DRAFT EAST  AFRICAN  STANDARD  DEAS 946: 2022  
 
ICS 67.080.00  
 
 
 
Dried  fruits  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAST  AFRICAN  COMMUNITY  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© EAC 2022  Second  Edition 2022   
Order  # NUMBER/Downloaded:  2022 -07-21 
 
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© EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  iii  DEAS 946: 2022  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contents  Page  
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative  references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms  and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Classification  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
5 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  3 
5.1 General  requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
5.2 Defects  and allowances  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  3 
5.3 Sizing  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................  3 
5.4 Specific  requireme nts ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
6 Food  additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  4 
7.1 Pesticide  residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
7.2 Heavy  metals  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  4 
8 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
9 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
10 Weights  and measures  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  5 
11 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  5 
10 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  5 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination  of the content  of pest-infested  and spoiled  dried  fruits , immature  
fruits,  extraneous  matter  and deviations  from  main  colour  ................................ ..............................  6 
A.1 Principle  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  6 
A.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
A.3 Expr ession  of results  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  6 
A.4 Test report  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  6 
Annex  B (normative)  Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
B.1 Definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  7 
B.2 Sampling  plans  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 7  
© EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  
iv  DEAS 946: 2022  
 
Foreword  
Developme nt of the East African Standards has been necessitated 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 encou ntered 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 representa tives of the National  
Standards Bodies in Partner States, 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, consumer 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 d iscussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in  
accordance with  the Principles and  procedures  for development  of East  African  Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the Eas t 
African Standards are therefore expected to 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  025, Processed fruits,  
vegetables and tubers . 
 
Attention  is drawn  to the possibility  that some  of the elements  of this document  may be subject  of patent  
rights. EAC  shall not be held responsible  for identifying  any or all such  patent  rights.   
 
© EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  1   
DRAFT EAST  AFRICAN  STANDARD                                                                       DEAS 946: 2022  
 
 
Dried  fruits  — Specification  
 
1 Scope  
 
This East Africa n Standard specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for dried fruits intended for direct 
human consumption o r for other use in the food industry.  
 
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,  Determination  of the moisture  content  for dried  fruits  
AOAC 963.20, Sulfurous Acid (Total) in dried fruits — Calorimetric method  
EAS 38, Labelling  for prepacked  foods  — General  requirements  
EAS 39, Hygiene  in the in the food and  drink  manufacturing industry  — Code of  practice  
 
ISO 763, Fruits  and vegetable  products  — Determination  of ash insoluble in  hydrochloric  acid 
 
ISO 4832,  Microbio logy 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 4833 -2, Microbiology  of the food chain  — Horizontal  method  for the enumeration  of microorganisms  — 
Part 2: Colony count at  30 degrees C  by the  surface  plating  technique  
 
 ISO 5522 , Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of total sulphur dioxide content  
 
ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology  of the food chain  — Horizontal  methods  for detection,  enumeration  and serotyping  
of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection  of Salmonella  spp. 
 
ISO 6633,  Fruits,  vegetables  and derived  produ cts — Determination  of lead content  — Flameless  atomic  
absorption  spectrometric method  
 
ISO 6634,  Fruits,  vegetables  and derived  products  — Determination  of arsenic  content  — Silver  
diethyldithiocarbamate  spectrophotometric method  
 
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 1: Technique using  
Baird -Parker  agar medium  
 
ISO 16649 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feedin g stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of  
beta-glucuronidase -positive Esherichia coli — Part 2: Colony -count technique at 44 degrees C using 5 -bromo - 
4-chloro -3-indolyl  beta-D-glucuronide  © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  5  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 
 
 
3 Terms  and definitions  
 
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 
dried  fruits  
 
Fruits which have bee n subjected, at an appropriate stage of maturity, to a process of drying (natural or artificial) from 
which, moisture has been removed, under controlled conditions of temperature, humidity and airflow, to the extent that 
the product is preserved  
 
3.2 
immat ure fruits  
fruits  which are not fully developed  
 
3.3 
immature  dried  fruit 
dried  fruit processed  from an immature  fruit.  
 
3.4 
broken  dried  fruit 
piece  of dried  fruit smaller  than a normal  set size 
 
3.5 
spoiled  dried  fruit 
dried  fruit that is darkened  in colour or showing  presence  of mushy  tissue,  visible  decomposition   caused  
by bacteria,  fungi, visible  mould hyphae  or any  other  indicating  spoilage  or infection  
 
3.6 
pest infested  dried  fruit 
dried  fruit damaged by  insect  and/or  mite infestation  
 
3.7 
extrane ous matter  
dirt, pieces  of skin, calyx,  leaf, peduncle,  twigs,  bits of wood,  soil or any other  foreign  matter  among  or on the 
dried  fruit 
 
3.8 
fermented  dried  fruit 
dried  fruit damaged  by fermentation  to the extent  that the characteristic  appearance  and/or  flavour  is substantially  
affected  
 
3.9 
food  grade  material  
material  that will safeguard  the hygienic,  safety,  nutritional,  technological,  and organoleptic  qualities  of the 
product  
 
3.10  
Extraneous matter  
dirt, pieces of skin, calyx, leaf, peduncle, twig s, bits of wood, soil or any other foreign matter among or on dried fruit  
 © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  5   
4 Product description  
 
4.1 General  
Dried fruits are the products prepared from substantially sound, appropriately matured , sufficiently deve loped or ripe 
fruits, according to type/ characteristic of dried fruit. They are dried or dehydrated either  by the sun or other recognized 
drying methods.  
 
4.2 Presentation  
It may be whole, sliced, cubed/diced, chunks, chips, trips, bulbs/balls, crisps, flakes, quarters, pieces or powdered. When 
in powder form, it shall be free flowing and free from agglomerates. other presentation such as leathers, rolls or sheets of 
the product may be used provided that the product:  
      (i) is sufficiently distinctive from other forms of presenta tion laid dow n in this standard  and 
      (ii) meets all relevant require ments of this standard.  
 
5 Requirements  
 
5.1. Ingredients  
 
5.1.1 Essential ingredients  
Fruits as defined in 4.1.  
 
5.1.2 Optional ingredients  
The following ingredients may be used appropriately bu t not limited to:  
a) spices and culinary herbs and/or their extracts;  
b) edible coating s/stuffing material ; 
c) edible vegetable oils; and  
d) citrus juice extracts such as lemon juice  
 
5.2 General  requirements  
 
Dried  fruit shall:  
 
a) have  an odour,  colour  and taste  characteristic  of the variety;  
 
b) be free from foreign  odour and  traces of  odour  coming  from abnormal  fermented  dried  fruits ; 
 
c) be free from living  and dead  insects,  insect  fragments,  rodents,  mites  or other  parasites  and moulds  
contamination; and  
 
d) be practically  free from extraneous  matter.  
 
 
5.3 Specific  requirements  
 
Dried  fruit shall comply  with the specific  requirements  given  in Table  2 when  tested  in accordance  with the methods  
specified  therein.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  5  Table  2 — Specific  requirements  for dried  fruits 
 
 
S/N Characteristic s Requirement s Test 
method  
Untreated  Treated  
i Moisture,  % (m/m),  
max Dried  Pineapples  20 20-44e  
 
 
 
 
 
AOAC  
934.06  Dried Mango  15 15-35a 
Melons  18 18-25 
Dried  bananas  18 18-25 
Dried a pples  22 25 
Dried  ripe 
papayas  18 18-25 
Dried peaches  20 20-37 
Dried  pears  22 26 b 
Dried  apricots  25  
25-40c 
Dried  figs 26 26 ≥ x ≤ 
40d 
Dried dates  
 
i) cane sugar 
varieties, % m/m, 
max,  
 
ii) invert sugar 
varieties and  
Deglet Nour, % 
m/m, max.   
 
26 
 
 
30  
 
 
- 
Jackfruits  
 
i) Dried Ripe 
Jack fruit  
 
ii) Immature 
jackfruits  
  
 
19 
 
 
 
08  
 
- 
 
 
 
 
 
- 
Dried Grapes  
per cent 
varieties except 
Monukka 
variety  
  
18 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  5  Monukka 
variety  
 
Currants  
 
seed -bearing 
varieties  
 
Malaga Muscatel 
variety  treated   
19 
 
 
20 
 
19 
 
 
-  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31 
ii Acid insoluble  ash, 
% (m/m),  (on dry 
basis),  max.  0.1 ISO 763 
a Product with 30 -35 % mo isture shall be labelled  as soft fruit/high moisture  
b This requirement  is for dried  pears  treated  with preservatives  or preserved  by other  means  (e.g. pasteurization).  
Products  between  26.0 and 40.0 per cent should  be labelled  as soft  fruit/high  moisture.  
c This requirement  is for dried  apricots  treated  with preservatives  or preserved  by other  means  (e.g. 
pasteurization).  Products  between  32.0 and 40.0 per cent should  be labelled  as soft  fruit/high  moisture.  
d This requirement  is for dried  figs treated  with preservatives  or preserved  by other  means  (e.g. pasteurization).  
Products  between  26.0 and 40.0 per cent should  be labelled  as soft  fruit/high  moisture.  
e Products between 26.0 and 44.0 per cent should be labelled as soft fruit/high moisture  
 
 
6 Food  additives  
 
 
6.1 Dried  fruits  may contain  only permitted  additives  in accordance  with CODEX  STAN  192. 
 
6.2 The content of residual Sulfur dioxide shall not exceed 1 000 mg/k g when tested in accordance with ISO  
ISO 5522 . 
 
7 Contaminants  
 
7.1 Pesticide  residues  
 
Dried  fruits shall comply with the pesticide maximum residue limits provided by the Codex Alimentarius  Commission.  
 
7.2 Heavy metals  
 
Dried  fruit shall not contain  lead in amount exceeding 0.1 mg/kg  when  tested in  accordance  with the ISO 6633 . 
 
7.3 Mycotoxins  
 
When determined in accordance with ISO 16050, the maximum  content of aflatoxins in dried fruits shall  not exceed  5 
μg/kg  for aflatoxins B 1 and 10 μg/kg  total aflatoxins . 
 
8 Hygiene  
 
8.1 Dried  fruits  shall be produced  and handled  under hygienic  conditions in  accordance  with EAS 39. 
 
8.2 Dried  fruits  shall comply  with microbiological  limits  given  in Table  4 when  tested  in accordance  with the © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  5  methods specified  therein.  
 
Table  4 ─ Microbiological  limits  for dried  fruits  
 
Microorganism  Limit  Test method  
 
Total  plate  count, cfu/g,  max.   
105 ISO 4833 -1 
Coliform,  cfu/g,  max.a 102 ISO 4832  
Yeasts  and moulds,  cfu/g,  max.  103 ISO 21527 -2 
Salmonella  spp, per 25 g Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
Staphylococcus  aureus , cfu/g  Absent  ISO 6888 -1 
Escherichia.coli  cfu/g  Absent  ISO 16649 -2 
a Applicable where optional ingredients are included in the product.  
 
 
9 Packaging  
 
Dried  fruits  shall be packaged  in food  grade  material that ensures  the integrity  and safety  of the product.  
 
10 Labelling  
 
10.1 In addition  to the labelling  requirements  of EAS 38, the following  information  shall be legibly  and indelibly  
marked  or labeled:  
 
a) Name of the product depicting the true nature and presentation of the fruit ; 
 
i) if an added ingredient, as defined in 4 .2, alters the flavour characteristic of the product, t he name  
of the food shall be accompanied by the term “flavoured with X” or “X flavoured” as appropriate;  and 
ii) where a characteristic coating or similar treatment has been used, appropriate terms shall be included as part of 
the name . 
  
b) brand or  trade  name,  if any;  
 
c) name  and address  of the  producer  or packer;  
 
d) List of ingredients in descending order  
 
e) declaration  of preservative  by common  name  or international  numbering;  if any;  
 
f) declaration,  if used  “it contains  sulphites’ ”; 
 
g) batch/lot  number;  
 
h) net weight  in metric  units;  
 
i) country  of origin,  
 
j) date of production;  
 
k) Instructions for use where applicable  
 
l) best before  and 
 
m) storage  conditions.  
 © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  5  10.2 Nutritional labelling, nutrition and health claims shall be made in accordance with EAS 803, EAS 804 and EAS 805.  
 
11 Sampling  
 
Sampling  shall be done  in accordance  with Annex  A. © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  
8   
Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Sampling  
 
A.1 Definitions  
 
A.1.1 lot 
collection of primary containers or units of the  same size, type, and style manufactured or packed under  
similar  conditions  and handle d as a single  unit of trade  
 
A.1.2 lot size 
number  of primary  containers  or units  in the lot  
 
A.1.3 sample  size 
total number  of sample  units  drawn  for examination  from a lot 
 
A.1.4 sample  unit 
container,  a portion of the contents  of a container, or  a compo site mixture of product from  small containers  
that is sufficient for the examination or testing as a single unit. For fill of container, the sample unit shall be the  
entire  contents of  the container  
 
A.2 Sampling  plans  
 
Sampling  shall be done  in accordance  with the plan specified in  Table  A.1. 
 
Table  A.1 – Sampling  plan 
 
 
 
Lot size (primary  containers)   
Size of container,  
na 
 
Net weight  equal  to or less than  1 kg (2.2 lb) 
 
4 800 or less   
13 
 
4 801 to 24 000  
21 
 
24 001 to 48 000  
29 
 
48 001 to 84 000  
48 
 
84 001 to  144 000  
84 
 
144 001 to 240 000  
126 
 
Over  240 000  
200 
 
Net weight  greater  than 1 kg (2.2 lb) but not more  than 4.5 kg (10 lb) 
 
2 400 or less  
13 
 
2 401 to 15 000  
21 
 
15 001 to 24 000  
29 © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  
8   
24 001 to 42 000  
48 
 
42 001 to  72, 000  
84 
 
72 001 to  120 000  
126 
 
Over  120 000  
200 
 
Net weight  greater  than 4.5 kg (10 lb) 
 
600 or less  
13 
 
601 to 2 000   
21 
 
2 001 to 7 200  
29 
 
7 201 to 15 000  
48 
 
15 001 to 24 000  
84 
 
24 001 to 42 000  
126 
 
Over  42 000  
200 
a n is the number  of primary  containers  in sample.   DEAS 946: 2022  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved