DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS 523-1:2022  
ICS 67.060  
Second  Edition  
  
 © KEBS 2022   
 Breakfast cereals — Specification  
Part 1 : 
Rolled/flaked oats (quick -cooking type)   
 
 
DKS 523-1: 2022  
ii © KEBS 2022  – All rights reserved  
 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
Ministry of Health — Division of Nutrition  and Dietetics  
Ministry of Trade , Industry  and Investment  — State Department of Industry  
National Cereals and Produce Board  
University of Nairobi  
Egerton University  
Nestle Foods  
Government Chemist’s Department  
National Public Health Laboratory  
Kenya Medical Research Institute  
Capwel Industries  
Salim Wazaran  Kenya Company Ltd  
Mombasa Maize Millers  
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, 2022  
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 Standard s 
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.   DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS 523-1:2022  
ICS 67.060  
Second  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2022  – All rights reserved  iii 
  Breakfast cereals — Specification  
Part 1: 
Rolled/flaked oats (quick -cooking type)  
Kenya Bureau of Standards,  Popo Road, Off Mombasa Road,  
P.O. Box 54974 - 00200,  Nairobi, Kenya  
 +254 020 6948000, + 254 722202137, + 254 734600471  
 info@kebs.org  
 @KEBS_ke  
 kenya bureau of standards (kebs)  
  
DKS 523-1: 2022  
iv © KEBS 2022  – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
This Draft Kenya Standard was prepared by the Processed cereals and pulses  Technical Committee under the 
guidance of the Standards Projects Committee, and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau 
of Standards . 
Rolled/flaked oats form one of the commonly used breakfast foods . In its manufacture, cleaned oats ar e dried, 
and separated into various size groups . The oats which may be dehulled are treated to inactivates enzymes 
and partially cooks the groats, after which are then flaked by passage between two rolls. This  revision of this  
standard aimed reviewing qual ity composition parameters such as crude fibre, total ash to align then to current 
scientific knowledge and performance. In addition, safety parameters such as the heavy metal contaminants 
were aligned to current level within the Codex Standard for contami nants. The microbiological limits were also 
updated . 
This second  edition cancels and replaces the first edition (KS 523-1:2007 ), which has been technically revised.  
During the revision  of this standard, reference was made to the following documents:  
Codex Standard CXS 193 -1995 , General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed .  
Codex Standard CXS 201 -1995, Standard for Oats  
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from these sources.  DKS 523-1:2022  
© KEBS 2022  – All rights reserved  v 
  Contents  Page 
Foreword ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  iv 
1 Scope ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
4 Requ irements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 2 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
5 Food additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  3 
6 Hygiene requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  3 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 3 
7.1 Heavy metal contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  3 
7.2 Aflatoxin limit  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 3 
8 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
9 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  4 
10 Health and Nutr ition claims  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  4 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination of oats content  ................................ ................................ ..................  5 
Annex  B (normative)  Determination of flaked powder content  ................................ ................................ ... 6 
Annex  C (normative)  Test for cooking time  ................................ ................................ ................................  7 
Annex  D (normative)  Determination of lipase activity  ................................ ................................ ................  8 
 
  DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS 523-1:2022  
 
© KEBS 2022  – All rights reserved  1 
 Breakfast cereals — Specification  
Part 1: 
Rolled/flaked oats (quick -cooking type)  
1 Scope  
This part of Draft  Kenya Standard specifies  the requirements and methods of test for rolled/flaked oats (quick -
cooking type)  
2 Normative referenc es 
The following referenced documents 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 re ferenced document (including any amendments) applies   
KS EAS 38  Labelling of pre -packaged foods — Specification  
KS EAS 39  Code of practice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  
KS EAS 803  Nutrition labelling — Requirements  
KS EAS 804  Claims — General requirements  
KS EAS 805  Use of nutrition and health claims — Requirements  
KS CXS 192  General Standard for Food Additives  
KS CXS 201  Standard for Oats  
KS ISO 712  Cereals and cereal products — Determination of moisture content (Basic referen ce method)  
KS ISO 6633 Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of lead content — Flameless atomic 
absorption spectrometric method  
KS ISO 6579  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of Salmonella  
spp. 
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 11085  Cereals, cereals -based products and animal feeding stuffs -- Determination of crude fat and total 
fat content by the Randall extraction method  
KS ISO 16050 Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products — High-performance liqu id chromatographic method  
KS ISO 20483 Cereals and pulses — Determination of the nitrogen content and calculation of the crude protein 
content — Kjeldahl method  
KS ISO 21527 -2 Microbiology of food and animal feedstuffs — Horizontal method for the enumerati on of yeasts 
and moulds — Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water activity less than or equal to 0.95   
2 © KEBS: 2022 : – All rights reserved  
 KS ISO 23637  Determination of cadmium content by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with 
diluted nitric acid extraction  
3 Terms  and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
3.1 
dietary fibre  
carbohydrate polymers with ten or more monomeric units, which are not hydrolysed by the endogenous 
enzymes in the small intestine of humans and  belong to the following categories: edible carbohydrate polymers 
naturally occurring in the food as consumed; carbohydrate polymers, which have been obtained from food raw 
material by physical, enzymatic or chemical means  as well as synthetic carbohydrat e polymers, which have 
been shown to have a physiological effect of benefit to health as demonstrated by generally accepted scientific 
evidence to competent authorities .  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1 Rolled/flaked oat shall be processed from oat complying with KS CXS 201  
4.1.2 The rolled/flaked oats shall be of uniform size made from sound, hulled oats.  
4.1.3 The oat content shall be not less than 99 % when tested in accordance to Annex A  
4.1.5 When tested in accordance to Annex  B, the proportion of flaked powder  passing through 850 -micron sieve 
shall be not more than 12.5 % by mass.  
4.1.4 The rolled /flaked oats shall be free from rancid, musty, fermented or other undesirable taste and odour,  
or other adulterants. They shall al so be free from dirt, insects, extraneous and foreign matter  
4.1.5 Cooking time shall pass the test prescribed in Annex C.  
4.1.6 Lipase activity shall be negative when tested in accordance to Annex D  
4.2 Specific requirements  
Flaked/rolled oats shall compl y with specific requirements specified in table 1  
Table 1 – Specific requirements for flaked/rolled flakes  
Parameter  Requirement  Test Method  
Moisture, %, max.  12.0 KS ISO 712  
Total ash, %, max  6 KS ISO 2171  
Crude protein (N x 6.83) on 
dry matter basis, %, min  11.0 KS ISO 20483  
Fat, %, max  10.0 KS ISO 11085  
 DKS 523-1: 2022  
© KEBS 2022  – All rights reserved  3 
 5 Food additives  
Only the food additives permitted KS CXS 1 92 may be used without exceeding the limits provided.  
6 Hygiene requirements  
6.1 Flaked/rolled oats  shall be prepared  in premised  and handled in conformity  with KS EAS 39  
6.2 The Flaked/rolled oats shall comply with the microbiological limits given in Table 2.  
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for rolled /flaked oats  
Characteristic  Maximum l imits  Test m ethod  
Salmonella sp. count/g  Shall be absent  KS ISO 6579  
Escherichia coli count/g  < 10 KS ISO 7251  
Staphylococcus aureus  
count /g Shall be absent  KS ISO 6888 -1 
Mould/yeast per gram  <500  KS ISO 21527 -2 
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Heavy metal contaminants   
Rolled /flaked oats shall comply with the heavy metal contaminants given in Table 3.  
Table 3 — Heavy metal contaminants limits  
Contaminant  Maximum l imit in mg/kg  Test method  
Lead  0.2 KS ISO 6633  
Cadmium  0.1 KS ISO 23637  
7.2 Aflatoxin limit  
The rolled/flaked oats shall not exceed total aflatoxins  specified in Table 4  of 10 ppb and 5 ppb for aflatoxins 
B1.  
Table 4 - Aflatoxin limits in rolled/flaked oats  
Parameter  Maximum limit ( µg/kg)  Method of test  
Total aflatoxin  10  KS ISO 16050  
Aflatoxin B 1 5 
  
4 © KEBS: 2022 : – All rights reserved  
 8 Packaging  
 Rolled/flaked oats (quick -cooking type) shall be packed in well -sealed moisture proof food grade containers, 
which will protect the product from deterioration in quality and safety throughout the shelf life.  
9 Labelling  
Rolled/flaked oats shall be labelled in accordance to KS EAS 38. In addition to the requirement of KS EAS 38, 
the following information shall be provided  
a) Name of the product: The name of the product shall be ‘rolled o ats’ or ‘flaked oat’ ; and  
b) where a product’s dietary fibre content exceed s 5 % m/m, a statement declaring that the product is not 
recommended for children under the age of 5 years  shall be included on the label in easily legible font  
c) Nutrients shall be decl ared in accordance to KS EAS 803  
10 Health and Nutrition claims  
Health and nutrition claims where used shall be in compliance to KS EAS 804 and KS EAS 805  DKS 523-1: 2022  
© KEBS 2022  – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of oats content  
A.1 Procedure  
Weigh accurately about 100 g of the material  and record it as m1. Spread it out on a large sheet of paper. Using 
forceps, pick out grains other than oats  and weigh them a record them at m2. 
A.2 Calculation  
A.2.1        % by mass of oat = (𝑚1−𝑚2
𝑚1)100 
 
 Where  m1 is the mass in g weighed     
 m2 is the mass, in g of the picked grains other than oats.   
                  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
6 © KEBS: 2022 : – All rights reserved  
 Annex  B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of flake d powder content  
B.1 Apparatus  
B.1.1 850 -micron sieve (Aperture 0.850 mm), with a lid on top and receptacle below of a type suitable for use 
in a sieve shaker (see B.1.2).  
B.1.2 Sieve shaker  
A Ro -Tap or other suitable mechanical sieve shaker . 
 B.2 Procedure   
B.2.1  Weigh accurately about 100 g of the material  and record the mass as m1. Place on the sieve in the sieve 
shaker for 2 min. At the end of this period, weigh the material that has passed through the sieve and is collected 
in the receptacle  and record as m2. 
B.3 Calculation  
Material passing through the sieve, % by mass = (𝑚2
𝑚1)100 
Where  
m1 is the mass in g of the material taken for the test.  
m2 is the mass, in g, of the material passing through the sieve . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 523-1: 2022  
© KEBS 2022  – All rights reserved  7 
 Annex  C 
(normative)  
 
Test for cooking time  
C.1 Procedure  
C.1.1 Boil about 500 mL of water in an open vessel. Add to this about 60 g of the rolled/flaked oats. Allow to 
boil for exactly 5 min. At the end of this period, examine the material to determine whether it is cooked or not  
C.1.2 The material shall be deemed to pass the test, if it is properly cooked for table use in 5 min  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
8 © KEBS: 2022 : – All rights reserved  
 Annex  D 
(normative)  
 
Determination of lipase activity  
D.1 Principle  
Lipase serves no useful purpose in milled oat products and is inactivated during milling of the product. A check 
on the completeness  of lipase inactivation is made by applying the catechol test. If after stabilization, a reddish 
or reddish brown colour develops, it follows that the heat treatment used was insufficient to inactivate the 
dehydrogenase enzymes, and that other enzymes, in particular lipase, have survived also. This test should be 
negative for a good product.  
D.2 Preparation of the sample  
D.2.1 Grind the rolled/flaked oats.   
D.2.2 Make a 5 % solution of catechol (i.e. weigh 1 g of catechol to 20 -mL distilled water).   
D.3 Procedure  
Weigh about 1 g of the ground rolled/flaked oats and mix with 15 -mL distilled water in a test tube (carry out 
this in duplicate). In another test -tube, add only 15 -mL distilled water (no sample) as a control. Add 1 mL of 
the 5% catechol solution and let stand .  
D.4 Observations  
Note the development of a reddish or reddish brown colour. If the colour develops within 10 min, lipase activity  
is positive.  
NOTE All equipment should be heat sterilized. Rinse with distilled water  
 
. DKS 523-1:2022    
 
© KEBS 2022 – All rights reserved