AFRICAN 
STANDARD  DARS  
470 
Third  Edition 2023 
 
 Reference No. DARS 470:2023 
ICS 67.060  
 
 
© ARSO 2023  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wheat flour — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DARS 470: 2023  
ii © ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved   
Table of contents  
 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
4 Qual ity requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  3 
4.1 Raw materials  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  3 
4.2 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  3 
4.3 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  3 
4.4 Self-raising flour  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  3 
5 Food additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  4 
5.4 Azordicarbonamide (ADA) and potassium bromate  ................................ ..............................  4 
6 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  4 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 5 
7.1 Heavy metals  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  5 
7.2 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  5 
7.3 Mycotoxins  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................  5 
8 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 5 
9 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  5 
10 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  6 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  7 
 
  DARS 470: 2023  
© ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  iii Foreword  
 
The African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) 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 harmonize 
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 A frican Standards is normally carried 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, Regio nal 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 techni cal 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 possibility 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 the ARSO Technica l Committee on Cereals, pulses and derived 
products  (ARSO/TC 12). 
 
 
 
© African Organisation for Standardisation 2023 — All rights reserved* 
 
ARSO Central Secretariat  
International House 3rd Floor  
P. O. Box 57363 — 00200 City Square  
NAIROBI, KENYA  
 
Tel. +25 4-20-2224561, +254 -20-3311641, +254 -20-3311608  
 
E-mail: arso@arso -oran.org  
Web: www.arso -oran.org  
  
                                                 
* © 2023 ARSO — All rights of exploitation reserved worldwide for African Member States’ NSBs.  DARS 470: 2023  
iv © ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved   
Copyright notice  
 
This ARSO document is copyright -protected by ARSO. While the reproduction of this document 
by participants in the ARSO standards development process is permitted without prior permission 
from ARSO, neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or 
trans mitted in any form for any other purpose without prior written permission from ARSO.  
 
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 request er: 
 
 
© African Organisation for Standardisation 2023  — All rights reserved  
 
ARSO Central Secretariat  
International House 3rd Floor  
P.O. Box 57363 — 00200 City Square  
NAIROBI, KENYA  
 
Tel: +254 -20-2224561, +254 -20-3311641, +254 -20-3311608  
 
 
E-mail: arso@arso -oran.org  
Web: www.arso -oran.org  
 
Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement. 
Violators  may be prosecuted.  
 
 
 
  DARS 470: 2023  
© ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  v Introduction  
 
This revised standard has incorporated the specific compositional requirements for wheat flour. The 
standard prescribe s the permissible levels of food additives in wheat flour. Microbiological requirements 
for wheat flour have also been stipulated.  
 
This African Standard is a technical revision of the second edition  ARS 4 70:2016 (E), Wheat flour — 
Specification  which is her eby superseded and cancelled.  
 
 DARS 470:202 3 
© ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  1  
Wheat flour — Specification  
 
1 Scope  
 
This Draft African Standard  specifies the requirements , test methods and sampling for wheat flour  
prepared from common wheat (Triticum aestivum  L.) or club wheat ( Triticum compactum  Host), or their 
mixtures intended for human consumption.  
 
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 (in cluding any amendments) applies.  
 
ARS 53, General principles of food hygiene — Code of practice  
 
ARS 56, Prepackaged foods — Labelling  
 
ARS 465, Wheat — Specification  
 
CODEX STAN 192, General standard for food additives  
 
CODEX STAN 150, Standard for food grade salt  
 
ISO 1871,  Food and feed products — General guidelines for the determination of nitrogen by the 
Kjeldahl method  
 
ISO 2171,  Determination of ash content  
 
ISO 2591 -1, Test sieving — Part 1: Methods using test sieves of woven wire cloth and perforated metal 
plate  
 
ISO 4833, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
microorganisms — Colony -count technique at 30 degrees C  
 
ISO 5498,  Agricultural food products — Determination crude fibre content — General method  
 
ISO 6540, Maize — Determination of moisture content (on milled grains and on whole grains)  
 
ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp.  
 
ISO 6888  (all parts) , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species)  
 
ISO 16050, Foodstuffs — Determinat ion of aflatoxin B 1, and the total content of aflatoxins B 1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products — High-performance liquid chromatographic method  
 
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  
 
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 24333, Cereals and cereal products — Sampling  
 
AFRICAN STANDARD  DARS 470:2023  
2 © ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  3 Term s and definitions  
 
For the purpose of this docu ment,  the following terms and definition s apply . 
 
3.1 
wheat flour  
product prepared from common wheat grain ( Triticum aestivum  L.) or club wheat ( Triticum compactum  
Host) or their mixtures by grinding or milling process  
 
3.3 
white wheat flour  
patent wheat flour  
obtained by milling wheat grains at extraction rates that leaves negligible amounts of bran  
 
3.4 
bakers flour  
white wheat flour obtained by milling wheat intended for bread making  
 
3.5 
household or home baking flour  
product prepared from common wheat  grain ( Triticum aestivum  L.) or club wheat ( Triticum compactum  
Host) or their mixtures by grinding or milling process  
 
3.6 
biscuit flour  
white wheat flour obtained by milling a blend of hard and soft wheat with a high percentage of soft wheat 
for biscuit manufacture  
 
3.7 
cracker flour  
white wheat flour obtained by milling low protein wheat with no improvers  
 
3.8 
self-raising flour  
white wheat flour obtained by milling a blend of soft and hard wheat to which raising agents are added  
 
3.9 
standard flour  
wheat flour obtained by milling wheat grains at a higher extraction than home baking flour  
 
3.10 
soft wheat  
wheat with low gluten content, and a soft, floury endosperm ratio of not less than 70 % mass fraction; 
in general, it is suitable for cake, biscuit,  and low -volume breads  
 
3.11 
hard wheat  
wheat with kernels having a high hardness criterion  
 
3.12 
wholemeal flour  
wheat flour obtained by milling the entire wheat grain to fine particle size without any separation  
 
3.13 
atta flour  
wheat flour of high extraction rate or white wheat flour to which pollard and or bran are blended  
 
3.14 
food grade packaging material  DARS 470:202 3 
© ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  3 material which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, technological, and organoleptic qualities of the 
product  
 
3.15 
foreign matter  
organic  or inorganic material other than wheat flour  
 
4 Quality requirements  
 
4.1 Raw materials  
 
The wheat grain from which the flour is obtained shall be of sound quality, free from sand, have 
characteristic odour and flavour complying with ARS 465 . 
 
4.2 General  requirements  
 
4.2.1 All types of wheat flour shall have the characteristic colour and shall be free from any 
objectionable flavours and odours . 
 
4.2.2 The flour shall be free from insects, worms, fungal infestation, rodent contaminations and 
foreign matte r. 
 
4.2.3 The flour shall not contain flour from other cereals. However, the addition of malted barley flour 
not exceeding 1 % is permissible in the case of baker’s flour.  
 
4.3 Specific requirements  
 
The types of wheat flour shall comply with the specific requirements given in Table 1  when tested in 
accordance with the test methods specified therein . 
 
4.4 Self-raising flour  
 
In addition to the specifications given in Table 1, specific requirements for self -raising wheat flour may 
contain the following : 
 
4.4.1  Edible salt conforming to CODEX STAN 150 . 
 
4.4.2  Acid ingredients  
 
The acid ingredients shall be one or any combination of the following:  
 
a) sodium acid pyrophosphate;  
 
b) mono acid calcium phosphate;  
 
c) sodium aluminium phosphate;  and 
 
d) sodium bicarbonate shall be in sufficient amounts to provide not less than 0.4 % of available 
carbon  dioxide.  
 
  DARS 470:2023  
4 © ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved   
 
Table 1 — Specific requirements  for w heat flour  
 
Types of flour  Moistur
e 
content, 
max. %, 
m/m Crude 
Fibre 
content, 
max. %, 
m/m on 
dry 
matter 
basis  Total 
ash 
content, 
max. %, 
m/m on 
dry 
matter 
basis  Residue on 
sieving 
through 180 
micron 
sieve, max. 
% Protein 
content, 
min. %, 
m/m on 
dry matter 
basis  Mixture of 
acid-
ingredients 
and sodium 
bicarbonate 
added, max . 
%,  m/m   
White wheat 
flour  14 1.0 0.70 0.50 8.0  
Baker’s flour  14 1.0 0.80 0.80 11.0 - 
Home baking 
flour  14 
1.0 0.80 0.80 9.0 - 
Biscuit flour  14 1.0 0.8 0.80 8.0 - 
Cracker flour  14 1.0 0.80 0.80 8.0 - 
Self-raising 
flour  14 
1.0 3.0 0.80 8.0 4.5 
Standard flour  14 
1.5 1.10 30.0 11.0 - 
Atta flour  14 
2.0 2.0 55.0 12.0 - 
Whole -meal 
flour  14 
2.0 2.0 30.0 12.0 - 
Test method  ISO 
6540  ISO 
5498  ISO 2171  ISO 2591 -1 ISO 1871  - 
 
5 Food additives  
 
Wheat flour shall contain only permitted additives specified in CODEX STAN 192 . 
 
5.4 Azordicarbonamide (ADA) and potassium bromate  
 
This substance is not allowed  in wheat flour.  
 
6 Hygiene  
 
6.1 Wheat f lour shall be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with the provisions of 
appropriate sections of ARS 53 . 
 
6.3 The product shall be free from pathogenic micro -organism and shall comply with 
microbiological limits  for wheat flour  as given in Table 2  when tested in accordance with the test 
methods specified therein . 
 
  DARS 470:202 3 
© ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  5  
 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits  for wheat flour  
 
S/N Micro -organism  Requirement  Test m ethod  
i.  Total plate count, cfu/g  105 ISO 4833  
ii.  Staphylococcus aureus cfu/g max . 102 ISO 6888  
iii.  Escherichia coli, MPN , max.  Absent  ISO 16649 -2 
iv.  Salmonella , per 25  g, max.  Absent  ISO 6579  
v.  Yeasts and moulds,  cfu/g, max.  104 ISO 21527 -2 
 
7 Contaminants  
 
7.1 Heavy metals  
 
Wheat flour shall comply with those maximum limits for heavy metals established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.  
 
7.2 Pesticide residues  
 
Wheat flour  shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.  
 
7.3 Mycotoxins  
 
Wheat flour  shall comply with those maximum mycotoxin limits established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission for this commodity. In particular, total aflatoxins in wheat flour  shall not exceed 10 µg/kg 
and 5 µg/kg for aflatoxin B 1 when tested in accordance with ISO 16050 and total fumonisins shall be 
not more than 1 mg/kg when determined using validated methods.  
 
8 Packaging  
 
8.1 Wheat  flour shall  be packaged in containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, 
technological, and organoleptic qualities of the product.  
 
8.2 The containers, including packaging material, shall be food grade.  
 
8.3 When the product is packaged in sacks, these shall be clean, sturdy and strongly sewn or 
sealed.  
 
 
9 Labelling  
 
9.1 Labelling of retail packages  
 
In addition to the requirements in ARS 56 , each package shall be legibly and indelibly marked with the 
following:  
 
a) product name as “ Wheat flour” ; 
 
b) type of wheat flour ; 
 
c) name, address and physical location of the manufacturer/ packer/importer;  
 
d) lot/batch/code number;  
 DARS 470:2023  
6 © ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  e) net weight, in kg;  
 
f) the declaration “Food for Human Consumption’’;  
 
g) storage instruction as “Store in a cool dry place away from any contaminants’’;  
 
h) date of manufacture;  
 
i) ‘best before ’ date;  
 
j) instructions on disposal of used package;  and 
 
k) country of origin . 
 
9.2 Non-retail container  
 
Information for non -retail containers shall either be given on the container or in accompanying 
documents, except that the name of the product, lot identification and the name and address of the 
manufacturer or packer shall appear on the container. However, lot identification and the name and 
address of the manufacturer or packer may be replaced by a n identification mark, provided that such a 
mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanying documents . 
 
10 Sampling  
 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 24333 . 
 
 
  DARS 470:202 3 
© ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved  7 Bibliography  
 
 
[1] EAS 1:2012, Wheat flour — Specification  
 
[2] CODEX STAN 152 -1985 (Rev. 1 - 1995), CODEX Standard for wheat flour  
 
[3] Department of Agriculture, Regulation Gazette No. 30782, 22 February 2008, Agricultural 
Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990), Regulations relating to the grading, packing  
and marking of wheat products intended for sale in the Republic of South Africa  
 
 
 
 DARS 470:202 3 
© ARSO 2023 — All rights reserved