DRAFT KENYA STANDARDS        DKS 2890 :2019 
            ICS 67.020  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Food fortification premix and fortificants — Specification   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 20 19         First Edition 20 19  DKS 2890 :2019 
ii                           © KEBS 2019 — All rights reserved   TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
Egerton University – Department of Human Nutrition  
Jomo Kenyatta University of Science & Technology – Department of Food Science and Technology  
Ministry of Health – Nutrition and Dietetics Unit  
Ministry of Health – Food Safety Unit  
Kenyatta National Hospital  
Nestle foods  
Danone Ltd  
Kenya Association of Manufacturers  
Government Chemist  
Kenya Medical Research Institute  
Unga Limited  
Proctar and Allan  
Kenya Bureau of Standards ― Secretariat  
 
 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya st andards shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestion 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. 12 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyright subsists in 
all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau of Standa rds may 
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing from the Managing 
Director.  
 DRAFT KENYA STANDARD         DKS 2890 :2019 
ICS 67.020  
© KEBS 2018 — All rights reserved                           iii  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Food fortification premix and fortificants - Specification   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 5497 4, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020) 604031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org,  Web:http://www.kebs.org   
 
Coast Region     Lake Region        North Rift Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa -80100   P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu -40100    P.O. Box 2138, Naku ru-20100  
Tel.: (+254 041) 229563, 230939/40                Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396    Tel.: (+254 051) 210553, 210555  
Fax: (+254 041) 229448                                 Fax: (+254 057) 21814   DKS 2890 :2019 
iv                           © KEBS 2019 — All rights reserved  Foreword  
This Ke nya Standard was prepared by a joint com mittee of  Processed Cereals and Pulses  and Nutrition and 
Foods for Special Dietary Uses  TC under the guidance of the Standards Project Committee, and it is in 
accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau of Standards.  
These specifications  are intende d to ensure the quality of premix and fortificants are produced in a manner that 
will provide all the required nutrients and ensure final products comply with the respective standards. The 
specification will assist quality assurance at industries in ensuri ng consistency and compliance to the standards. 
They are developed taking into account the final product specifications as well as expected normal factory 
overages.  
During the preparation of this standard , reference was made to  the following documents  
 
Guidelines on food fortification with micronutrients, 2006, WHO/FAO . 
CAC /GL 09 – 1987: General principles for the addition of essential nutrients to foods . 
Vitamin and Mineral requirements in Human Nutrition, WHO/FAO, 2004, 2nd Edition . 
Acknowledgement is he reby made for the assistance derived from the above sources . 
 
 
  
DRAFT KENYA STANDARD       DKS 2890 :2019 
 
© KEBS 201 9 — All rights reserved                           1 Food fortification premix and fortificants - Specification  
1  Scope  
This Draft Kenya  Standard specifies the requirements, method of test and sampling of food fortification premix 
and fortifi cants.  
It applies to premixes and fortificants intended for use in wheat flour, maize flour, composite flours , sugar, fat 
spreads  and edible oils and fats  
2 Normative references  
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of th is document. For dated 
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document 
(including any amendments) applies.  
KS EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — General requirements  
KS EAS 39 , Code o f practice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  
KS ISO 20633  Infant formula and adult nutritionals -- determination of vitamin e and vitamin a by normal phase 
high performance liquid chromatography  
AOAC SMPR 2015.002  Standard Method Per formance Requirements (SMPRs) for Total Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) in 
Infant and Adult/ Pediatric Nutritional Formula  
AOAC SMPR 2015.003  Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPRs) for Total Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 
in Infant and Adult/ Pediatric Nutritional  Formula  
AOAC SMPR 2015.004  Standard M ethod Performance Requirements  (SMPRs) for Total Vitamin B3 (Niacin) in 
Infant and Adult/ Pediatric Nutritional Formula  
AOAC 961.15  Official Methods for Vitamin B6 
AOAC 2004.05  Total Folates in Cereal  
KS ISO 27085  Anim al feeding stuffs -- determination of calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, 
iron, zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, arsenic, lead and cadmium by ICP -AES 
KS ISO 6869  Animal feeding stuffs -- determination of the contents of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, 
manganese, potassium, sodium and zinc -- method using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry  
AOAC 960.45  official method for Vitamin A in margarine  
Public Health Act, Cap. 242  
3 Definition  
For the purpose s of this standard , the following definition s shall apply:  
3.1 
diluent  
suitable, inert, edible food-grade carrier for micronutrients   DKS 2890 :2019 
 
2          © KEBS 2019 — All rights reserved  3.2  
fortification  
practice of deliberately adding micronutrient(s), i.e. 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  
3.3  
fortification premix  
blend of fortificants and diluents formulated to provide specified and determinable amounts of micronutrients  
3.4  
fortificant  
The micronutrient that is intended to be added to food vehicle  
3.5  
food v ehicle  
food products intended to be used for fortification such as wheat flour, maize flour, composite flour, fat spreads, 
sugar and edible oils and fats  
3.6 
micronutrient  
A 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  
3.7 
overage  
refers to the additional amount of fortificant added to the prem ix/ food to compensate for losses that do occur 
during processing, distribution and storage,  which will ensure the fortified food delivers the targeted level of 
nutrients at the time the food is used.  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  The add ition rate for the premix or the fortificants in the final products shall be 500 g/MT  
4.1.2  The fortificants may be mixed with diluents or carrier as appropriate to form a premix. The nutrients and 
diluents shall conform to  either:  
 British Pharmacopoeia  (BP),  
 Food Chemical Codex  (FCC) , 
 Merck Index  (MI), 
 United States National Formulary  (NF),  DKS 2890 :2019 
 
© KEBS 201 9 — All rights reserved                            3    European Pharmacopoeia  (Ph. Eur ), 
 United States Pharmacopoeia (USP);  or 
 FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).  
4.2 Specific requirements  
4.2.1  The food fortific ation premix and food fortificants shall be formulated so as to comply with Table 1, 2, 3 and 
4 for the respective food vehicle.  
4.2.2  The results of analysis shall be the nutrient content of the premix or fortificant as specified in the nutrient 
column of  each table.  
Note 1  
The formulation takes into account 15 %  and 20 % overage  for minerals and vitamins respectively  calculated from the 
minimum final product standard specifications   
Table 1 – Premix for Maize  milled products  and Composite  flour  
Nutrient  Nutrient Compound  g /kg of 
premix1 Method of test  
Vitamin A as 
Retinol  Vitamin A (Retinyl) palmitate , spray - dried or 
equivalent, 0.075 % retinol,  min      1 KS ISO 20633  
Vitamin B1  Thiamin Mononitrate, activity level, 81 %, min.      7 AOAC SMPR 2015.00 2 
Vitamin B2  Riboflavin, activity level, 100 %, min.      5 AOAC SMPR 2015.003  
Vitamin B3  Niacinamide, activity level, 99 %, min     36 AOAC SMPR 2015.004  
Vitamin B6  Pyridoxine, activity level,  82 %, min.     5 AOAC 961.15  
Folates  Folic acid, activity le vel, 100 %, min.     1 AOAC 2004.05  
Vitamin B12  Vitamin B12 (Water soluble), activity level, 0.1 %, 
min.    0.02 AOAC 952.20  
Iron NaFeEDTA  activity level, 13 % Fe, min.     21 KS ISO 27085  
KS ISO 6869  
Zinc Zinc oxide, activity level, 80 %, min.    76 KS ISO 27085  
KS ISO 6869  
1Refer to clause 4.2.2  
 
Table 2  – Premix for wheat flour  
Nutrient  Nutrient Compound   g/kg of premix1 Method of test   DKS 2890 :2019 
 
4          © KEBS 2019 — All rights reserved  Vitamin A 
as Retinol  Vitamin A (Retinyl) palmitate , spray - dried or 
equivalent, 0.075 % retinol,  min  1 ISO 20633  
Vitamin B1  Thiamin Mononitrate, activity level, 81 %, min.  11 AOAC SMPR 
2015.002  
Vitamin B2  Riboflavin, activity level, 100 %, min.  8 AOAC SMPR 
2015.003  
Vitamin B3  Niacinamide, activity level, 99 %, min  72 AOAC SMPR 
2015.004  
Vitamin B6  Pyridoxine, acti vity level,  82 %, min.  7 AOAC 961.15  
Folates  Folic acid, activity level, 100 %, min.  3 AOAC 2004.05  
Vitamin B12  Vitamin B12 (Water soluble), activity level, 0.1 %, 
min. 0.02 AOAC 952.20  
Iron NaFeEDTA,  activity level, 13 % Fe, min.  21 ISO 27085  
 ISO 686 9:2000  Ferrous fumarate   activity level, 32 %, min  
Zinc Zinc oxide, activity level, 80 %, min.  92 ISO 27085  
 ISO 6869:2000  
1Refer to clause 4.2.2  
 
Table 3 – Vitamin A fortificant for sugar  
Nutrient  Nutrient Compound  g/kg of premix1 Method of test  
Vitamin A 
as Retinol  Retinyl Palmitate 250 IU/g (dry)  12 ISO 20633  
1Refer to clause 4.2.2  
 
Table 4 – Vitamin A fortificant for edible oils, fats and fat spreads  
Nutrient  Nutrient Compound  g/kg of premix1 Method of test  
Vitamin A 
as Retinol  Retinyl Palmit ate 1.7 M IU/g oil  48 AOAC 960.45  
1Refer to clause 4.2.2   DKS 2890 :2019 
 
© KEBS 201 9 — All rights reserved                            5    
5 Contaminants  
The premix  and fortificants  shall be practically free from heavy metals in amounts, which may represent a hazard 
to human health in fortified products  
6 Hygiene  
6.1 The premixes an d fortificants  shall be prepared and packaged in the premises built and maintained under 
hygienic conditions in compliance  with the Public Health Act, Cap. 242, of the Laws of Kenya and KS EAS 39.  
6.2 Premixes and fortificants shall not contain any pathoge nic microorganisms in amounts that may present a 
health hazard to the consumer   
7 Packaging  
7.1 The Premix  and fortificant  shall be packaged in containers, which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, 
technological, and organoleptic qualities of the pro duct.  
7.2 The packaging materials shall be made of substances, which are safe and suitable for their intended 
use. They shall not impart any toxic substance or undesirable o dour or flavour to the product.  
8 Labelling  
In addition to the provisions of KS EAS 38 the following information shall be inscribed on the external surface of 
the container or package;  
a) name of the product : for flour premixes is shall be  ‘wheat flour premix  or maize /composite  flour premix. 
For sugar and fats/oils it shall be lebel as “Vitamin A fortificant for  XX’ where XX may either be sugar or 
oils 
b) nutrient compound used;  
c) addition rate declared as 500g/MT  
d) storage condition  
e) Instructions /direction  for use