ICS 67.060  
 
Reference number
DRS 101: 2023
© RSB 2023
  
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS 
101 
 
Third  edition  
yyy-mm-dd  
 
Cookies — Specification  
   
DRS 101: 2023 
©RSB 2023- 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 2023 
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 101: 2023 
iii                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Contents Page 
Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................ iv 
1 Scope ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 
2 Normative references ...................................................................................................................................... 1 
3 Terms and definitions ..................................................................................................................................... 2 
4 Types ................................................................................................................................................................ 3 
5 Requirements ................................................................................................................................................... 3 
5.1 Ingredients .................................................................................................................................................... 3 
5.1.1 Essential ingredients ................................................................................................................................ 3 
5.1.2 Optional ingredients.................................................................................................................................. 3 
5.2 General requirements .................................................................................................................................. 4 
5.3 Specific requirements .................................................................................................................................. 4 
5.4 Microbiological limits ................................................................................................................................... 5 
6 Food additives ................................................................................................................................................. 5 
7 Hygiene ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 
8 Contaminants ................................................................................................................................................... 5 
8.1 Heavy metals ................................................................................................................................................. 5 
8.2 Mycotoxins .................................................................................................................................................... 6 
9 Packaging ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 
10 Labelling ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 
11 Sampling ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 
 DRS 101: 2023 
©RSB 2023- 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. 
RS 101 was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC  003, Cereals, pulses, legumes and cereal products.  
In the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following standard (s): 
1) KS 661: 2007, Cookies — Specification 
The assistance derived from the above source is hereby acknowledged with thanks. 
This thirdedition cancels and replaces secondedition (RS RS 101:2018 ),  whichhas been technically revised.  
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Cereals, pulses, legumes and 
cereal products  (RSB/TC 003) in the preparation of this standard. 
Enterprise URWIBUTSO/SINA GERARD 
MANOSALIWA Food Industries Ltd  
MINIMEX Ltd  
National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) 
National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA) 
Nyarutarama Business Incubation Center 
One Acre Fund-Tubura 
Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority 
Zamura Feeds Ltd 
Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) – Secretariat DRS 101: 2023 
v                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
   DRS 101: 2023 
1                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Cookies — Specification 
1 Scope 
This Draft Rwanda Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for cookies intended 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 942.17, Arsenic in foods Molybdenum blue method  
AOAC 999.10, Lead, Cadmium, Zinc, Copper and Iron in Foods, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry  
RS CXC 1 , Code of practice — General Principles of Food Hygiene  
RS CXS 192, General Standard for food additives  
RS EAS 1, Wheat flour — Specification  
RS EAS 12, Potable water — Specification  
RS EAS 321, Edible fats and oils — Specification  
RS EAS 35, Fortified edible salt — Specification  
RS EAS 38, Labelling of pre-packaged and prepared foods—General requirements 
RS EAS 38, Labelling of pre-packaged foods — General requirements 
RS ISO 11085, Cereals, cereals -based products and animal feeding stuffs — Determination of crude fat and 
total fat content by the Randall extraction method  
RS ISO 16050, 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  
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  
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 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 24333, Cereals and cereal products — Sampling  
RS 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  
RS ISO 5985 , Animal feeding stuffs —Determination of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid 
RS ISO 6579-1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp 
RS 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 
RS ISO 712 , Cereals and cereal products — Determination of moisture content — Reference method 
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply. 
3.1 
cookies 
flat, baked products generally made from a soft, thick dough characterised by a chewy and denser texture 
3.2 
filled cookies 
cookies sandwiched with the filing of cream, jam, jelly, ‘marshmallic caramel’, figs, raisins or similar products 
3.3 
cream 
homogeneously mixed preparation of hydrogenated fat or bakery shortening, icing sugar, flavours and 
approved food colours with or without other permitted ingredients in small proportions 
3.4 
coated cookies 
cookies with or without the filing in-between, but coated with chocolate or caramel or icing sugar DRS 101: 2023 
3                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 3.5 
garnished cookies 
cookies garnished with nuts, fruits, cherries, jelly crystals or candy crystals firmly set onto the product 
3.6 
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 Types 
Cookies may be of the following types: 
a) filled cookies; 
b) coated cookies; and  
c) garnished cookies. 
5 Requirements 
5.1 Ingredients 
5.1.1 Essential ingredients 
In  cookies making , the following essential ingredients  shall be used and shall comply with relevant 
standards: 
d) wheat flour, complying with RS EAS 1 singly or in combination with other flours complying with relevant 
standards; 
e)  edible oil or fat, or shortening complying with RS EAS 321; 
f) edible salt, complying with RS EAS 35; and 
g) baking powder complying with RS EAS 993. 
5.1.2 Optional ingredients 
The following optional ingredients including but not limited to the following may be used in cookies and shall 
comply with relevant standards:  
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 a) cereal and cereal products; 
b) oil seed products; 
c) nuts; 
d) edible starches; 
e) milk and milk products; 
f) sugars complying with RS EAS 5 or RS EAS 16 or RS EAS 749; 
g) Chocolate complying with RS EAS 1033; 
h) honey complying with RS EAS 36; 
i) fruits, edible vegetables, and derived products; 
j) spices; 
k) leavening agents; 
l) processing aids. 
m) potable water complying with RS EAS 12; 
5.2 General requirements 
Cookies shall: 
a) be of characteristic appearance, taste, odour and tenderness; 
b) be properly baked with no signs of under-baking or over-baking so that they are chewy; 
c) have the colour, texture, flavour and aroma characteristics of typical well-baked cookies; and 
d) be free from any rancidity and insect infestation. 
5.3 Specific requirements 
Cookies shall comply with the specific requirements stipulated in Table 1 when tested in accordance with test 
method specified therein. DRS 101: 2023 
5                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Table 1 — Specific requirements for cookies 
S/N Characteristic Requirement Test method 
i.  Moisture, % by mass, max. 6.0 RS ISO 712 
ii.  Acid insoluble ash (on dry basis), % by mass, max. 0.05 RS ISO 5985 
iii.  Fat content, % by mass, max. 30.0 RS ISO 11085 
5.4 Microbiological limits 
Cookies shall comply with the microbiological limits indicated in Table 2 when tested in accordance with test 
method specified therein. 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for cookies 
S/N Microorganism Maximum limits Test method 
i.  Total Viable Counts, CFU/g 103 RS ISO 4833-1 
ii.  Yeasts and moulds, CFU/g 10 RS ISO 21527-2 
iii.  E.coli, CFU/g Absent RS ISO 16649-2 
iv.  Salmonella spp in 25 g Absent RS ISO 6579-1 
v.  Staphylococcus aureus,  CFU/g Absent RS ISO 6888-1 
6 Food additives 
Food additives which may be used in the manufacture of cookies shall comply with RS CODEX STAN 192. 
7 Hygiene 
Cookies shall be preparedand handled  in accordance with RS CAC/RCP 1. 
8 Contaminants 
8.1 Heavy metals 
Cookies shall comply with the maximum heavy metal limits indicated in Table 3 when tested in accordance 
with test method specified therein. 
Table 3 — Maximum limits for heavy metal in cookies 
S/N Contaminant Maximum limit(mg/kg) Test method 
i.  Lead (Pb) 0.2 AOAC 999.11 
ii.  Cadmium 0.1 
iii.  Arsenic (Ar)  0.1 AOAC 942.17  
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 8.2 Mycotoxins 
Cookies shall not exceed the maximum limits of mycotoxins specified in Table 4 when tested in accordance 
with test methods specified therein. 
Table 4— Limits of mycotoxins in Cookies 
S/N Mycotoxins  Maximum limit (μg/kg) Test method  
i.  Total aflatoxin  10  RS ISO 16050 
ii.  Aflatoxin B1 5  
iii.  Deoxynivalenol (DON) 2000  
9 Packaging 
Cookies shall be packaged in food grade packaging material that ensures the integrity and safety of the 
product 
10 Labelling 
In addition to the requirements specified in RS EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall 
apply and be legibly and indelibly marked: 
a) name of the product as “Cookies”; 
b) name and  address of the manufacturer/packer/distributor/importer/exporter/vendor; 
c) batch number; 
d) country of origin; 
e) date of manufacture; 
f) declaration of allergens; 
g) expiry date; 
h) food additives used; 
i) Instructions for use; 
j) instructions on disposal of used package; 
k) list of ingredients in descending order; 
l) net content shall be declared in the metric system; DRS 101: 2023 
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 m) storage instructions; and 
n) the statement ‘Human Food’ shall appear on the package. 
11 Sampling 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with RS ISO 24333. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
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 Bibliography 
[1] RS 101: 2018 Cookies —Specification (Second edition) 
 DRS 101: 2023 
 
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