DEAS 1126 -1: 2023 
ICS 67.230  
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                            First Edition  2023  
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Fortified Processed Cereal Based Foods (FPCBF) —Specification —Part 
1: For persons of  6 to 59 months   
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1126 -1: 2023 
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                            First Edition  2023  
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© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  Foreword  
Development 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 bar riers that are encountered 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 co mposed 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 r epresentative 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 com ments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development o f East African Standards . 
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advanc es. Users of the East 
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 018, Nutrition and Foods for 
Special Dietary Uses . 
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.  
DEAS  1126  consists of the followin g parts, under the general title Fortified Processed Cereal Based Foods 
(FPCBF)  — Specification  
Part 1: for persons of 6 to 59 months  
Part 2 : for persons of 5 years and above   
 Introduction  
An individual needs approximately different nutrients, in different amounts, in order to grow, develop and 
remain healthy. This is reflected in the establishe d Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNI) established by the 
World Health Organization for individuals of different age, sex, activity level and physiological state. Meeting 
the nutrient requirements of an infant and a young child requires consumption of an ade quately diverse 
diet,including breast milk and a variety of plant Source foods (vegetables, fruits, staples), animal source foods 
(dairy, eggs, fish, meat) as well as fortified foods.  
Inappropriate execution of recommended complementary feeding practices c an be attributed in large part to 
the difficulty of acquiring the recommended quality and quantity of foods. Vitamin -rich fruits and vegetables 
are often available only during certain seasons, making year round consumption challenging. Animal source 
foods,  an important source of fat and bio -available protein, are either unavailable or expensive for inclusion in 
most households daily consumption patterns. Most rural households suffer from chronic food insecurity, 
making it difficult to feed children in suffi cient quantities and frequencies.  
Staple foods produced and consumed in rural households are not screened for common toxins, which may be 
contributing to poor nutritional outcomes. Contaminants such as aflatoxins can be carcinogenic and cause 
growth retar dation, and high levels of aflatoxins in human diets are associated with stunting in young children. 
Food processing can use state of the art technology to detect aflatoxins in raw materials like maize, in order to 
ensure that they do not contaminate the f ood products, but this level of processing is inaccessible to the target 
populations.  
Households need access to an affordable, high quality complementary food that provides the full suite of 
nutrients necessary for 6 months - 24 months old children, to fil l all of the nutritional gaps left after 
breastfeeding, and to achieve healthy growth and development. Packaging the necessary nutrients into a 
single product eases administration for the mother and ensures that children are not vulnerable to seasonal 
and economic gaps in access to nutritious local foods. Considering the essential role of adequate nutrient 
intake by young children in the prevention of under -nutrition and its life -long consequences, and the fact that 
meeting nutrient requirements from the co mbination of breast milk and foods naturally rich in essential 
nutrients is very challenging for many households, which is to a large part due to availability and affordability 
constraints, and that many Rwandan households suffer from seasonal or yearlong food insecurity, the Ministry 
of Health has concluded that increasing accessibility of fortified complementary foods for children aged 6 
months - 24 months is an important strategy to ensure a continuum of nutrition for Rwandan children essential 
to achiev ing lifelong potential.  
Fortified Processed Cereal Based Foods (FPCBF) may include but not limited to the following categories:  
a) Fortified Processed Cereal Based Foods which are or have to be prepared for consumption with milk 
or other suitable liquids;  
b) Fortified Processed Cereal Based Foods with an added high protein food which are or have to be 
prepared for consumption with water or other suitable protein -free liquid;  
c) Products  which are to be used after cooking in boiling water or other suitable liquids; and 
d) rusks and biscuits which are to be used either directly or, after pulverization, with the addition of 
water, milk or other suitable liquids.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved   
Fortified Processed Cereal Based Foods (FPCBF) —Specification —Part 
1: For persons of 6 to 59 months  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for Fortified 
Processed cereal based food s intended for persons from the age of 6  months up to 59 months.  
This standard  does not cover products covered by EAS 72 . 
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 lates t edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
AOAC 2001.0,  Official method for the determination of Fumonisins B1 and B2 in corn and corn flakes  
AOAC 944.02 , Official method for the determination of Iron in flour, Spectrophotomet ric method  
AOAC 965.33 , Official method for the determination of Peroxide value  
AOAC 984.27 , Official method for the determination of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, 
phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc in infant formula  
AOAC 986.18 , Determi nation of Deoxynivalenol in wheat, gas chromatographic method  
AOAC 992.04 , Official method for the determination of Vitamin A in milk and milk infant formula  
AOAC 999.11 , Determination of Lead, Cadmium, Copper, Iron, and Zinc in Foods. Atomic Absorption 
Spectrophotometry  
CODEX STAN 193 , General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed  
CODEX STAN 73 , Standard for Canned Baby Foods  
CODEX STAN 74 , Standard for Processed Cereal -Based Foods for Infants and Young Children  
ISO 16958; Milk, milk produc ts, infant formula and adult nutritionals -- Determination of fatty acids composition 
–Capillary gas chromatographic method.  
CAC/GL 21,  Principles and Guidelines for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria 
Related to Foods  
CAC/GL 23 , Guidelines for Use of Nutrition and Health Claims  
CAC/RCP 1 , General Principles of Food Hygiene  
EAS 38 , Labeling of pre -packaged foods combined  
EAS 803 , Nutritional labeling — Requirements  
ISO 11085,  Cereals, cereals -based products and animal feeding stuff s —Determination of crude fat and total 
fat content by the Randall extraction method   
 ISO 15141 -1, Foodstuffs —Determination of ochratoxin A in cereals and cereal products —Part 1: High 
performance liquid chromatographic method with silica gel clean up  
ISO 15214,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs —Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
mesophilic lactic acid bacteria —Colony -count technique at 30 degrees C  
ISO 16050, Foodstuffs —Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxin s B1, B2, G1 and G2 
in cereals, nuts and derived products —High-performance liquid chromatographic method  
ISO 16649 -1; Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs —Horizontal method for the enumeration of beta -
glucuronidase -positive Escherichia coli —Part 1: Colony -count technique at 44 degrees C using membranes 
and 5 -bromo -4-chloro -3-indolyl beta -D-glucuronide  
ISO 20483,  Cereals and pulses —Determination of the nitrogen content and calculation of the crude protein 
content —Kjeldahl method  
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 2171,  Cereals, pulses and by -products —Determination of  ash yield by incineration  
ISO 24333 , Cereals and cereal products —Sampling  
ISO 4832, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs —Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms —Colony -count technique  
ISO 5498 , Agricultural food product –Determinat ion of crude fiber content –General method  
ISO 6579 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs —Horizontal method for the detection of Salmonella 
spp. 
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 712, Cereals and cereal products —Determination of moisture content —Reference method  
ISO 7932 , Microbiology of food and anima l feeding stuffs —Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
presumptive Bacillus cereus —Colony -count technique at 30 degrees C.  
ISO 16649 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs —Horizontal method for the enumeration of beta -
glucuronidase -positiv e Escherichia  
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: availab le at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1  
processed cereal based foods   
food product prepared primarily from one or more milled cereals  
3.2  
Fortified Processed Cereal Based Foods ( FPCBF )  
processed cereal based foods to whi ch micronutrients have been added specifically to provide additional 
nutrients which are either lacking or are present in insufficient quantities in the diet   
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  3.3 
fortification  
practice of deliberately adding micronutrient(s) that is vitamins and minerals ( including trace elements) in a 
food, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health benefit with minimal 
risk to health”  
3.4 
fortificant  
compound which contains essential micronutrient intended to be added to a food  
3.5 
micronutrient  
natural or synthesized vitamin, mineral or a trace element that is essential for normal growth, development 
and maintenance of life and of which a deficiency will be detrimental to health  
3.6 
diluent  
suitable, inert, edible food -grade ca rrier for micronutrients  
3.7 
fortification  premix  
blend of fortificants and diluents formulated to provide specified and determinable amounts of micronutrients  
3.8 
extraneous matter  
organic matter originating from food plants and/or their products other th an the designated product  
3.9 
foreign matter  
organic and inorganic materials (such as sand, soil, glass) other than extraneous matter in the designated 
product.  
4 Raw materials  
Fortified Processed cereal -based foods shall be prepared primarily from one or more milled cereal products, 
such as wheat, rice, barley, oats, rye, maize, millet , finger millet, bulrush millet, sorghum and buckwheat 
complying with the relevant East African Standards which shall constitute not less than 25 % of the final 
mixture on dr y weights basis.  
5 Optional i ngredients  
The following optiona l ingredients may be used and shall comply with relevant standards : 
a) pulses, legumes; and starchy roots;  
b) oil seed flours and oil seed protein products;  
c) animal source foods;  
d) fats and oils excludin g partially hydrogenated fats and oils;  
e) free sugar such as sucrose, fructose, glucose, glucose syrup or honey can be added in cereals with 
an added high protein food which are or have to be prepared for consumption with water or other 
appropriate protein -free liquids:  
1) the amount of added carbohydrates from the above mentioned sources shall not exceed 5 g/100 kcal, 
and 
2) the amount of fructose shall not exceed 2.5 g/100 kcal.   
 5 Requirements  
5.1 General requirements  
FPCBF shall be:  
a) free from live insects ; 
b) free from extraneous matter and foreign matter ; 
c) have no rancid or musty odour or flavour ; 
5.2 Specific requirements  
5.2.1  FPCBF shall comply with specific requirements specified in Table 1  when tested in accordance with 
test methods specified therein  
Table 1 — Specific requirements for FPCBF  
S/N  Parameters  Requirements  Test method  
1.  Energy density (on dry weight basis), kcal/100  g, 
Min.  400   
2.  Fat content * , % m/m 9 - 18  ISO 11085  
3.  Protein, % m/m 8 - 22  ISO 20483  
4.  Acid insoluble ash, %, m/m on dry matter basis, max.  0.4  ISO 5985  
5.  Moisture contenta, %, by mass, max.  7.0  ISO 712  
6.  Dietary  fibre % (on a dry basis), by mass, max.  5 ISO 5498  
7.  Peroxide Value, meq /kg fat, max.  10  AOAC 965.33  
8.  Vitamin A; IU/100 g flour  2112 -4200  AOAC 992. 04  
9.  Iron; mg/100 g flour  7.2-15  AOAC 944.02  
10.  Calcium; mg/100 g flour  380-532  AOAC 984.27  
11.  Potassium; mg/100 g flour  570-836  AOAC 984.27  
a The moisture content applies to dried form of products  
*If the lipid content exceeds 3.3 g/100 kcal (29.7 % energy), the amount of linoleic acid (in the form of triglycerides) shall not be less 
than300 mg/100 kcal and shall not exceed 1200 mg/100 kcal, the amount of lauric acid shall not exceed 15 % of the total lipid  content and 
the amount of myristic acid sh all not exceed 15 % of the total lipid content when tested in accordance with ISO 16958.  
 
5.2.2  Additional requirements on product nutritional composition are provided in Annex A. 
6 Fortification requirements  
6.1 Fortificants  
Fortificants for use shall be s table compounds conforming to specifications in any internationally recognized 
documents including not limited to the following:   
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  a) British Pharmacopoeia (BP);  
b) Food Chemical Codex (FCC);  
c) Merck Index (MI);  
d) United States National Formulary (NF);  
e) European Pharma copoeia (Ph Eur);  
f) United States Pharmacopoeia (USP); or  
g) FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).  
6.2 Premix  
The fortificants shall be mixed with diluents or carriers as appropriate to form a premix. Diluents or carriers  
shall conform to USP, BP, Ph Eur , NF, MI, FAO/WHO, or FFC requirements.  
Vitamin Compounds and Mineral Salts Vitamins and minerals used in formulation of premix or added to the 
product shall be selected from the Advisory lists of nutrient compounds for use in foods for special dietary 
uses intended for infants and young children (CXG 10 -1979).  
7 Food additives  
Only the food additives CODEX STAN 192 may be used in FPCBF to maximum limits given in those 
standards  
8 Hygiene  
8.1 Fortified processed Foods shall be produced, prepared and handled in acc ordance with the provisions 
of appropriate sections of EAS 39 .  
8.2 The product shall comply with microbiological limits in Table 2.  
Table 2 — Limit of microorganisms in FPCBF  
S/N  Microorganisms  Maximum levels  Test method  
Non-instant FPCBF  Instant FP CBF 
(ready to eat)  
1.  Total viable count  CFU/ g, max.  10 000  500 ISO 4833  
2.  Coliforms CFU / g. max.  10  Absent  ISO 4832  
3.  Salmonella spp in 25 g, max.  absent  Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
4.  Escherichia Coli  CFU/ g, max.  Less t han 10  Less than 10  ISO 16649 -2  
5.  Staphylococcus aureus  CFU/g, max.  Less than 10  Less than 10  ISO 6888 -1  
6.  Bacillus cereus  CFU/ g max.  absent  Absent  ISO 7932  
7.  Yeasts and moulds CFU / g. max.  100  100 ISO 21527 -2  
8.  Clostridium perfringens CFU/g max  absent  Absent  ISO 7937  
9 Contaminants  
9.1 Heavy metals  
S/N Heavy metal  Maximum limit (mg/kg)  Test method  
i.  Lead  0.2 AOAC 999.11   
 ii.  cadmium  0.1 
 
9.2 Pesticide residues  
Fortified Processed cereal -based foods shall comply with the maximum residue limit established by the codex 
Alimentarius commi ssion for this commodity.’  
9.3 Natural occurring toxin and anti -nutrient factors  
9.3.1  If soya flour is used as a component of the FPCBF, urease activity  shall not exceed 0.3 mg N/g/min 
(for trypsin inhibitor activity, 5 mg/g) when tested in accordance wi th ISO 5506.  
9.3.2  If sorghum flour is used as a component of the FPCBF, the tannin contentshall not exceed 0.3 % by 
mass on a dry matter basis when tested in accordance with ISO 9648.  
9.3.3  If cassava is used as a component of the FPCBF, the total hydroc yanic acid content  shall not exceed 
2 mg/kg, when tested in accordance with EAS 744.  
9.4 Mycotoxins  
FPCBF shall conform to those permissible mycotoxin limits established in Table 3.  
Table 3 — Permissible mycotoxin limits  
S/
N  Parameters  Limits  Methods o f test  
i.  Total aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, and G2), µg/kg  5 RS ISO 16050  
ii.  Aflatoxin B1, µg/kg  3 
iii.  Fumonisin, mg/kg  2 AOAC 2001.04  
iv.  Ochratoxin A, µg/kg  5 RS ISO 15141 -1 
v.  Deoxynivalenol (DON), mg/kg  0.2  AOAC 986.18  
10 Packaging  
10.1 FPCBF shall be packag ed in food grade, material; which will safeguard the hygienic and other quality of 
the product.  
10.2 Each package shall be securely closed and easily re -closable during use.  
11 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38  and EAS 803 , each package shal l be legibly and indelibly marked 
with the following:  
a) name of the product as Fortified processed Cereal Based Food;  
b) type of fortificants;  
c) Statement  “suitable for person with moderate acute malnutrition  for the age of 6 to 59 months” . 
d) a statement that this product is not breast -milk substitute ; and  
e) serving/dosage instruction   
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  12 Methods of sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with the RS ISO 24333.  
 
 
 
 
  
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Additional requirements on p roduct composition  
S/N  
 Vitamins and minerals  
 Product micronutrient  
content per 100 g  Test method  
i.  Vitamin D   µg 8-23  
ii.  Vitamin E mg (Alpha -Tocopherol), min  11.4  
iii.  Vitamin C mg, min  57  
iv.  Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) mg, min  0.4  
v.  Vitamin B2 (Riboflavi n) mg,min  1.5  
vi.  Vitamin B3 (Niacin) mg NE,min  10  
vii.  Vitamin B6mg,min  0.8  
viii.  Folate  DFE µg min  152  
ix.  Vitamin B12  µg min  1.9  
x.  Biotin µg min  8  
xi.  Pantothenic acid mg, min  2  
xii.  Vitamin K µg min  19  
xiii.  Copper  5 mg  0.4-1.3  
xiv.  Iodine µg 57-133  
xv.  Magnes ium mg,min  106-160   
xvi.  Selenium , µg 13-34   
xvii.  Manganese1  
 mg  0.38-0.76 
  
xviii.  Sodium content mg ,max   190  
xix.  Total zinc, mg  7.6-13  
1Industry to test for the intrinsic during the public review in order to find out the total one  
 
                                                      
 
  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  Bibliography  
[1] ECSA, Manual of methods for determining micronutrients in fortified foods;  www.a2zproject.org/ -
2zorg/pdf/Manual_Foods.pdf  
[2] FAO/WHO (2004) Reference nutrient intake or INL 98 from FAO/WHO Vitamins and  Mineral 
requirements  in Human Nutrition. 2nd Edition. ( for all micronutrients except copper, manganese 
and phosphorus)DEAS 1126 -1: 2023   
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved