421:2019  
ICS 67.080.10  
 
 
©RSB 2019  - All right s reserved