KENYA STANDARD                      DKS 2681 :2020  
    ICS 67.100.3 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Edam cheese — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 20 20          Second  Edition  2020 DKS 2681 :2020 
 
                             KEBS 2020 — All rights reserved  ii TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represente d on the Technical Committee:  
 
Kenya Dairy Board  
Ministry of Health — Public Health Department  
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries — State Department of Livestock  
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries — Department of Veterinary Ser vices  
Egerton University — Department of Dairy and Food Science Technology  
Government Chemist’s Department  
National Public Health Labs  
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI)  
Consumer Information Network  
New Kenya Creameries Cooperati ve (NKCC)  
Brookside Dairy Ltd.  
Eldoville Dairies Limited  
Githunguri Dairy  
Happy Cow Ltd . 
Sameer Agriculture and Livestock (K) Limited  
KIBIDAV Ltd. (TOGGS)  
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
 
 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to keep abreast w ith the progress in the industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed. 
Suggestions for improvement s to published sta ndards , addressed  to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of 
Standards , are welcome . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 20 20 
 
Copy right. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 2 5 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 130 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyright subsists 
in all Kenya Standards and exc ept as provided under Section 25  of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau o f Standards 
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing f rom the 
Managing Director . 
  
KEBS 2020 — All rights reserved    iii KENYA STANDARD                          DKS 2681:2020  
                                                                                                                    ICS 67.100.3 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Edam cheese  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 6 05490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020) 604031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org,  Web:http://www.kebs.org  
 
Coast Region     Lake Region          Rift Valley Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa -80100   P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu -40100        P.O. Box 2138, Nakuru -20100  
Tel.: (+254 041) 2295 63, 230939/40                Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396        Tel.: (+254 051) 210553, 210555  
Fax: (+254 041) 229448    Fax: (+254 057) 21814               
 DKS 2681 :2020 
 
                             KEBS 2020 — All rights reserved  iv Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Milk and Milk Products Technical Committee under  the guidance of 
the Standards Project Committee and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau of Standards.  
 
Cheese is a very nutritious food which consists of a concentration of the constituents of milk, principally fat, 
casein and inso luble salts, together with water, in which small amounts of soluble salts, lactose, and albumin 
from milk are coagulated.  
 
There are various types of cheese that are produced and marketed worldwide. This Kenya Standard specifies 
the requirements for the ty pe of firm/semi -hard cheese being marketed in Kenya as Edam cheese . 
 
This standard includes a list of food additives, terminology and classification of cheeses, amongst other technical 
requirements which are important in checking cheese under the regulator y system to prevent adulteration.  
 
This standard cancels an d replaces KS 2678:2017, Edam  Cheese — Specification which has been technically 
revised.  
 
During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following document:  
 
CODEX STAN 265:1966 , standard for Edam cheese.  
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from this source.  
      KENYA STAN DARD                                           DKS 2681 :2020  
   KEBS 2020  — All rights reserved     1 
  
 
 
Edam cheese  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
1 Scope  
 
This Ke nya Standard specifi es the requirements, sampling and test methods for Edam  cheese intended for direct 
consumption or for further processing .  
 
 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 c ited applies. For undated references, the 
latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
 
AOAC 999.10, Official method for lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, and iron in foods Atomic Absorption 
Spectrophotometry after microwave dig estion  
 
CAC/GL 21, Principles and guidelines for the establishment and application of microbiological criteria related to 
foods  
 
KS CODEX STAN 193, Codex general standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
 
KS CODEX STAN 206, General standard for  the use of dairy terms  
 
KS EAS 12, Portable drinking water  Specification  
 
KS EAS 38, Labelling of prepackaged foods  General requirements  
 
KS EAS 805, Use of Nutrition and health claims  Requirements  
 
KS 229, Edible salt  Specification  
 
KS 1552, Code  of hygienic practice for milk and milk products  
 
KS 2787,  Group standard for unripened cheese including fresh cheese — Specification  
 
KS 2850, Cheeses in brine — Specification  
 
KS ISO 707, Milk and milk products — Guidance on sampling  
 
KS ISO 1735, Cheese  and processed cheese products  Determination of fat content  Gravimetric method 
(Reference method)  
 
KS ISO 4832, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs  Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms -colony -count technique  
 
KS ISO 5534, Che ese and processed cheese  Determination of the total solids content (Reference method)   
 
KS ISO 5538, Milk and milk products — Sampling — Inspection by attributes  
 DKS 2681 :2020  
 
2     KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved  KS ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumer ation and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
 
KS ISO/TS 6733, Milk and milk products — Determination of lead content — Graphite furnace atomic absorption 
spectrometric method  
 
KS ISO 6611, Milk and milk products — Enumeration o f colony -forming units of yeasts and/or moulds — Colony -
count technique at 25 C 
 
KS ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci ( Staphylococcus aureus and other spe cies) — Part 1: Technique using Baird -
Parker agar medium  
 
KS ISO 7251, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the  detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
 
KS ISO 11290 -2, Mi crobiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of 
Listeria monocytogenes and of Listeria spp. — Part 2: Enumeration method  
 
KS ISO 14501, Milk and milk powder — Determination of aflatoxin M content — Clean -up by immunoaf finity 
chromatography and determination by high -performance liquid chromatography  
 
ISO 5943, Cheese and processed cheese products  Determination of Sodium chloride content  
Potentiometric titration method  
 
 
3 Description  
 
Edam is a ripened firm/semi -hard cheese in conformity with the General Standard for Cheese (KS 28 -1). The 
body has a near white or ivory through to light yellow or yellow colour and a firm -textured (when pressed by 
thumb) texture, suitable for cutting, with few more or less round rice to  pea sized (or mostly up to 10 mm in 
diameter) gas holes, distributed in a reasonable regular manner throughout the interior of the cheese, but few 
openings and splits are acceptable. The shape is spherical, of a flat block or of a loaf. The cheese is 
manu factured and sold with dry rind, which may be coated. Edam of flat block or loaf shape is also sold without 
rind.  
 
For Edam ready for consumption, the ripening procedure to develop flavour and body characteristics is normally 
from 3 weeks at 10 –18 °C depe nding on the extent of maturity required. Alternative ripening conditions 
(including the addition of ripening enhancing enzymes) may be used, provided the cheese exhibits similar 
physical, biochemical and sensory properties as those achieved by the previou sly stated ripening procedure. 
Edam intended for further processing need not exhibit the same degree of ripening when justified through 
technical and/or trade needs.  
 
 
4 Essential composition and quality factors  
 
4.1 Raw materials  
 
Cows’ milk or buffaloes’  milk, or their mixtures, and pro ducts obtained from these milks; complying with relevant 
Kenya standards  
 
4.2  Permitted ingredients   
 
a) Starter cultures of harmless lactic acid and/ or flavour producing bacteria and cultures of other harmless  
microorgan isms. 
 
b) Rennet or other safe a nd suitable coagulating enzymes.         KS 2681 :2020  
   KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved     3 
  
 -Sodium chloride and potassium chloride as a salt substitute;  complying with KS 229 . 
 Calcium chloride in an amount not more than 0.02 percent (calculated as anhydrous calcium chloride) of th e 
weight of the dairy ingredients, used as a coagulation aid.  
 
 Potable water;  complying with KS EAS 12 . 
 
 Safe and suitable enzymes to enhance the ripening process.  
 
 Safe and suitable processing aids.  
 
 Rice, corn and potato flours and starches: Notwithstand ing the provisions in CODEX STAN  283-1978 , these 
substances can be used in the same function as anticaking agents  for treatment of the surface of cut, sliced, 
and shredded products only, provided they are added only  in amounts functionally necessary as gov erned 
by Good Manufacturing Practice, taking into account any  use of the  anticaking agents listed in Clause 6.  
 
4.3  Compositional requirements   
 
Edam cheese shall comply with the compositional requirements given in Table 1 when tested in accordance with 
the test methods prescribed therein.  
 
Table 1 — Compositional requirements for Edam c heese   
 
Milk 
constituent  Minimum content 
(m/m)  Maximum 
content 
(m/m)  Reference 
level (m/m)  Test m ethod  
 
Milkfat  in dry 
matter  
  
 
30 %  
 
Not restricted  
  
 
40 % to 5 0 % 
  
 
 
KS ISO 1735  
Dry matter 
(total Solids ) content (m/m) Maximum content (m/m) Reference 
level (m/m)  
Depending on the fat in dry matter content  
according to the table below  
  
KS ISO 5534  
Fat in dry matter 
content (m/m ) Corresponding 
minimum dry matter 
content  
(m/m ) 
 
Equal to or above 30  % 
but less than 40  % 47 %  
Equal to or above 40% 
but less than 45  % 51 %  
Equal to or above 45% 
but less than 50  % 55 %  
Equal to or above 50% 
but less than 60  % 57 %  
Equal to or above 60%:  62%  
Moisture, % 
max.                                         
                                                             46% KS ISO 5534 or AOAC  977.11 
/AOAC 969.19  DKS 2681 :2020  
 
4     KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved  Milk 
constituent  Minimum content 
(m/m)  Maximum 
content 
(m/m)  Reference 
level (m/m)  Test m ethod  
 
Salt, % max.  
                                                              3% KS ISO 5943 or  
AOAC 975.20  
 
Compositional modifications beyond the minima and maxima specified above for milkfat and dry matter are not 
considered to be in compliance with se ction 4.3.3 of CODEX STAN 206 -1999 . 
 
5 Food additives  
 
Food additives may be added in Edam  cheese in accord ance with CODEX STAN 192.  
 
 
6         Hygiene  
 
6.1  It is recommended that Edam  cheese shall be prepared and handled in accordance  with the 
appropriate sections of KS EAS 39,  KS 1552  and other relevant standards such as codes of  hygienic practice 
and codes of practice. The products shall comply with the microbiological criteria established in accordance 
with CAC/GL  21. 
 
6.2 Edam  cheese  shall also comply with the microbiological requirements given in  Table 3 when tested in 
accordance with the test methods pr escribed therein . 
 
 
Table  3 — Microbiol ogical  requirements  for Edam  cheese  
 
S/N Microorganism  
 Requirement  Test method  
i.  Total coliforms, cfu/g, max.  100 KS ISO 4832  
ii.  Listeria monocytogenes, cfu/25 g  Not detected  KS ISO 11290 -2 
iii.  Salmonella spp. cfu/25 g  Not detected  KS ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Staphylococcus aureus, cfu/g  Absent  KS ISO 6888 -1 
v.  Escherichia c oli, cfu/g  Absent  KS ISO 7251  
 
7        Contaminan ts 
 
Edam  cheese  shall comply with the maximum levels for contaminants that are specified for the product in KS  
CODEX STAN 193.  
 
7.1        Heavy metals  
 
When tested in accordance with AOAC 999.10 or KS ISO/TS 6733, the level of lead (Pb) in Edam  cheese  shall 
not exceed 0.02 mg/kg.  
 
7.2  Pesticide  residues  
 
Edam  cheese  shall comply with the maximum limits for pesti cide residues set by Codex Alimentarius 
Commission.  
 
7.3  Mycotoxin  residues  
        KS 2681 :2020  
   KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved     5 
 When tested in accordance with KS ISO 14501, the level of Aflatoxin M1 in  Edam  cheese  shall not exceed 0.50 
µg/kg.  
 
7.4  Veterinary drugs residues  
 
Edam  cheese  shall comply with the maximum tolerable residue limits for antibiotics and other veterinary drugs 
set by Codex Alimentarius Commission.   
 
8 Packaging   
 
Edam  cheese shall be pack aged  in food gra de mat erial that ensures prod uct safety and integrity.  
 
9 Labelling  
 
In addition to the provisions of KS EAS 38  and KS CODEX STAN  206, the following specific provisions apply. 
 
9.1 Name  of the food  
 
The names Edam, Edamer or Edammer may be applied i n accordance with the General Standard for the 
Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (KS EAS 38 ), provided that the product is in conformity with this Standard. 
Where customary in the country of retail sale, alternative spelling may be used.  
 
The use of the name is an option that may be chosen only if the cheese complies with this standard. Where t he 
name is not used for a cheese that complies with this standard, the naming provisions of the General S tandard 
for Cheese (KS 28 -1) apply.  
 
The designation of products in which the fat content is below or above the reference range but above the 
absolute  minimumspecified in Section 3.3 of this Standard shall be accompanied by an appropriate qualification 
describing the modification made or the fat content (expressed as fat in dry matter or as percentage by mass 
whichever is acceptable in the country of re tail sale), either as part of the name or in a prominent position in the 
same field of vision. Suitable qualifiers are the appropriate characterizing terms specified in Section 10.2 of the 
General S tandard for Cheese (KS 28 -1) or a nutritional claim in acc ordance with the Guidelines for the Use of 
Nutrition and Health Claims ( KS CXG 23 -1997)2.  
 
The designation may also be used for cut, sliced, shredded or grated products made from cheese which cheese 
is in conformity with this Standard.  
 
9.2   Country  of origin  
 
The coun try of origin (wh ich means the country of manufacture, not the country in which the name originated) 
shall be declared.  When the product undergo es substantial  transformati on (see note) in a second  country, the 
country in wh ich the tr ansforma tion is perf ormed shall be co nsidered to  be the country of origin for the purpose 
of labelling.  
 
NOTE  For instance,  repackaging,  cutting,  slicing, shredding and grating  is not  regar ded as substantial  transformatio n. 
 
9.3   Declaration  of milk fat content  
 
The milk fat content shall be declared in a mann er found acceptable in the coun try of sale to the final co nsumer, 
either  i) as a percentage  by mass,  ii) as a percentage of fat in dry matter,  or iii) in grams per serving  as 
quantified in the label provided that the number of ser vings is stated.  
 
9.4     Name and address  
 
The name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor, importer, exporter or vendor of the food shall be 
declared.  DKS 2681 :2020  
 
6     KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved   
9.5 Net contents  
 
The net contents shall be declared by weight in  either the metric ("Système International" units) or as required by 
the country in which the product is sold.  
 
9.6 List of ingredients  
 
A complete list of ingredients shall be declared on the label in descending order of proportion.  
 
9.7 Storage instruct ions or conditions for use.  
 
9.8      Date of manufacture.  
 
9.9     Expiry date. 
 
9.10 Batch code/number or lot identification.   
 
However, lot identification, and the name and address  of the manufacturer or packer may be replaced by an 
identific ation m ark, provided that such a mark  is clearly identifi able with the accompanyi ng documents. 
 
10     Sampl ing  
 
Sampling shall be carried out in accordance with KS  ISO 707 and in KS ISO 5538.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
        KS 2681 :2020  
   KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved     7 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex A 
(informat ive) 
 
Additional information  
 
The additional information below does not affect the provisions in the preceding sections which are those that 
are essential to the product identity, the use of the name of the food and the safety of the food.  
 
A.1 Appearance  characteristics  
 
Edam, in the spherical form, is normally manufactured with a weights ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 kg.  
 
A.2 Method of manufacture  
 
Salting method: Salted in brine.