DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDDUS DARS  1115  
First Edition 
2023-m m-dd
Reference number  
DUS DARS  1115 : 2023 
© UNBS 2023  Handling and Processing of prawns or shrimps — Code of practice   
ii                © UNBS  2023  - 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 application  
© UNBS 2023 
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© UNBS  2023  - All rights reserved                 iii National foreword  
Uganda National Bureau 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 Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enqui ry Point on TBT Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of ke y 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.  
This Draft Uganda Standard, DUS DARS  1115 :2023 , Handling and Processing of prawns or shrimps — Code 
of practice , is identical with and has been reproduced from a  Draft  African  Standard,  DARS 1115 :2023 , 
Handling and Processing of prawns or shrimps — Code of practice , and is being proposed for adoption as a 
Uganda Standard.  
The committee responsible for this document is Te chnical Committee UNBS/ TC 211, Fish and fishery 
products . 
Wherever the words, “ African  Standard " appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standa rd." AFRICAN 
STANDARD  DARS  
1115 
First Edition 2023 
 
 Reference No. DARS 1115:2023(E) 
 
ICS 67.120.30  
 
 
©ARSO 20 23 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Handling and Processing of prawns or shrimps — Code of practice  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DARS 1115:2023 
ii ©ARSO 20 23 — All rights reserved   
Table of contents  
 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  2 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
4 Handling prawns or shrimps  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  2 
4.1 Raw fresh and frozen prawns or shrimps on receipt  ................................ .............................  2 
4.2 Frozen storage  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  2 
5 Processing  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 3 
5.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 3 
5.2 Thawing  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 3 
5.3  Chilled storage  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  3 
5.4  Selection  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  3 
5.5  Size grading  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
5.6 Addition  of ingredients and use of additives  ................................ ................................ ..........  4 
5.7 Full and partial peeling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  4 
5.8 Deveining  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  4 
5.9 Washing  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
5.10 Cooking processes and conditions  ................................ ................................ ........................  4 
5.11 Peeling of cooked shrimps or prawns  ................................ ................................ ....................  5 
5.12 Cooling processes  ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  5 
5.13 Freezing processes  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
5.14 Glazing  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 6 
5.15 Weighing, packaging and labelling  ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
5.16 Transportation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
6 Final product quality control metal detection  ................................ ................................ ..................  6 
7 Frozen storage of end -product  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 7 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  8 
 
  DARS 1 115:2023 
©ARSO 20 22 — All rights reserved  iii Foreword  
 
The African Organization for Standardization (ARS O) is an African intergovernmental organization 
established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Organization of 
African Unity (AU)  in 1977 . One of the fundamental mandates of ARSO is to develop and harmoniz e 
African Standards (ARS) for the purpose of enhancing Africa’s internal trading capacity, increase 
Africa’s product and service competitiveness globally and uplift the welfare of African communities. The 
work of preparing African  Standards is normally carr ied out through ARSO  technical committees. Each 
Member State  interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the 
right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, Regional Economic Communities 
(RECs), governmental and non -governmental  organizations , in liaison with ARSO , also take part in the 
work.  
 
ARSO  Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.  
 
The main task of technical committees is to prepare ARSO  Standards. Draft ARSO  Standards adopted 
by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an ARSO  
Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.  
 
Attention is drawn to the possibil ity that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of 
patent rights. ARSO  shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 
This African Standard was prepared by ARSO/TC 03, Fish, fisheries and aquaculture . 
 
 
 
 
 
© African Organisation for Standardisation  2023 — All rights reserved* 
 
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* © 2023 ARSO — All rights of exploitation reserved worldwide for African Member States’ NSBs.  DARS 1115:2023 
iv ©ARSO 20 23 — All rights reserved   
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Requests for permission to reproduce this document for the purpose of selling it should be 
addressed as shown below or to ARSO’s member body in the country of the requester:  
 
 
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P.O. Box 57363 — 00200 City Square  
NAIROBI, KENYA  
 
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  DARS 1 115:2023 
©ARSO 20 22 — All rights reserved  v Introduction  
 
<Text indicating rationale for the development/harmonization of the standard>  
 
 DARS 1 115:2023 
2 ©ARSO 20 23 — All rights reserved   
Handling and Processing of prawns or shrimps — Code of practice  
 
 
1 Scope  
 
This African standard specifies guidelines for handling and processing of prawns or shrimps intended 
for human consumption.  
 
2 Normative references  
 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application 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 31, Guidelines for the sensory evaluation of fish and shel lfish in laboratories  
 
CODEX STAN 192, General standard for food additives  
 
EAS 12, Drinking (potable) water) — Specification  
 
3 Terms and definitions  
 
For the purpose of this standard the following definitions apply.  
 
3.1  
prawn/shrimp  
small swimming aquatic crustacean with an elongated body  
 
3.2  
deveining  
process of removing the vein and/or gut from a peeled prawn or shrimp  
 
4 Handling  of prawns  or shrimps  
 
4.1 Raw fresh and frozen prawns or shrimps on receipt  
 
4.1.1   Prawns or shrimps should be inspected upon receipt to ensure that they are well iced/preserved 
or deep frozen and accompanying records are in place for the purpose of product traceability.  
 
4.1.2   A sensory evaluation should be performed in accordance with CAC/GL 31 on incoming lots to 
ensure that the product is of acceptable quality and not decomposed.  
 
4.1.3   Checking should include substances such as phytotoxins in wild caught prawns or shrimps 
(specifically for head -on products) and potential veterinary drugs residues for prawns o r shrimps 
produced under aquaculture. In addition, other chemical indicators for heavy metals, pesticides and 
indicators of decomposition may be applied.   
 
4.1.4   It is necessary to wash fresh prawns or shrimps on receipt in suitable equipment with a series 
of low -velocity sprays with chilled potable water complying with WHO International Guideline  for 
Drinking water Quality .  
 
4.1.5   Prawns or shrimps should be sto red in suitable facilities and allocated "use by" /duration for 
processing to ensure quality parameters are met in the end -products.  
 
4.2 Frozen storage  
 
AFRICAN STANDARD  DARS 1 115:2023 
3 ©ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  4.2.1   The packaging container should be undamaged to avoid possibilities of contamination and 
dehyd ration.  In the case of damaged packaging, repacking should be done.  
 
4.2.2  Cold storage facilities should be suitable for storage with minimal temperature fluctuation.  
 
4.2.3  The cold storage facility should have a temperature monitoring device, preferab ly a continuous 
recording unit to monitor and record ambient temperature properly.  
 
4.2.4  Cold Storage facility should maintain core temperature of frozen product below -180C 
 
5 Processing  
 
5.1 General  
 
The product should be processed within the "best before" time on the packaging, or before as dictated 
on receipt.  
 
5.2 Thawing  
 
5.2.1  The thawing process is undertaken on frozen shrimps depending on raw material sources. The 
outer and inner packaging should be removed prior to defrosting in order to prevent contamination. 
Extra care should be taken on block frozen prawns or shrimps where inner wax or polyethylene 
packaging may be entrapped with blocks.  
 
5.2.2  Thawing tanks should be purposely designed to allow for "counter current" water defrosting 
where necessary to maintain lowest possible temperatures. However, water reuse is discouraged.  
 
5.2.3  Potable water at a temperature not higher than 20 °C should be used for thawing. Use of 
additional ice to achieve a defrosted product at a temperature lower than 4 °C is recommended.  
 
5.2.4  Thawing should be achieved as quickly as possible to maintain quality of the product.  
 
5.2.5  It is desirable that the exit conveyor, leading from the defrost tanks, be equ ipped with a series 
of low -velocity sprays to wash the prawns or shrimps with chilled potable water.  
 
5.2.6  Immediately after thawing, the prawns or shrimps should be maintained at chilled temperature 
or re-iced to avoid undue temperature rise before furt her processing.   
 
5.3  Chilled storage  
 
5.3.1   Chilled storage after receipt should be maintained at temperature between 0 °C and 4 °C  
 
5.3.2   The chilled storage facility should have a temperature monitoring device (preferably a 
continuous recording unit) to monitor and record ambient temperatures properly.  
 
5.3.3   Unnecessary delays should be avoided during chilled storage in order to prevent quality 
deterioration.  
 
5.4  Selection  
 
Prawns or shrimps may be selected for different quality parameters (grades, and species) according to 
specification requirements. This should be undertaken without delay followed by re -icing of the prawns 
and shrimp s.  
 
5.5  Size grading  
 
5.5.1  Size grading of prawns or shrimps is undertaken manually or by use of mechanical graders of 
various degrees of sophistication. There is a possibility of prawns or shrimps becoming trapped in the DARS 1 115:2023 
4 ©ARSO 20 23 — All rights reserved  bars of the graders. Hence, regular inspection is required to prevent "carry over" of old prawns  or 
shrimps  and bacteriological contamination.  
 
5.5.2  Prawns or shrimps should be re -iced and stored in chilled condition prior to further processing.  
 
5.5.3  The grading process should be  carried out quickly to prevent microbiological growth and 
product decomposition.  
 
5.6 Addition of ingredients and use of additives  
 
5.6.1   According to specification and legislation, certain treatment s may be applied to prawns or 
shrimps to improve quali ty, preserve yield or preserve them for further processing.  
 
 
5.6.3   These ingredients and additives can be added as stipulated under CODEX STAN 192.  
 
 
5.6.5   Chill conditions should be maintained at all stages of production.  
 
 
5.7 Full and partial peeling   
 
5.7.1  This process is recommended mainly to warm water prawns or shrimps and could be as simple 
as inspecting and preparing whole large prawns or shrimps for freezing and downgrading blemished 
prawns or shrimps for full peeling.  
 
5.7.2  Other peeling sta ges should include full peeling or partial peeling leaving tail swimmers intact 
depending on the quality of the product.  
 
5.7.3  Whatever the process, it is necessary to ensure that the peeling tables are kept clear of 
contaminated shrimps and shell fragments with water jets and the shrimps are rinsed to ensure no 
carryover of shell fragments.  
 
5.8 Deveining  
 
5.8.1  The vein is the dark line which appears in the upper dorsal region of prawns or shrimps  flesh. 
In large warm water prawns or shrimps, this may be unsightly, gritty and a source of bacterial 
contamination.  
 
5.8.2  Deveining is the removal of the vein by cutting longitudinally along the dorsal region of the 
prawns or shrimps and pulling the vei n. This may be partially achieved with head -off, shell -on prawns 
or shrimps as well.  
 
5.8.3  This operation is considered to be mechanical though labour intensive. Therefore, cleaning and 
maintenance schedules should be in place and cover the need for clea ning before, after and during 
processing by trained operators.  In addition, it is essential to ensure that damaged and contaminated 
prawns or shrimps are removed from the line and that no debris build up is allowed.  
 
5.9 Washing  
 
5.9.1  Washing of peeled and deveined prawns or shrimps is essential in order to ensure that shell 
and vein fragments are removed.  
 
5.9.2  Prawns or shrimps should be chilled immediately after draining the water.  
 
5.10 Cooking processes and conditions  
 
5.10.1  The cooking procedure  and conditions, in particular time and temperature, should be fully 
defined according to the specification requirements of the final product, for example, whether it is to be DARS 1 115:2023 
5 ©ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  consumed without further processing, and the nature and origin of the raw prawns  or shrimps and 
uniformity of size grading.  
 
5.10.2  The cooking schedule should be reviewed before each batch, and where continuous cookers 
are in use, constant logging of process parameters should be available.  
 
5.10.3  Only potable water should be used for cooking, whether in water or via steam injection.  
 
5.10.4  The monitoring methods and frequency should be appropriate for the critical limits identified in 
the scheduled process.  
 
5.10.5   Maintenance and cleaning schedules should be available for cooker s and all operations should 
only be undertaken by fully trained staff.  
 
5.10.6  Adequate separation of cooked prawns or shrimps exiting the cooking cycle is essential in order 
to ensure no cross -contamination. This will be achieved through the use of suita ble equipment and 
containers.  
 
5.11 Peeling of cooked prawns or shrimps  
 
5.11.1  Cooked prawns or shrimps have to be properly peeled manually or through mechanical peeling 
in line with cooling and freezing processes.  
 
5.11.2  Cleaning and maintenance schedules should be available and implemented by fully trained 
staff in order to ensure efficient and safe processing.  
 
5.12 Cooling process  
 
5.12.1  Cooked prawns or shrimps should be cooled as quickly as possible to bring the tem perature to 
a range limiting microorganism proliferation or toxin production.  
 
5.12.2  Cooling schedules should enable the time -temperature requirements to be met.  
 
5.12.3   Maintenance and cleaning schedules of cooling equipment should be in place and complied 
with. 
 
5.12.4  Only potable water  comply with  WHO International Guideline for Drinking water quality  should 
be used for cooling and it should not be used for subsequen t batches, although for continuous 
operations a top -up procedure and maximum run - length will be defined.  
 
5.12.5  It is essential to separate cooled products.  
 
5.12.6  After cooling and draining, the prawns or shrimps should be frozen as soon as possible, to 
avoid spoilage.  
 
 
5.13 Freezing process  
 
5.13.1  The freezing process will vary considerably according to the type of product. At its simplest, 
raw whole or head -off Prawns or shrimps may be block or plate frozen in purpose -designed cartons 
into which p otable water is poured to form a solid block with protective ice.  
 
5.13.2  At the other extreme, cooked and peeled cold water prawns or shrimps tend to be frozen 
through fluidized bed systems, while many warm water prawns or shrimps products are Individual ly 
Quick Frozen (IQF) either on trays in blast freezers or in continuous belt freezers.  
 
5.13.3  Irrespective of the freezing process, it is necessary to ensure that the freezing conditions 
specified are met and that, for IQF products, there is no clumping, that is, pieces frozen together. Putting 
product into a blast freezer before it is at operating temperature may result in glazed, slow -frozen 
product and contamination.  DARS 1 115:2023 
6 ©ARSO 20 23 — All rights reserved   
5.13.4   Freezing facility should be cleaned and maintained as per schedule o perated by fully trained 
staff.  
 
5.14 Glazing  
 
5.14.1  Glazing is applied to frozen prawns or shrimps to protect against dehydration and maintain 
quality during storage and distribution.  
 
5.14.2   Freezing prawns or shrimps in blocks of ice is the simplest f orm of glazing, followed by dipping 
and draining frozen prawns or shrimps in chilled potable water.  
 
5.14.3  A more sophisticated process is to pass frozen size -graded shrimps under cold water sprays 
on vibratory belts such that the prawns or shrimps pass at a steady rate to receive an even and 
calculable glaze cover.  
 
5.14.4  Ideally, glazed prawns or shrimps should receive a secondary re -freezing prior to packing, but 
if not, they should be packaged as quickly as possible and moved to cold storage. If this  is not achieved, 
the prawns or shrimps may freeze together and "spot weld" or clump as the glaze hardens.  
 
5.15 Weighing, packaging and labelling  
 
5.15.1   Wrappings and packaging, including glues and inks, should be of food grade, odourless, with 
no ris k of substances likely to be harmful to health being transferred to the packaged prawns and 
shrimps.  
 
5.15.2  Prawns or shrimps should be weighed in packaging with scales appropriately tarred and 
calibrated to ensure correct weight  or quantity . 
 
5.15.3  Where products are glazed, checks should be carried out to ensure the correct compositional 
standards to comply with legislation and packaging declarations.  
 
5.15.4  All ingredients used including food additives should be declared on the label in descending  
order by weight. All wrapping and packaging should be carried out in a, manner to ensure that the 
frozen products remain frozen and that temperature rises are minimal before transfer back to frozen 
storage.  
 
5.15.5  Sulphites should be used in accordance w ith manufacturer’s instructions and GMP.  
 
5.16 Transportation and Distribution  
 
During transportation of prawns or shrimps the following should be considered:  
The temperature of the product before loading and during transportation should comply with specific 
product standard. For instance, frozen products core temperature should be maintained at –18 °C or 
below;  
 
Exposure to elevated temperatures during loading and  unloading of prawns or shrimps should be 
avoided;  
 
Product arrangement during loading should ensure good air flow between product, wall, floor and roof 
panel; and  
 
Transportation and distribution facility should provide adequate protection against contami nation from 
dust, exposure to higher temperatures and the drying effects of the sun or wind.  
 
 
 
6 Quality control of Final product  
 DARS 1 115:2023 
7 ©ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  6.1 The processor should put in place appropriate measures  (Metal Detector  )  to ensure that final 
product is free from met al contamination.  
 
6.2 Larger packs will be detected at a lower sensitivity than smaller packs, so consideration should 
be given to testing product prior to packaging. However, unless potential re -contamination prior to 
packaging can be eliminated, it is probably still better to check in -pack.  
 
7 Frozen storage of end -product  
 
7.1 Final products should be stored at freezing temperature in a clean and hygienic environment.  
 
7.2 The facility should be capable of maintaining the temperature of the shrimps at or below -18 °C.  
 
7.3 The storage area should be equipped with a calibrated, indicating thermometer. Fitting of a 
recording thermometer is strongly recommended.  
 
7.4 A systematic stock rotation plan should be developed and maintained.  
 
7.5 Products sho uld be properly protected from dehydration, dirt and other forms of contamination.  
 
. 
 
  DARS 1 115:2023 
8 ©ARSO 20 23 — All rights reserved  Bibliography  
 
 
 
EAS 874:2016, Processing and handling of prawns or shrimps — Code of practice  
 
WHO International Guideline for Drinking water Quality  
 
CXC52 Code of practice for fish and fishery products.  
 
 DARS 1 115:2023 
©ARSO 20 23 — All rights reserved