DEAS 1174 :2023  
ICS 67.140.10  
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                               First Edition  2023   
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Flavoured green tea  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 1174 : 2023  
ii © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be prosecuted . DEAS 1174 : 2023  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 Ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  2 
4.2 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
4.3 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
5 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  3 
6 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  4 
6.1 Iron filings  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  4 
6.2 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
7 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
8 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  4 
9 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  5 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination of iron filings  ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
A.1 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
A.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
A.3 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  6 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
 DEAS 1174 : 2023  
iv © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmo nizing 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 re moved.  
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 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 secto r 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 standards, in 
accordance wi th the Principles and procedures for develop ment of East African Standards . 
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have t he latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 026, Tea and related 
products . 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be su bject  of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1174 : 2023  
 
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  1 
 Flavoured green tea  — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for flavoured gre en 
tea from Camellia sinensis  (Linneaus) O. Kuntze.  
This standard is not applicable to green tea which is not flavoured or green tea subject to further processing 
such as decaffeination.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in th e 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 . 
CAC/GL 66, Guidelines for the Use of Flavourings  
CAC/RCP 1, General principles of food hygiene  
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — General requirements  
EAS 921, Green tea — Specification  
ISO 14502 -1, Determination of substances characteristic of gr een and black tea — Part 1: Content of total 
polyphenols in tea – Colorimetric method using Folin — Ciocalteu reagent  
ISO 14502 -2, Determination of substances characteristic of green and black tea — Part 2: Content of 
catechins in green tea — Method using high-performance liquid chromatography  
ISO 15598, Tea — Determination of crude fibre content  
ISO 1572, Tea — Preparation of ground sample of known dry matter content  
ISO 1573, Tea — Determination of loss in mass at 103 degrees C  
ISO 1575, Tea — Determinati on of total ash  
ISO 1576, Tea — Determination of water -soluble ash and water -insoluble ash  
ISO 1577 , Tea — Determination of acid -insoluble ash  
ISO 1578, Tea — Determination of alkalinity of water -soluble ash  
ISO 16649 -2, Microbiology of food and animal fee ding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
beta-glucuronidase -positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony -count technique at 44 °C using 5 -bromo -4-
chloro -3-indolyl beta -D-glucuronide  
ISO 1839, Tea — Sampling   
2 © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
 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  
ISO 3103, Tea — Preparation of liquor for use in sensory tests  
ISO 6579 -1, Micro biology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
ISO 9768, Tea — Determination of water extract  
DEAS 1175 , Production and Processing of Tea —Code of practice  
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  
green tea  
tea derived solely and exclusively, and produced by acceptable processes, notably enzyme inactivation and 
commonly rolling or comminution, followed by drying, from the tender leaves, buds,  and shoots of varieties of 
the species Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze, known to be suitable for making tea for consumption as a 
beverage  
3.2 
flavoured green tea  
green tea to which approved flavouring agents and/or food ingredients with flavouring proper ties are added  
3.3  
foreign matter/ extraneous matter  
organic or inorganic material other than tea leaf and approved flavouring agents  
3.4 
adulterant  
any material intentionally added that changes the original composition and compromises the quality and saf ety 
of flavoured green tea  
3.5 
taint  
characteristics or tastes which are foreign to flavoured green tea caused by improper processing, storage 
conditions and shipping  
3.6 
food grade packaging material  
packaging material, made of substances which are safe a nd suitable for their intended use and which will not 
impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Ingredients  
Flavoured green tea shall:   
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  3 
 a) be made from green tea complying with EAS 921; and  
b) contain appro ved flavouring agents and/or food ingredients with flavouring properties complying with 
relevant standards and should be used in accordance with CAC/GL 66. Flavours may be in liquid, 
granules or powdered form  
4.2 General requirements  
4.2.1  Flavoured green tea shall:  
a) have characteristic flavour of the approved flavouring agent used;  
b) be free from taint  
c) be free from foreign matter/extraneous matter;  
d) be free from insects and visible moulds;  
e) be free from adulterants; and  
f) be free from added colouring matter othe r than those constituents of the approved flavouring agent.  
4.2.2  Liquor for sensory assessment shall be prepared in accordance with ISO 3103.  
4.3 Specific requirements  
Flavoured green tea shall comply with the specific requirements given in Table 1 when t ested in accordance 
with the test methods specified therein.  
Table 1 — Specific requirements for flavoured green tea  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Moisture content, %, (m/m), max.  7 ISO 1573  
ii.  Water extract, % (m/m), min.  32 ISO 9768  
iii.  Total ash, %, (m/m)  4 – 8 ISO 1575  
iv.  Water -soluble ash of total ash, %, 
(m/m), min.  45 ISO 1576  
v.  Alkalinity of water -soluble ash (as 
KOH), %, (m/m)  1.0 – 3.0a ISO 1578  
vi.  Acid-insoluble ash, %, (m/m), max.  1.0 ISO 1577  
vii.  Crude fibre, %, (m/m), max.  16.5 ISO 15 598 
viii.  Total catechins, %, (m/m), min.  7 ISO 14502 -2 
ix.  Total polyphenols, %, (m/m), min.  11 ISO 14502 -1 
NOTE 1 The minimum ratio of total catechins to total polyphenols is 0.5.  
a When the alkalinity of water -soluble ash is expressed in terms of millimoles of KOH per 100 g of ground 
sample, the limits shall be 17.8 – 53.6. 
5 Hygiene  
5.1 Flavoured green tea shall be processed and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with EAS 39 
and DEAS 1175    
4 © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
 5.2 Flavoured green tea shall not exceed microbiological lim its given in Table 2 when tested in accordance 
with the test methods specified therein.  
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for flavoured green tea  
S/N Microorganism  Maximum limit  Test method  
i.  Yeasts and moulds, CFU/g   103 ISO 21527 -2 
ii.  Escherichia coli , CFU /g Absent  ISO 16649 -2 
iii.  Salmonella spp in 25 g  Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Pathogenic Staphylococcus 
aureus , CFU/g  Absent  ISO 6888 -1 
6 Contaminants  
6.1 Iron filings  
The amount of iron filings in flavoured green tea shall not exceed 150 mg/kg when tested in accor dance with 
Annex A.  
6.2 Pesticide residues  
Flavoured green tea shall comply with the updated maximum pesticide residue limits established by the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission.  
7 Packaging  
Flavoured green tea shall be packaged in closed, clean and dry food grade packaging materials which protect 
the flavor loss and do  not compromise the quality and safety of the product.  
8 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements specified in EAS 38, each package of the flavoured green tea shall be legibly 
and indelibly lab elled with the following:  
a) name of the product as “Flavoured green tea’’; eg “Ginger flavoured green tea”;  
b) name and physical address of the manufacturer/packer/importer/exporter;  
c) date of manufacture;  
d) best before date;  
e) batch/lot number;  
f) net weight in grams o r kilograms;  
g) country of origin;  
h) instructions for use and storage;  and 
i) list of ingredients in descending order .  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  5 
 9 Sampling  
9.1 Sampling for flavoured green tea shall be done in accordance with ISO 1839.  
9.2 Except for water extract, the requirements shall be determined using a ground sample prepared in 
accordance with ISO 1572  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
6 © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of iron filings  
A.1 Apparatus  
A.1.1  Magnet (at least 4 000 gauss)  
A.1.2  Polythene sheet  
A.1.3  Petri dish  
A.2 Procedure  
A.2.1  A known amount of (25 g) tea is spread evenly on petri dish.  
A.2.2  A powerful magnet wrapped in polythene sheet is run over the sample repeatedly till no more iron 
filings cling to the magnet.  
A.2.3  Collect the iron filings in a clean, dry and previously weighed petri di sh. 
A.2.4  Note down and express the mass of iron filings as mg/kg.  
A.3 Calculation  
210001
MM
filings Iron

 
where  
M1 is the mass, in grams, of iron filings, and  
M2 is the mass, in grams, of sample taken for the test.  
 
 
  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  7 
 Bibliography  
[1] ISO 11287: 2011 , Gree n tea — Definition and basic requirements  DEAS 1174 : 2023    
 
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved