DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 979  
Second Edition  
2021 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 979: 2021  
© UNBS 2021  
  
Breakfast cereals  — Specification  
 DUS 979: 2021  
ii © UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct applic ation  
© UNBS 2021  
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior written 
permission from UNBS.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to  
The Executive Director  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
P.O. Box 6329  
Kampala  
Uganda  
Tel: +256 41 4 333 2 50/1/2/3  
Fax: +256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  DUS 979:2021  
© UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Product description  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  3 
5 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  3 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
6 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  4 
7.1 Heavy metals  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  4 
7.2 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
7.3 Mycotoxins  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  4 
8 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
9 Weights and measures  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  5 
10 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  5 
10.1  General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  5 
10.2  Nutrition declaration  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................  5 
11  Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
 
. DUS 979: 2021  
iv © UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Uganda National Bur eau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade , Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327 , of the Laws of Uganda , as amended .  UNBS is mandated to co -
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Org anisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT  Agreement  of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carr ied out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of key stakeholders 
including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS /TC 203, Cereals, pulses and 
related products and processe s 
This second  edition cancels and replaces the first  edition ( US 979:2013 ), which has been t echnically revised.  
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 979: 2021  
 
© UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved  1 
 Breakfast cereals  — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft Uganda Standard specifies the requirements , sampling and test  methods for breakfast cereals 
intended for human consumption.  
2 Normative references   
The following referenced docu ments 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 if 
it is accepted that it will be possible to use all future changes of the referenced document for the purposes of 
the referring document;  
AOAC 923.03, Determination of Ash in Cereals foods/flour  
US 1851, Rice flour — Specification  
US EAS 38 , Labelling of pre -packaged foods - General requirements  
US 28  EAS 39 , Code of Prac tice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  
US ISO 24333, Cereals and cereal products — Sampling  
US ISO 712, Cereals and cereal products -- Determination of moisture content -- Reference method   
US ISO 5498,  Agricultural food products - Determination of  crude  fibre content  - General method   
US ISO 7305 , Milled cereal products - Determination of  fat acidity  
US ISO  2171 , Cereals, pulses and by -products -- Determination of ash yield by incineration  
US ISO  1871 , Food and feed products - Genera l guidelines for the determination of nitrogen by the Kjeldahl 
method  
US ISO  5498 , Agricultural food products - Determination of crude fibre content - General method  
US EAS 803 , Nutrition labelling  – Requirements  
US EAS 804, Claims on food – Requirements  
US EAS 805 , Use of nutrition and health  claims  – Requirements  
US 738, General standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
US ISO 11085:2015, Cereals, cereals -based products and animal feeding stuffs — Determination of crude fat 
and total fat conte nt by the Randall extraction method    
2 © UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved  
 US 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  
3 Terms and definiti ons  
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1 
Breakfast cereal  
ready –to-eat food made from processed grains , dry fruits, legumes and/or seed s often eaten with the first 
meal of the day.  
3.2 
puffed breakfast cereals  
ready to eat cereals made by exploding cooked grains from a pressurized chamber.  
3.3 
cereal bar  
breakfast cereal made of a mixture of different cereal grains which are either flaked or puffed with optional 
additional ingredients such as dried fruits,  nuts, seeds and may be coated with products like chocolates or any 
to other suitable foo d coating.  
3.4 
muesli  
loose mixture of rolled cereal grains and other ingredients including dried fruits nuts and seeds  
3.5 
flaked cereals  
made directly from whole grain kernels or parts of kernels of corn, wheat, or rice and are processed in such a 
way as to obtain particles, called flaking grits, that form one flake each.  
3.6 
extruded flaked cereals  
ready to eat  cereal flakes were  the grit for flaking  is formed by extruding mixed ingredients through a die and 
cutting pellets of the dough into the desi red size. 
3.7 
gun-puffed whole grains  
ready to eat cereal flakes  formed by cooking the grains and then subjecting them to a sudden large pressure 
drop. As steam under pressure in the interior of the grain seeks to equilibrate with the surrounding lower -
pressure atmosphere, it forces the grains to expand quickly or "puff."  
3.8 
extruded gun -puffed  
ready to eat cereal flakes that use a meal or flour as the starting ingredient instead of whole grains. The dough 
cooks in the extruders and is then formed into the  desired shape when extruded through a die  
3.9 
oven -puffed cereals  
ready to eat cereal flakes made almost exclusively using whole -grain rice or corn, or mixtures of these two 
grains, because rice and corn inherently puff in the presence of high heat and th e proper moisture content.  DUS 979: 2021  
© UNBS  2021 – All rights reserved  3 
 3.10 
shredded whole grains  
ready to eat cereal flakes which are continuously produced by pelletizing agglomerates of cooked, tempered, 
whole cereal grain particles  
3.11  
extruded shredded cereals  
ready to eat cereal flakes were t he grit for flaking is formed by extruding mixed ingredients through a die and 
cutting pellets of the dough into the desired size.  
3.12 
Granola cereals . (cereal  mixes)  
ready -to-eat cereals that are prepared by taking regular, old -fashioned whole -rolled oat s or quick -cooking oats  
and mixing them with other ingredients, such as nut pieces, coconut, brown sugar, honey, malt extract, dried 
milk, dried fruits, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vegetable oil.  
4 Product description   
Breakfast cereals are  categorised a s 
a) traditional (hot) cereals that require further cooking or heating before consumption, example s but not 
limited to  may include products from oats, farina (wheat),rice , corn  (excluding corn grits)  
b) ready -to-eat (cold) cereals that can be consumed from the box or with  the addition of milk , They are 
typically grouped by cereal form rather than the type of grain used. These groups are flaked cereals, 
extruded flaked cereals, gun -puffed whole grains, extruded gun -puffed cereals, oven -puffed cereals, 
shredded wh ole grains, extruded shredded cereals, and granola cereals  
5 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  Breakfast cereals shall be prepared from clean, sound grains, for example, corn/maize, wheat. rice or 
other ingredients  as appropriate , that comply wi th the relevant Uganda standards.  
4.1.2  If the breakfast cereals are prepared from cereal flour, the flour used shall be of good quality and 
complying with US EAS 44, US EAS 1 or US 1851   
4.1.3  Breakfast cereals shall:  
a) be tender, crispy, and reasonably u niform in size and of good flavour and colour;  
b) possess a good characteristic taste and odour and shall be free from rancid, musty, sour and other 
undesirable tastes ;  
c) be free from insects and foreign matters ; 
d) when immersed in milk or water the product sh all absorb the liquid and swell substantially, presenting 
appropriate texture and taste. This shall not apply to breakfast cereal bars.  
4.2 Specific  requirements  
The breakfast cereals shall comply with the requirements given in Table 1 .   
4 © UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Table 1 — Specifi c requirements for breakfast cereals  
Parameter  
 Requirements  
%  Test method  
 
Moisture content, (max)  7.5a US ISO 712   
Protein content (N*6.25)  5.0 US ISO 1871  
Total fat content, max  8b US ISO 11085  
Total ash, max  6 AOAC 923.03  
Acid insoluble ash, max  0.2 US ISO 2171  
Total fibre, max.  12c US ISO  5498  
a The maximum moisture content of muesli shall be 12 %  
b The maximum fat content of cereal bars shall be 14 %  
c Muesli and wheat bran shall have a minimum fibre content of 12 %  
 
6 Hygiene  
Breakfast cereals shall be produced and handled in accordance with US 28 EAS 39. The products shall 
comply with the microbiological limits given in Table 2 when tested in accordance with the methods specified 
therein .  
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for Br eakfast cereals  
S/N Micro-organism  Limits  Test method  
. i Yeasts and moulds, per g, max   103   US ISO 21527 -2 
ii Staphylococcus aureus/ g  Absent  ISO 6888 -1 
iii E. Coli , per g, max.  Absent  US ISO 7251  
iv Total aerobic count, per g  104 US ISO 4833 -1 
 
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Heavy metals  
The product shall comply with US 738 and conform to those maximum limits for heavy metals established by 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity  
7.2 Pesticide residue s 
Breakfast cereals  shall comply with t he pesticide maximum residue limits provided by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission . 
7.3 Mycotoxins  
7.3.1  When determined in accordance with US ISO 16050, the maximum conte nt of aflatoxins in breakfast 
cereals  shall not exceed 10 μg/kg  DUS 979: 2021  
© UNBS  2021 – All rights reserved  5 
 7.3.2  When determined  in accordance with AOAC 2000.04 , the maximum conte nt of fumonisin in maize 
based breakfast cereals  shall not exceed 2000  μg/kg .  
8 Packaging  
Breakfast cereals shall be packaged in a food grade packaging mat erial that will safeguard the hygienic, 
safety, nutritional, technological and organoleptic qualities of the product which comply with US 1659  
9 Weights and measures  
Breakfast cereals shall be packaged in accordance with the weights and measures regulation s of Uganda  
10 Labelling  
10.1 General  
The following specific labelling requirements shall apply and shall be legibly and indelibly marked  in 
accordance with the requirements of US EAS 38 .  
a) product name  as  
i. “flaked/puffed cereals”,  muesli and cereal bars  
ii. cereal used for preparation of the breakfast cereal shall be declared before the product name.  
b) brand name/trade name;  
c) name, location and physical address of the manufacturer;  
d) country of origin;  
e) ingredients in descending order of proportions;  
f) declarati on of the nutritional information;  
g) date of manufacture;  
h) best before  storage conditions; and  
i) net weight.  
10.2 Nutrition declaration  
Nutritional labelling, nutrition and health claims may be made in accordance with US EAS 803, US EAS 804 
and US EAS 805.  
11  Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with . US ISO 24333 .   
6 © UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1] US 979:2013 , Breakfast cereals — Specification   
[2] DKS 523 -2: 2010,  Breakfast cereals — Specification Part 2:   Flaked/puffed cereals (ready -to-eat) 
[3] Emission facto r documentation for ap -42 section 9.9.2 Cereal Breakfast Food Final l Report,  1995   
. DUS 979: 2021  
© UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved  7 
 Certification marking  
Products that conform to Uganda standards may be marked with Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
(UNBS) Certification Mark shown in the figure belo w.  
The use of the UNBS Certification Mark is governed by the Standards Act, and the Regulations made 
thereunder. This mark can be used only by those licensed under the certification mark scheme operated by 
the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and in co njunction with the relevant Uganda Standard. The 
presence of this mark on a product or in relation to a product is an assurance that the goods comply with the 
requirements of that standard under a system of supervision, control and testing in accordance wi th the 
certification mark scheme of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards. UNBS marked products are 
continually checked by UNBS for conformity to that standard.  
Further particulars of the terms and conditions of licensing may be obtained from the Direct or, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 
 DUS 979: 2021    
 
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© UNBS 2021 – All rights reserved