ICS 67.160.20  
 
Reference number
DRS 14: 2023
© RSB 2023
  
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS 
14 
 
Third edition  
Yyyy-mm-dd  
 
Carbonated soft drinks — Specification 
   
DRS 14: 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 14: 2023 
iii                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Contents Page 
Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................. v 
1 Scope ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 
2 Normative references ...................................................................................................................................... 1 
3 Terms and definitions ..................................................................................................................................... 2 
4 Types of carbonated soft drinks .................................................................................................................... 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 
6 Food additives ................................................................................................................................................. 5 
7 Hygiene ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 
8 Microbiological limits ...................................................................................................................................... 5 
9 Heavy metals .................................................................................................................................................... 5 
10 Packaging ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 
11 Labelling ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 
12 Sampling ........................................................................................................................................................ 6 
Annex A  (normative)  Determination of quinine ............................................................................................. 7 
A.1 Principle ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 
A.2 Reagents ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 
A.3 Apparatus ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 
A.4 A.4 Procedure ............................................................................................................................................... 7 
A.5 Expression of results .................................................................................................................................. 8 
Annex B  (normative)  Determination of caffeine content .............................................................................. 9 
B.1 Principle ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 
B.2 Reagents ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 
B.3 Apparatus ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 
B.4 Procedure ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 
B.5 Expression of results ................................................................................................................................ 10 
Annex C  (normative)  Determination of measuring gas volume (Volume of carbonation) ...................... 11 
C.1 Apparatus ................................................................................................................................................... 11 
C.2 Procedure ................................................................................................................................................... 11 
Annex D  (normative)  Sampling methods for carbonated soft drinks ....................................................... 12 
D.1 D.1 Scale of sampling ................................................................................................................................ 12 
D.2 Test samples and reference samples ...................................................................................................... 12 
D.2.1 Samples for microbiological tests ........................................................................................................ 12 
D.2.2 Samples for other tests .......................................................................................................................... 12 DRS 14: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  iv 
  DRS 14: 2023 
v                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 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 14 was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 001, Non-alcoholic beverages.  
This thirdedition cancels and replaces thesecondedition (RS 14: 2018), which has  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 Food and Drugs Authority 
SPIC Ltd 
Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) – Secretariat 
  DRS 14: 2023 
1                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Carbonated soft drinks— Specification 
1 Scope 
This Draft Rwanda Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for carbonated soft drinks. 
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 950.29, Sucrose in non alcoholic soft drinks  
AOAC 979.08, Benzoate, caffeine, and Saccharin in carbonated soft drinks.Liquid chromatographic method  
AOAC 980.19, Tin in food. Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 990.31, Sulfites in foods and soft drinks Ion Exclusion chromatographic method 
AOAC 999.10, Lead, Cadmium, Copper, Iron, and Zinc in foods, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry after 
microwave digestion 
RS CXC 1,  General Principles of Food Hygiene  
RS CXS 192, General standard for food additives  
RS EAS 35, Fortified food grade salt — Specification  
RS EAS 38 , Labeling of prepackaged foods—Requirements  
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 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 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 food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase — positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 2: Technique using 
rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar medium  
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  2 
 3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply. 
3.1 
carbonated soft drinks 
non-alcoholic drinks containing dissolved carbon dioxide packed in hermetically sealed containers to ensure 
freedom from spoilage 
 3.2 
non-flavoured carbonated soft drinks 
carbonated soft drinks with no added flavouring agents 
3.3 
flavoured carbonated soft drinks 
carbonated soft drinks in which natural or synthetic flavouring agents have been added 
3.3 
one volume of carbonation 
gas volume at 15.560 ºC under atmospheric pressure, when water will absorb a quantity of carbon dioxide 
equal to its own volume. By lowering the temperature and/or increasing the pressure, the volume of dissolved 
carbon dioxide may be increased 
3.4 
flavouring 
products that are added to food to impart, modify, or enhance the flavour of food with the exception of flavour 
enhancers considered as food additives. Flavourings do not include substances that have an exclusively 
sweet, sour, or salty taste (e.g. sugar, vinegar, and table salt).  
3.5 
natural flavouring agents 
flavouring substances obtained by physical processes that may result in unavoidable but unintentional 
changes in the chemical structure of the components of the flavouring (e.g. distillation and solvent extraction), 
or by enzymatic or microbiological processes, from material of plant or animal origin. Such material may be 
unprocessed, or processed for human consumption by traditional food-preparation processes (e.g. drying, 
torrefaction (roasting) and fermentation). This means substances that have been identified / detected in a 
natural material of animal or vegetable origin. DRS 14: 2023 
3                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 3.6 
synthetic flavouring substances 
flavouring substances formed by chemical synthesis 
3.7 
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 of carbonated soft drinks 
Carbonated soft drinks shall be of the following types: 
a) non-flavoured carbonated soft drinks (carbonated water or soda water); 
b) flavoured and sweetened, with nutritive sweeteners, non-nutritive sweeteners singly or in combination, 
carbonated soft drinks; and 
c) flavoured carbonated soft drinks. 
5 Requirements 
5.1 Ingredients 
5.1.1 Essential ingredients 
The following essential ingredients shall be used in carbonated soft drinks and shall comply with relevant 
standards: 
a) potable water complying with RS EAS 12; 
b) carbon dioxide conforming to the following: 
1) be odorless, non-toxic and non-combustible; and 
2) have the characteristics of carbonic acid (the odour and flavour of the gas, as well as the odour 
and flavour of the distilled water saturated with it). 
5.1.2 Optional ingredients 
The following optional ingredients may be used in carbonated soft drinks and shall comply with relevant 
standards:  
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  4 
 a) nutritive sweetening agents : Any food grade nutritive sweetener may be used, consistent with Good 
Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and if used shall comply with relevant standards. These may include but 
not limited to dry or liquid forms of sugar, invert sugar, dextrose, fructose, lactose, mannitol, honey, 
glucose syrup, sorbitol and intense sweeteners or any combination of two or more of the said sugars 
and/or sweeteners; 
b) non-nutritive sweeteners : In addition to non nutritive sweeteners specified in CODEX STAN 192, 
Acelsulfame K may be used in carbonated soft drinks and shall be used following Good Manufacturing 
Practices (GMP); 
c) flavouring agents : may be “natural or synthetic” used at levels determined by GMP, with the exception of 
quinine and caffeine that have to be in quantity as specified in Table 1; 
 
Table 1 — Limits for quinine and caffeine in carbonated soft drinks 
Content  Maximum limits mg/l Test method 
Quinine salt  100 Annex A 
Caffeine  200 Annex B 
d) edible common salt complying with RS EAS 35;  
e) nutrients such as vitamins and minerals; and 
f) fruit juice, fruit pulp, vegetable extracts, herbal extracts or extracts from other plant parts complying with 
relevant standards. 
5.2 General requirements 
Carbonated soft drinks shall: 
a) have a well-balanced and pleasant flavour; 
b) be free from off-flavour and off-odours; 
c) be free from insect and rodent contamination; 
d) be sparkling clear and remain so when stored under normal conditions; and 
e) not contain extraneous matter. 
5.3 Specific requirements 
Carbonated soft drinks shall comply with the specific requirements indicated in Table 2 when tested in 
accordance with test methods specified therein. DRS 14: 2023 
5                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Table 2 — Specific requirements for carbonated soft drinks 
S/N  Characteristics Limits Test method 
i.  Brix at 20 ºC in sugar sweetened carbonated soft 
drinks a, min. 5.0  AOAC 950.29 
ii.  Ethyl alcohol, %, max.  0.5 ISO 2448 
iii.  Volume of carbonation, (for carbonated soft drinks)b, 
min. 1  Annex C 
iv.  Sulphur dioxide & sulphites, mg/l, max.  60 AOAC 990.31 
v.  Benzoic or sorbic acids or their alkalines salts, mg/l, 
max. 400 AOAC 979.08 
a    The brix limit does not apply to carbonated water and zero sugar carbonated drinks  
b   1 volume of carbonation equals to 1.97667 g/l 
 
6 Food additives 
Food additives to be used in carbonated soft drinks shall be those permitted by RS CXS 192. 
7 Hygiene 
Carbonated soft drinks shall be produced and handled under hygienic conditions in accordance with  RS CXC 
1. 
8 Microbiological limits 
Carbonated soft drinks shall not exceed  microbiological limits in Table 3 when tested with test methods 
specified therein. 
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for Carbonated soft drinks 
S/N  Microorganism  Maximum limits Test method 
i. Total Viable Counts, CFU / ml  102 RS ISO 4833-1 
ii. Yeast and mould counts, CFU/ml  10 RS ISO 21527-2 
iii. E. coli, CFU/ml  absent RS ISO 16649-2 
iv. Salmonella spp  in 25 ml  absent RS ISO 6579-1 
v. Staphylococcus aureus , CFU/ml  absent RS ISO 6888-1 
9 Heavy metals 
Carbonated soft drinks shall not contain heavy metal in excess of the limits indicated in Table 4when tested 
with test methods specified therein. 
  
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Table 4 — Limits for heavy metals in carbonated soft drinks 
S/N  Heavy metal  Maximum limits (mg/kg) Test method 
i.  Lead  0.03 AOAC 999.10 
ii.  Tin  150 AOAC 980.19 
10 Packaging 
Carbonated soft drinks shall be packaged in food grade packaging materials that ensure the integrity and 
safety of the product. 
11 Labelling 
In addition to the requirements in RS EAS 38, the following  labelling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked:  
a) name of the product as “carbonated soft drinks”; 
b) the name and address of the manufacturer/ packer/ distributor/, importer/ exporter/ vendor; 
c) list of ingredients in descending order; 
d) declaration of allergens, for example sulphites; 
e) date of manufacture;  
f) best before; 
g) batch/lot number; 
h) statutory warnings; 
i) storage conditions; 
j) net content; 
k) country of origin. 
12 Sampling 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with Annex D 
 DRS 14: 2023 
7                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Annex A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of quinine 
A.1 Principle 
Carbon dioxide is removed from the sample by passing through it dry air or dry nitrogen. An extraction with 
ether is performed on the decarbonated sample. By means of a graph of concentration of a series of standard 
quinine sulphate solutions against fluorescence, the content of quinine in the test solution is determined. 
A.2 Reagents 
During the analysis, unless otherwise stated, use only reagents of recognized analytical grade and only 
distilled water or water of equivalent purity. The following reagents should be free from fluorescing impurities: 
a) sulphuric acid, 0.05 M; 
b) ammonia solution, concentrated; 
c) diethyl ether; 
d) quinine sulphate, standard stock solution (Dissolve 0.10 g of quinine sulphate in 0.05 M sulphuric acid and 
make up to 1 L with 0.05 M sulphuric acid. This solution contains 100 micrograms of quinine sulphate per 
milliliter); and 
e) quinine sulphate, standard working solution (Dilute 10 ml of the quinine sulphate stock solution to 200 ml 
with 0.05 m sulphuric acid. This solution contains 1 microgram of quinine sulphate per milliliter). 
A.3 Apparatus 
An instrument capable of measuring fluorescence. Note that glassware should completely be free from 
stopcock lubricant as this usually contains fluorescence substances. No detergents shall be used in washing 
glassware. 
A.4 A.4 Procedure 
A.4.1 Transfer 100 g of the decarbonated sample to a separating funnel. 
A.4.2 Make the sample distinctly alkaline with ammonia solution and extract with the same 10 ml of water 
contained in a second separating funnel. 
A.4.3 Extract the wash water once with 10 ml of diethyl ether.  
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  8 
 A.4.4 Combine the ether extracts and remove the ether by distillation. 
A.4.5 Dry the residue in an air oven at 100 ºC for a few minutes. 
A.4.6 Dissolve it in 0.05 M sulphuric acid and make up to 100 ml in a volumetric flask with 0.05 m sulphuric 
acid. 
A.4.7 Dilute 10 ml of this solution to 200 ml with 0.05 m sulphuric acid. 
A.4.8 Measure the fluorescence of the solution by means of a suitable instrument. 
A.4.9 Prepare a series of standards containing 0.1, 2.5 and 10 micrograms of quinine sulphate per millilitre 
and measure the fluorescence 
A.5 Expression of results 
Plot the fluorescence results of the series of standards to obtain a curve from which the concentration of 
quinine in the test solution can be read. Calculate the concentration of quinine as mg/l quinine sulphate in the 
original sample. 
  DRS 14: 2023 
9                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Annex B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of caffeine content 
B.1 Principle 
Carbon dioxide is removed from the sample by means of dry air or dry nitrogen. An extraction with chloroform 
is performed on the decarbonated sample.By means of a graph of absorbance against concentration of 
standards, the content of caffeine of the sample is determined. 
B.2 Reagents 
During analysis, use only the following reagents of recognized analytical grade and only distilled water or 
water of equivalent purity. 
a) chloroform; 
b) ammonia solution, concentrated; 
c) hydrochloric acid, approximately molar: Take 100 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid (sp. gr. 1.184) and 
dilute to a litre; and 
d) standard caffeine solution. Prepare a solution containing 10 ml using molar hydrochloric acid as solvent. 
B.3 Apparatus 
A spectrophotometer or photoelectric colorimeter, capable of measuring optical density at a wavelength of 227 
nm. 
B.4 Procedure 
B.4.1 Transfer 25 g of decarbonated sample into a small separating funnel. 
B.4.2 Make distinctly alkaline with ammonia solution and chloroform. 
B.4.3 Wash each extract with the same 10 ml of water contained in a second separating funnel, and finally 
with the extract once with 10 ml of chloroform.  
B.4.4 Filter into a small flask 
B.4.5 Evaporate or distil the combined extracts and dry the residue in molar hydrochloric acid and make up 
to volume in a 50-ml volumetric flask with the same acid.  
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  10 
 B.4.6 Prepare a series of standards and read the absorption at 272 nm using approximately molar 
hydrochloric acid for setting the instrument. 
B.4.7 Set the instrument by means of a blank prepared from water treated in exactly the same manner with 
the test solution and read absorption of the test solution. 
B.5 Expression of results 
Plot a graph of concentrations of standard caffeine solutions against their absorbance. From this graph 
determine the concentration of the alkaloid (caffeine) in the original sample. Report the results as mg/l of 
anhydrous caffeine in the original sample. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DRS 14: 2023 
11                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Annex C 
(normative) 
 
Determination of measuring gas volume (Volume of carbonation) 
C.1 Apparatus 
The apparatus consists of pressure gauge having a hallow spike with holes in this side. The bottle is inserted 
from the side into the slot provided in the neck of carbon dioxide tester and is secured in place by tightening 
with a threaded system. The pressure gauge is inserted until the needle point touches the crown cork. There 
is a shiff valve on the gauge stem which is kept closed until the needle point of the pressure gauge is force 
through the crown cork. The reading on the gauge is noted. 
C.2 Procedure 
Clamp the bottle in the frame of the gas volume tested. Pierce the crown cork but do not shake the bottle. 
Sniff off the top gas quickly until the reading drops to zero. Make certain to close the valve the instant the 
needle touches zero in the pressure gauge. Shake the bottle vigorously until the gauge gives a reading that 
additional shaking does not change. Record the pressure. Note the temperature and record it. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  12 
 Annex D 
(normative) 
 
Sampling methods for carbonated soft drinks 
D.1 D.1 Scale of sampling 
D.1.1 Lot 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. Sample shall be tested from each 
lot for ascertaining conformity to the requirements of the standard. 
D.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 D.1. 
 
Table D.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 
D.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. 
D.2 Test samples and reference samples 
D.2.1 Samples for microbiological tests 
The sample bottle selected for microbiological tests (see Table D.1) shall be divided at random into three 
equal sets and labeled 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. 
D.2.2 Samples for other tests 
The sample bottles selected for other tests (see Table D.1) shall be divided at random into three equal sets 
and labeled 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 
13                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Bibliography 
[1] RS 14: 2018, Carbonated soft drinks —Specification (Second edition) 
 DRS 14: 2023 
 
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