ICS 67.069  
 
Reference number
DRS 548: 2023
© RSB 2023
  
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS 
548 
 
First edition  
yyy-mm-dd  
 
Processed chili — Specification  
   
DRS 548: 2023 
1                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 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. 
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E-mail: info@rsb.gov.rw  
Website: www.rsb.gov.rw  
ePortal: www.portal.rsb.gov.rw  DRS 548: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  2 
 Contents Page 
Foreword ..............................................................................................................................................................3  
1 Scope ......................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
2 Normative references ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
3 Terms and definitions .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4 Requirements ............................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4.1 Main ingredients ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4.2 Optional ingredients ................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4.3 General requirements ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4.4 Specific requirements .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
5 Food additives ........................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
6 Hygiene ...................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7 Contaminants ............................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7.1 Pesticide residues .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7.2 Heavy metals ............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7.3 Aflatoxins ................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
8 Packaging .................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
9 Labelling .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
10 Sampling .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
Annex A (normative)  Determination of pH of aqueous extract ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.1 Apparatus .................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
A.1 Procedure .................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
Annex B (normative)  Determination of acid insoluble ash............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
B.1 Reagents .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
B.2 Apparatus .................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
B.3 Procedure .................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
B.4 Calculation ................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
 DRS 548: 2023 
3                ©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. 
DRS 548 was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 003, Cereals, Pulses, Legumes and Cereal 
Products.  
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Milk and milk products  (RSB/TC 
004) in the preparation of this standard. 
ADMA International Ltd 
BAKHRESA Grain Milling 
Benya Co. Ltd 
CATAM 
Monasalwa Ltd 
Mount Meru Soyco Ltd  
Mukamira Dairy Ltd 
National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA) 
National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA) 
Nyarutarama Business Incubation Center 
Rwanda Food and Drug Administration 
Urwibutso Ese 
Zamura Feeds Ltd DRS 548: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  4 
 Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) – Secretariat   DRS 548: 2023 
5                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
  
Processed chili — Specification 
1 Scope 
This Working Draft Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for processed chili 
intended for direct human consumption excluding chilli oil and chilli sauce. 
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 950.17, Citric acid in non-alcoholic beverages 
AOAC 952.13,  Arsenic in food. Silver diethyldithiocarbamate 
AOAC 962.17, Volatile oil in spices 
AOAC 973.34,  Cadmium in food . Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 999.10 , Lead, Cadmium, Zinc, Copper, and Iron in Foods 
ISO 948, Spices and condiments — Sampling  
ISO 3513, Chillies — Determination of Scoville index 
ISO 16649-2,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
beta-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony-count technique at 44 degrees C using 5-
bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-glucuronide 
RS CAC/RCP 1, General principles of food hygiene — Code of practice  
RS CODEX STAN 192, General standard for food additives  
RS EAS 38, Labelling of pre-packaged foods — General requirements 
RS ISO 1842, Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of pH 
RS ISO 3960, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of peroxide value — Iodometric (visual) 
endpoint determination  DRS 548: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  6 
 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 21527-1 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds — Part 1: Colony count technique in products with water activity greater than 0,95 
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply. 
3.1 
processed chilli 
 
product derived from sound and wholesome chillies, processed in any way (including cooking in oil or in water, 
steaming, drying and any other processing method) to which other edible ingredients and/or permitted food 
additives may be added. 
3.2 
fresh chillies 
fresh, mature and clean chillies of Capsicum and/or preserved chillies 
4 Ingredients 
4.1 Essential ingredients 
chillies complying with relevant standards 
4.2 Optional ingredients 
edible ingredients and/or food additives complying with relevant standards may be added. 
5 Requirements 
5.1 General requirements 
Processed chilli shall: 
a) have the characteristic colour of ingredients; DRS 548: 2023 
7                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 b) befree from any foreign matter; and 
c) be free from any objectionable flavours, . 
5.2 Specific requirements 
Processed chilli shall comply with the requirements as prescribed in Table 1. 
Table 1 — Specific requirements for processed chili 
S/N Characteristics Limit  Test method 
i.    
ii. pH, max. 4.7 RS ISO 1842 
iii. Scoville index, Scoville Heat Unit 600 – 13 000 ISO 3513 
iv. Volatile oil, %, max. 2 AOAC 962.17 
v. Peroxide value, milliequivalents of peroxide oxygen/kg, max. 10 RS ISO 3960 
vi. Total soluble solids percent by mass  
(Brix), percent by mass at 20 °C, m/m, min 7  ISO 2173 
vii. Total ash, % m/m, max. 5.5 AOAC 920.181 
viii.    
5.3 Microbiological requirements 
Processed chilli shall conform to microbiological limits in Table 2. 
Table 2 — Microbiological requirements in processed chilli 
S/N Characteristics Maximum limit  Test method 
i. Total viable  count, CFU/g 103 RS IS0 4833-1 
ii. E. coli, CFU/g Absent ISO 16649-2 
iii. Salmonella, spp , in25 g Absent RS IS0 6579-1 
iv. Yeast and moulds, CFU/g 102 RS ISO 21527-1 
v. Staphylococcus aureus CFU/g Absent ISO 6888-1 
6 Food additives 
Food additives may be used in the preparation of processed chilli and shall comply with RS CODEX STAN 
192. DRS 548: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  8 
 7 Contaminants 
7.1 Heavy metals 
Processed chilli shall not contain heavy metals in excess of those given in Table 3.  
Table 3 — Maximum limits for heavy metal contaminants 
S/N contaminant Maximum limit 
(mg/l) Test method 
i. Arsenic 0.5 AOAC 952.13 
ii. Cadmium 0.05 AOAC 973.34 
iii. Lead 0.5 AOAC 999.10 
7.2 Pesticides residues 
The products covered by the provisions of this standard shall comply with those maximum residue limits 
established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
8 Hygiene 
Processed chilli shall be prepared and handled in accordance with the hygienic requirements stipulated in RS 
CAC/RCP 1. 
9 Packaging 
Processed chilli shall be packaged in food grade containers which shall safeguard on safety and quality of the 
product and the container shall be sealed and airtight. 
10 Labelling 
In addition to the requirements specified in RS EAS 38, Processed chilli shall be legibly and indelibly labelled 
with the following information: 
a) name of the product “Processed chilli”; 
b) name and address of the manufacturer/packer; 
c) country of origin; 
d) list of ingredients in descending order; 
e) net weight in metric units; 
f) expiry/best before date; DRS 548: 2023 
9                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 g) date of packing; 
h) batch number;  
i) storage instructions; 
j) instructions for use; and 
k) cooking oil used. 
11 Sampling 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 948. 
 DRS 548: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  10 
 Annex A 
(normative) 
 
Determination of specific gravity 
A.1 Principle 
The method involves use of specific gravity bottle which enables a liquid's density to be measured 
accuratelyby reference to an appropriate working fluid which is water. The specific gravity bottle is weighed 
empty, full of water, and full of a liquid whose specific gravity is desired. The ratio of the mass of a unit volume 
of asubstance to the mass of a unit volume of water is then calculated as the specific gravity.  
A.2 Apparatus 
Specific gravity bottle/ pycnometer 
A.3 Procedure 
Clean and thoroughly dry the specific gravity bottle and weigh it. Fill it up to the mark with freshly boiled and 
cooled water, which has been maintained at a temperature of 20 °C ± 1 °C and weigh. Remove the water, dry 
the bottle again and fill it with the material maintained at the same temperature. Weight the bottle again. 
A.4 Calculation 
Specify the temperature of testing 
Calculate as follows: 
Specific gravity at 20 °C/20 °C =஼ି஺
஻ି஺ 
where  
C is the mass, in grams, of the specific gravity bottle with the material, 
A is the mass, in grams, of the empty specific gravity bottle, and 
B is the mass, in grams, of the specific gravity bottle with water. 
11.1.1.1.1  DRS 548: 2022 
1                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Bibliography 
[1] RS EAS 66-2: 2017 Tomato products — Specification —Part 2: Tomato sauce and ketchup  
[2] https://tasteasianfood.com/peanut-sauce/  
 DRS 548: 2023 
 
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