DEAS 1191 : 2023 
ICS 67.100.10 
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                            First Edition  2023 
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Flavo ured milk — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 1191 : 2023 
ii © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
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 DEAS 1191 : 2023 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitat ed by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and 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.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee (EASC) mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards (EAS).  The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner St ates, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations in the community.  
East African Standards are developed through Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consum er groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
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 sta ndards, in 
accordance with the principles  and procedures for development of East African Standards. XXXXXX.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected t o ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC  017, Milk and milk products.     
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the e lements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1191 : 2023 
 
© EAC 2022  – All rights reserved  1 
 Flavo ured milk— Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft  East African Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and tes t methods for flavoured milk  for 
human consumption . 
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 947.05, Acidity of milk. Titrimetric method  
CX/MRL 2, Maximum Residue Limits (Mrls) and Risk Management Recommendations (RMRs) fo r Residues 
of Veterinary Drugs in Foods  
CXC 57, Code of hygienic practice for milk and milk products  
CXG 66, Guidelines for the Use of Flavourings  
CXS 192, General standard for food additives  
EAS 16, Plantation (mill) white sugar — Specification  
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — General requirements  
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
EAS 5, Refined white sugar — Specification  
EAS 749, Brown sugars — Specification  
EAS 770 , Fortified sugar — Specification  
EAS 8, Raw cane sugar — Specification  
EAS 803, Nutrition labelling ― Requirements  
EAS 804, Claims on foods ― General requirements  
EAS 805, Use of nutrition and health claims ― Requirements  
EAS 948 , Fruit juices, puree, pulp and nectars — Specification   
ISO 11290 -1, Microbiology of the food chain —Horizo ntal method for the detection and enumeration of Listeria 
monocytogenes and of Listeria spp. —Part 1: Detection method  
ISO 11866 -2, Milk and milk products —Enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli —Part 2: Colony -count 
technique at 44 degrees C using memb ranes   
2 © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 ISO 14501, Milk and milk powder — Determination of aflatoxin M1 content — Clean -up by immunoaffinity 
chromatography and determination by high -performance liquid chromatography  
ISO 19662, Milk — Determination of fat content — Acido -butyrometric (Gerbe r method)  
ISO 4832, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms — Colony -count technique  
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 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
ISO 6731, Milk, cream and evaporated milk — Determination of total solids content (Reference method)  
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 -Parke r agar medium  
ISO 707, Milk and milk products — Guidance on sampling  
ISO 8967, Dried milk and dried milk products — Determination of bulk density  
ISO 8968 -4, Milk and milk products — Determination of nitrogen content — Part 4: Determination of protein 
and non-protein nitrogen content and true protein content calculation (Reference method)  
ISO/TS 6733, Milk and milk products —Determination of lead content —Graphite furnace atomic absorption 
spectrometric method  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.   
3.1 
flavoured milk  
milk that has been heat -treated and with added flavour ing agents  and/or other additives  
3.2 
Ultra High Temperature milk  
milk that is treated under ultra -high temperatures, homogenized , filled and sealed aseptically into sterile retail 
containers in order to maintain commercial sterility under room temperatures  
Note1 to entry: Commercial sterility is achieved by application of heat sufficient, alone or in combination with other 
appropri ate treatment to render food free from microorganisms capable of growing in the food as normal non -refrigerated 
conditions at which the food is likely to be held during distribution and storage.  
3.3 
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  
3.4 
raw cow milk  
normal, clean and fresh secretion extracted from the udder of a healthy cow  
3.5  
reconstituted milk  
product resulting from the addition of water to the dried or concentrated form of the cow milk product in the 
amount necessary to re -establish the appropriate water to solids ratio   
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 3.6 
recombined milk  
product resulting from the combining of  milk fat and milk solids non -fat in their preserved forms  with or without 
the addition of water to achieve the appropriate milk product composition  
 
3.7 
toned milk  
Product prepared by a mixture of cow milk with skimmed milk or powdered milk in the amount necessary to re -
establish the appropriate milk product composition  
3.8 
pasteurized milk  
milk which has been subjected to heat treatment either by batch method, flash pasteurisation or High 
Temperature Short Time method (HTST)  
3.9 
foreign matter  
any kind of  undesirable physical material introduced to a food product at any point in its production, handling, 
processing or distribution  
4 Categories of flavoured  milk 
Flavoured milk shall be categorized as follows  based on fat content : 
a) Whole/full cream;  
b) Fat reduc ed/semi skimmed;  
c) Low fat; and  
d) Fat free/skimmed . 
5 Requirements  
5.1 Essential i ngredients   
5.1.1 Milk 
The following milk and milk products, complying with relevant standards may be,  used  singly or in 
combination.  
a) raw cow milk; 
b) reconstituted milk;  
c) recombine d milk;  
d) pasteurized milk; or  
e) toned milk . 
5.1.2 Flavours  
Approved flavours (natural or synthetic) shall be used in accordance with CXG 66 .  
4 © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 5.2 Optional ingredients  
Other ingredients which may be used in the manufacture of flavoured milk include but are not limited to the 
following:  
a) sugars complying with  EAS 8, EAS 5, EAS 16, EAS 749 , EAS 770 ; and  
b) permitted fruit juices or  their concentrates complying with EAS  948. 
5.3 General requirements  
Flavoured milk shall:  
a) have characteristic texture , flavour  and c olour;  
b) not have off -flavours and off odours;  
c) be free from bitterness;  
d) be free from metallic flavour;  
e) be processed without affecting the composition of the product;  
f) be free from visible sediments other than from the flavour used ; and  
g) be free from foreign m atter. 
5.4 Specific requirements  
Flavoured milk shall comply with specific requirements given in Table 1 when tested in accordance with test 
methods specified therein.  
Table 1 — Specific requirements for flavoured milk  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test m ethod  
Whole/full 
cream , min  Fat Reduced 
/semi skimmed  Low fat  Fat Free 
/skimmed, max  
1.  Milk fat, % (m/m)  3.25 (min.)  2.71-3.24 0.51-2.70 0.5 (max.)  ISO 19662  
2.  Titratable acidity variation g, 
% lactic acid, max.  0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 AOAC 947.05  
3.  pH variationa max.  0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 Annex A  
4.  Milk Solids Non -Fat, %, min. 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 ISO 6731  
5.  Density at 20 °C, g/ml  1.028 -1.065  1.028 -1.065  1.028 -1.065  1.028 -1.065  ISO 8967  
6.  Protein content, %, min.  3 3 3 3 ISO 8968 -4 
a pH variation is only applicabl e to UHT Flavoured milk  
6 Food additives  
Food additives in flavoured milk may be used in accordance with CXS 192   
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  5 
 7 Hygiene  
7.1 Flavoured milk shall be prepared and handled in accordance with accordance with EAS 39  and CXC 
57. 
7.2 Flavoured milk shall comp ly with microbiological requirements given in Table 2 when tested in 
accordance with test methods specified therein . 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for flavoured milk  
S/N Micro -organisms  Maximum  limit Test method  
UHT 
Flavoured 
milk Pasteurized 
flavour ed milk  
i. Total Plate  count,  CFU/  ml 10 104 ISO 4833 -1 
ii. Total Coliform,  CFU/ ml  < 1 10 ISO 4832  
iii. Staphylococcus  aureus  CFU/  ml < 1 < 1 ISO 6888 -1 
iv. Salmonella  spp,  in 25 ml Absent  Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
i.  Listeria monocytogenes in 25 ml  N/A Abse nt ISO 11290 -1 
ii.  Escherichia coli CFU/ml  N/A < 1 ISO 11866 -2 
N/A Not Applicable  
8 Contaminants  
8.1 Pesticide residues  
Flavoured milk shall comply with the maximum pesticides residue limits set  by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission  
8.2 Veterinary drugs re sidues  
Flavoured milk shall comply with maximum residue limits for antibiotics and other veterinary drugs set by 
Codex Alimentarius Commission  in CX/MRL  2. 
8.3 Aflatoxin  
When tested in accordance with ISO 14501, the level of Aflatoxin M1 shall not exceed 0 .5 μg/kg.  
8.4 Heavy metals  
The level of Lead (Pb) shall not exceed 0.02 mg/kg when tested in accordance with ISO/TS 6733 . 
9 Packaging  
Flavoured milk shall be packaged in food grade  packaging  material that safeguards the quality , integrity  and 
safety of the  product.  
10 Labelling  
10.1 General labelling requirements  
Each package of flavoured milk shall be legibly and indelibly labelled in accordance with the requirements 
stipulated in EAS 38 and shall also include the following:   
6 © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 a) name of the product as “ UHT fla voured milk ” or “pasteurized Flavoured milk”;  
b) type of flavour used;  
c) category of flavoured milk as “Whole /full cream; Fat Reduced /semi skimmed /low fat or Fat Free 
/skimmed”;  and 
d) fat content . 
10.2 Nutritional labelling  
Nutrition labelling shall be done i n accordance with EAS 803  
10.3 Health and nutrition claims  
Health and nutrition claims may be used in accordance with EAS 804 and EAS 805  
11 Sampling  
Sampling for flavoured milk shall be done in accordance with ISO 707.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  7 
 Annex A  
(normati ve) 
 
Determination of pH variation  
A.1 Apparatus  
A.1.1  Incubator,  adjusted at 55 °C ± 1 °C 
A.1.2  pH meter  
A.2 Procedure  
Determine the pH of 50 ml of the sample in the flask, with a glass electrode at 20 °C and note the reading. 
Then incubate another 50 ml of the sample at 55 °C ± 1 °C for five days. Examine each day, then shake and 
return it in the incubator. After five days’  incubation at 55 °C ± 1 °C, remove the sample from the incubator 
and cool to room temperature. Take a small portion of it and measure  the pH in the pH meter with the glass 
electrode at 20 °C. From this pH value, subtract the initial pH value.  
A.3 Interpretation of results  
A sample which does not show any physical alteration during incubation at 55 °C ± 1 °C for five days and 
where the pH does not show a difference of more than 0.3 unit from the initial pH is considered sterile.  
If any physical alteration of the contents is observed (coagulation with, or without exudation, grittiness, 
formation of bubbles or scum peptonization or proteolysis) the product shall be considered as nonsterile.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
8 © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
1) RS 194: 2013,  Flavoured  milk — Specification  
 DEAS 1191 : 2023   
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved