KENYA STANDARD           KS 2845:2020  
ICS 67.120.10  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fermented sausages (salami)  — 
Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT, AUGUST  2020  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     © KEBS 20 20 Second Edition , 2020 
 
 
 
 
 KS 284 5:2020 
 
ii  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved  
 
KENYA STANDARD           KS 2845:2020  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fermented sausages (salami)  — 
Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
           No copying of this standard without KEBS permission except as permitted by copyright law  
  KENYA STANDARD                                              KS 284 5:2020 
ICS 67.120.10  
© KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved    iii  
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRES ENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
 
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives 
Ministry of He alth – Food safety unit 
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute  
National Public Health Laborator ies Services 
Government Chemist’s Department 
Food Science and Technology Platform Kenya  
Farmer’s Choice (K) Ltd. 
University of Nairobi — Department of Food  Science and Technology 
South Eastern Kenya University  
Meru University  
Egerton University 
Consu mer Information Network  
Kenchic (K) Ltd. 
Alpha Fine Foods Ltd. 
Kenya Meat Commission  
Directorate of Livestock Production  
Directorate of Veterinary Services  
Quality Meat packers 
Choice Meats Ltd. 
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to  keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed.  Suggestions 
for improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, 
are welcome.  
 
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 201 9 
 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 130 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyright subsists 
in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 25 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau of 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.  
  KS 284 5:2020 
 
iv  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fermented sausages (salami)  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office: P.O. Box 549 74, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 6 05490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020) 604031  
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  KENYA STANDARD                                              KS 284 5:2020 
ICS 67.120.10  
© KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved    v Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Meat and Poultry Products Technical Committee under the 
guidance of the Standards Projects Committee, and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya 
Bureau of Standards.  
 
Fermented sausages commonly referred to as sal amis are a type of cured sausage meat consisting of 
fermented and air -dried meat, typically beef or pork, other meats can also be used for processing the product. 
As an emerging product, fermented sausages are currently being produced and marketed in Kenya . However, 
there is no national standard to regulate their quality and safety and hence the preparation of this first edition 
of the standard.  
 
The standard specifies methods of sampling and analysis that enhance maintenance of quality and safety of 
fermen ted sausages . 
 
During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following documents:  
 
The Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act, Cap 254 of the Laws of Kenya.  
 
International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods - Micro -organisms in Foods, 
Book 8.  
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from these sources . 
 
  
KENYA STANDARD               KS 284 5:2020 
 
 
© KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved    1  
Fermented sausages (salami)  — Specification  
 
 
1 Scope   
 
This Kenya Standard specifies the quality and safety requirements, sampling and test method s for fermented 
sausages.  
 
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 reference d document (including any amendments) applies.  
 
AOAC 971.21 , Mercury in food by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS)  
 
AOAC 986.15, Arsenic, cadmium, lead, selenium, and zinc in human and pet foods by atomic absorption 
spectrometry (AAS) and anodic stripping voltammetry  (ASV)  
 
AOAC 999.10,  Lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, and  iron in foods by glass furnace atomic absorption 
spectroscopy (GFAAS)  and by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS)  
 
CAC/MRL 2 , Maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs in food  
 
KS ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration  and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
 
KS 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  
 
KS ISO 10272 -2, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for detection and enumeration of 
Campylobacter spp. — Part 2: Colony -count technique  
 
KS ISO 11290 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of 
Listeria monocytogenes and of Listeria spp. — Part 1: Detection method  
 
KS ISO/TS 13136:2012 Microbiology of food and animal feed — Real-time polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) -
based method for the detection of food -borne pathogens — Horizontal method for the detection of Shiga toxin -
producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and the determination of O157, O111, O26, O103 and O145 serogroups  
 
KS CAC/RCP 68, Code of Practice for the Reduction of Contamination of Food with Polycyclic Aromatic 
Hydrocarbons (PAH) from Smoking and Direct Drying Processes  
 
KS CODEX STAN 192 , General st andard for food additives  
 
KS EAS 12 , Potable water — Specification   
  
2  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved  KS EAS 35 , Edible salt — Specification  
 
KS EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — General requirements  
 
KS EAS 39 , Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
 
KS EAS 32 1, Edible fats and oils — Specification  
 
KS 166, Methods for the chemical analysis of meat and meat products  
 
KS 2761, Meat hygiene — Code of practice  
 
KS 2763, Meat speciation — Test method  
 
3 Terms and d efinitions  
 
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
 
3.1 
meat  
all parts of an animal that are intended for and have been judged as safe and suitable for human consumption  
 
3.2 
fermentation  
the anaerobic breakdown of sugar into lactic acid (by microorganisms in the starter culture) within the batter, 
which lowers the pH of the batte r  
 
3.3 
starter culture  
a commercial preparation of microorga nisms for fermenting the batter. Shelf stable means food that has been 
processed so that it can be safely stored at room temperature for a period of time  
 
3.4 
batter mix  
all the ingredients in a recipe that have been combined prior to filling a casing  
 
3.5 
ready -to-eat  
products that ar e intended to be consumed without any further biocidal steps.  
 
3.6 
salami  
meat such as livestock and poultry that are minced or crushed, added with salt or starter, and then filled into 
casings, have stable microbial characteristics and typical fermented a romas after fermentation, drying, and 
ripening . 
 
3.7 
food animal  
animals declared as such under the laws of Kenya  
 
3.8 
smoking  KS 284 5:2020 
 
© KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved    3 the process of flavoring  browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or 
smold ering material, most often wood  
 
3.9  
Fermented sausages (Ready -to-eat) 
Sausages used fresh or frozen livestock and poultry meats as their main raw materials together with other 
ingredients, that have undergone mixing, seasoning, dicing,  stranding/chopping, filling,  curing or not, microbial 
fermentation, drying, ripening, molding or not, smoking or not, slicing or not, packaging and other processing 
technologies are processe d into ready -to-eat meat products . 
4 Requirements  
 
4.1 General requirements  
 
4.1.1  Fermented sausage meat shall be derived from food animals slaughtered in a hygienically managed 
slaughter -house and subjected to ante -mortem and post -mortem examination according to the procedure 
prescribed in KS 2761.  
 
4.1.2  The meat from which the produc t is prepared shall be of a quality suitable for human consumption free 
from objectionable odours, fore ign matter and discoloration.  
 
4.1.3  The product shall be prepared, handled and delivered under hygienic conditions.  
 
4.1.4  The product shall be prepare d in a facility which is complying with KS EAS 39.  
 
4.2 Raw materials requirements  
 
4.2.1  Meat shall be derived from animals slaughtered in a hygienically managed slaughter house complying 
with KS 2761.  
 
4.2.2  Curing agents complying with t he Food, Drugs and Chemical Substance s Act, Cap. 254 of the Laws 
of Kenya.  
 
4.2.3  Food additives used in fermented sausages shall be complying with the Food, Drugs and Chemical 
Substances Act, Cap. 254 of the Laws of Kenya and KS CODEX STAN 192.  
 
4.2.4  Fats complying with KS EAS 321.  
 
4.2.5  Salt complying with KS EAS 35 .  
 
4.2.6  Food grade sausage casing and starter culture complying with relevant Kenya S tandards .  
 
4.3 Optional ingredients  
 
All optional ingredients used shall be of food grade quality and conform to applicable Kenya  Standards.   
 
4.3.1  Sucrose, invert sugar, dextrose (glucose), lactose, maltose, glucose syrup (including corn syrup).  
 
4.3.2  Spices, seasonings and condiments complying with respective Kenya Standards . 
 
4.3.3  Where smoke is used, precaution should be taken in compliance with KS CAC/RCP 68 . 
  
4  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved  4.4 Sensory  and quality  requirements  
Fermented sausages (ready -to-eat) shall meet the following quality requirements:  
1. for products in whole pieces, their casings will not be damaged and will be adhered to the filling;  
2. that filling on the cross -section has the appearance of a mosaic of roughly uniform pieces of meat and 
fat tissue, which are evenly distributed.  
3. there are n o cavities and cracks on the section;   
4. have a stable colo ur and a pleasant and characteristic smell and taste;  
5. have the characteristic consistency except in spreadable fermented sausage  
6. The final product shall have the characteristic smell and taste that the fermented sausages should 
have  and free from staining and contamination from the container.  
 
 
5 Compositional requirements  
 
Fermented sausages and sausage meat shall comply with the compositional and quality requirements given 
in Table 1  when tested in accordance with the methods given therein.  
 
Table 1 — Compositional requirements for fermented sausages  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6 Hygienic requirements  
 
6.1  The processing of raw -fermented sausages is dominated by biological and biochemical processes 
and raw meat materials of excellent hygienic quality are a precondition for the correct functioning of such 
processes . 
 
6.2  Raw-fermented sausages shall be prep ared, handled and stored in accordance with the approp riate 
sections of KS EAS 39 and  KS 2761 .  
 
6.3 All workers shall use appropriate personal protective equipment that does not contaminate the product.  
 
6.4 All workers shall undergo a food handlers test before their deploym ent and every so often as per the 
Public Health Act , Cap. 242 of the Laws of Kenya  and Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act , Cap. 254 
of the Laws of Kenya . 
 
6.5 Necessary precautions shall be taken to prevent incidental contamination of the product from soiled 
and/or dirty equipment or from persons suffering from injuries.  S/N Characteristic  Raw/sausage 
meat  Semi dry and dry 
fermented salami  Test 
method  
Limit for the final 
products  
(% m/m)  Limit for the final 
products  
(% m/m)  
i.  
 Total meat content,  min. 52 52  
 
KS 166  
 ii.  Moisture content, max.  65 65 
iii.  Fat content, max.  30 60 
iv.  Total ash, (max.) on dry weight  3 6 KS 284 5:2020 
 
© KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved    5  
6.6 All equipment coming into contact with raw material or product in the course of manufacture shall be 
kept clean.  
 
6.7 Adequate supply of running p otable water that complies with KS EAS 12 and/or steam/boiling water, 
brushes, and other equipment necessary for proper cleaning of machinery/equipment shall be available.  
 
6.8 The equipment shall be cleaned, sanitized and/or disinfected using an appropria te food grade agent 
or with hot water at a temperature above 82 ºC.  
 
7 Sampling  
The sampling of the fermented sausages shall be in accordance to CAC/GL 50 General guidelines on sampling  
 
Microbiological limits   
Fermented sausages shall not contain any pathogenic organisms and shall comply with microbiological limits 
given in Table 2  when tested in accordance with the methods given therein.  
 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for fermented sausages  
 
S/N Type of organism  Limit, m ax. Test method  
 
 Hygiene parameters    
i.  Coagulase positive 
Staphylococcus aureus  ≤ 20 cfu/g  KS ISO 6888 -1 
 Food safety parameters    
ii.  Esch erichia  coli  0157:H7  Absent in 25  g ISO/TS 13136  
iii.  Salmonella spp Absent in 25  g KS ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Listeria monocytogenes  Absent in  25  g KS ISO 11290 -1 
v.  Campylobacter a Absent in 25 g  KS ISO 10272 -2 
a For poultry  products.  
 
8 Meat identification  
 
The identification/isolation of meat used in fermented sausages shall be done according to the Polymerase 
Chain Reaction test as per KS 2763 or any other validated test method.  
 
9 Pesticides and Veterinary drug residues  
 
9.1 Veterinary drug residues  
 
The products covered by this standard shall comply with the maximu m residue limits specified in  CAC/MRL 2 . 
 
9.2 Pesticide residues  
 
Fermented sausages shall comply with the maximum residue limits set by Codex Alimentarius Commission .  
  
6  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved  10 Heavy metal contaminants  
 
Fermented sausages shall not contain heavy metal contaminants in excess of the limits given in Table 3  when 
tested in accordance with the methods given therein.  
 
Table 3 — Limits for heavy metal contaminants in fermented sausages  
 
S/N Heavy metal  Maximum l imit, 
ppm Test method  
i.  Arsenic (A s) 0.1 AOAC 986.15  
 
ii.  Lead (Pb)  0.1 AOAC 999.10  
 
iii.  Cadmium  (Cd) 0.05 AOAC 986.15  
 
iv.  
 Mercury  (Hg) 0.03 AOAC 971.21  
 
NOTE  Where a risk assessment indicated the possibility of occurrence of other heavy metal 
contaminants not listed, then the product shall be tested.  
 
 
11 Packaging  
 
11.1 Packaging of fermented sausages shall be done in food grade packaging materials that protect the 
product from any physical, microbiological, chemical or any other type of contamination during storage and 
distribution.  
 
11.2 The packages shall be able to w ithstand the rigors of handling and transportation and shall not be 
exposed to direct sun or rain.  
 
12 Labelling  
 
Labelling of fermented sausages shall be done in accordance with the requirements stipulated in KS EAS 38, 
and shall include the following:  
  
a) description /name of the product (type of meat or meats used) as appropriate;  
 
b) list of ingredients in descending order;  
 
c) nutritional information;  
 
d) allergens declaration;  
 
e) name, location and address of manufacturer;  
 
f) net weight, in g or kg;  
 
g) declaration as “fermented” and “ready to eat’;  
 
h) date of production/manufacture;  
 KS 284 5:2020 
 
© KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved    7 i) expiry date;  
 
j) batch number;  
 
k) instructions for use;  
 
l) storage conditions and temperature of storage; and  
 
m) country of origin or “Made in Kenya” for locally manufactured products.