DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 1953  
First  Edition  
2018 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 1953 : 2018 
© UNBS 2018   
  
Vegetable and nut spread — Specification  
 DUS 1953 : 2018  
ii © UNBS 2018  – All rights reserved  
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct  application  
© UNBS 2018   
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior written 
permissi on from UNBS.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to  
The Executive Director  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
P.O. Box 6329  
Kampala  
Uganda  
Tel: +256 41 4 333 2 50/1/2/3  
Fax: +256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  DUS 1953 :2018  
© UNBS 2018  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade , Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327 , of the Laws of Uganda , as amended .  UNBS is mandated to co -
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT  Agreement  of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of key stakeholders 
including gover nment, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before r ecommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS /TC2, Food and agriculture , 
Subcommittee SC  6, edible oil seeds, fats  and oils . 
. DUS 1953: 2018  
v  
 Vegetable and nut spread  — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft Uganda standard the requirements and methods of sampling and test of vegetable and nut spread  
for human consumption . 
2 Normative references   
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 referenced document (including any amendm ents) applies.  
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods  
EAS 39, Code of practice for food and drink manufacturing industry  
US EAS 803, Nutrition labelling─ Requirements  
US EAS 804, Claims─ General Requirements  
US EAS 805, Use of nutrition and health claims ─ Requirements  
US ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp.  
US ISO 7251, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presum ptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
US ISO 21527, 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  
US 45, Food additives and contaminants  
US ISO 5555 , Animal and vegetable fats and oils – Sampling  
US ISO 3960, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of peroxide value — Iodometric (visual) 
endpoint determination  
US ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of the food chain -- Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms -- 
Part 1: Colony count at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique  
US ISO 12193, Animal and vegetable fats and oils -- Determination of lead by direct graphite furn ace atomic 
absorption spectroscopy  
US ISO 2590, General method for the determination of arsenic -- Silver diethyldithiocarbamate photometric 
method   
vi © UNBS 2018  – All rights reserved  
 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: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1 
nut spreads  
a fluid emulsion composed of a mixture of edible fats or oils and water m ainly intended to be used for the 
purposes of spreading to other foods  
3.6 
ingredient  
any substance including a food additive, used in the manufacture or preparation of the food and present in the 
final product.  
4  Requirements  
4.1 Ingredients  
4.1.1  Vegeta ble and n ut spread shall be prepared by grinding shelled and roasted blanched or unblanched 
edible nut oil  seeds ,or mixtures of these nuts complying with the relevant Uganda standards.  
4.1.2  Optional ingredients such as salt, honey, sugar, high fructose co rn syrup, molasses, monoglycerides  
vitamins, salt, proteins, stabilizers , milk products, anti-oxidants , cocoa powder/cocoa butter may be used.  
4.2 General requirements  
The vegetable and nut spread  shall   
a) be free from foreign and extraneous matter  
b) be smoot h, homogeneous  
c) not have bitter taste or rancid odour characteristic of spoilage  
d) have a freshly roasted and ground peanut odor and flavor with mild cocoa notes  if cocoa is used.  
e) be made from ingredients that are clean, sound, wholesome, and free from evid ence of rodent or 
insect infestation   
f) nut spreads may contain suitable added ingredients to prevent oil separation  
4.3  Specific requirements  
Vegetable and nut spreads  shall comply with requirements stipulated in table 1 below.  
s/n Charastistic  Requiremen t Test method  
1 Salt / 1 Not more than 1.6 percent  AOAC 950.5  
2 Peroxide value, mill 
equivalents peroxide -10 US ISO 3960   
© UNBS 2018  – All rights reserved  vii 
 oxygen/kg, maximum  
 
5.  Food additives  
Only the food additives permitted in US 45 standards for food additives may be used . 
6  Contam inants  
6.1 Pesticide  
Pre-cooked dehydrated pulse products shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established 
by CODEX Alimentarius commission for similar commodities . 
6.2 Heavy metals  
Pre-cooked dehydrated pulse products shall comply wi th those maximum heavy metal limits staed in table 2 
below when tested with the test methods stated there in.  
Table 2— Limits for contaminants  for nut spreads  
S/N. Parameter  Limit , max  Test Method  
1 Lead (Pb)  0.1 mg/kg  US ISO 12193  
2 Arsenic (As)  0.1 mg /kg US ISO 2590  
 
7  Hygiene  
7.1 Vegetable and n ut spreads shall be produced, processed, handled and stored in accordance with US 
EAS 39.  
7.2   Microbiological limit  
Vegetable and n ut spread shall com ply with  the microbial limits given  in Table 3 when test ed in accordance 
with the test methods prescribed therein  
Table 3 —Microbiological limit for nut spreads  
S/N. Micro -organism  Max. limit (Cfu)  Test method  
i) Total plate count per g , max   105 US ISO 4833 -1, 
iii) Salmonella spp per 25  Shall be absent  US ISO 6579  
iv) E.coli  per g  Shall be absent  US ISO 7251  
vi) Yeasts and moulds per g , max  103 US ISO 21527  
  
viii © UNBS 2018  – All rights reserved  
 8  Packaging  
Vegetable and n ut spreads shall be packaged in food grade containers and sealed in manner to ensure the 
safety and quality requirement s specified in this standard are maintained throughout the shelf life of the 
product  
9  Labelling  
9.1  In addition to the requirements in US EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply 
and shall be legibly and indelibly marked  on the container  
a) the name of the product to be declared on the label shall be ― vegetable / nut spread ” or accompanied 
by the specific name of the nut/s used ; 
b) name, location and physical address of th e manufacturer;  
c) net contents by weight in metric (` Systeme Intern ational') units ; 
d) country of origin ; 
e) lot identification ; 
f) the statement ―Store in a cool dry place and away from contaminants‖ ; 
g) best before date/expiry date;  
h) date of manufacture ; 
i) storage conditions ; 
j) instructions for disposal of used package ; 
k) list of ingredie nts; and  
l) if spiced or flavoured, salty or unsalted, allergens . 
11.2 Nutrition labelling   
The amount of micronutrients in the nut spread shall be declared on the label in accordance with  US EAS 803 . 
11.3 Nutrition and health claims  
Nut spread may have clai ms on the importance of the micronutrients in nutrition and health. Such claims when 
declared shall be consistent with US EAS 804 and US EAS 805 . 
10  Sampling  
Sampling of nut spreads shall be carried in accordance with US ISO 5555   
© UNBS 2018  – All rights reserved  ix 
 Bibliography   
x © UNBS 2018  – All rights reserved  
 Certification marking  
Products that conform to Uganda standards may be marked with Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
(UNBS) Certification Mark shown in the figure below.  
The use of the UNBS Certification Mark is governed by the Standar ds Act, and the Regulations made 
thereunder. This mark can be used only by those licensed under the certification mark scheme operated by 
the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and in conjunction with the relevant Uganda Standard. The 
presence of this mar k on a product or in relation to a product is an assurance that the goods comply with the 
requirements of that standard under a system of supervision, control and testing in accordance with the 
certification mark scheme of the Uganda National Bureau of Sta ndards. UNBS marked products are 
continually checked by UNBS for conformity to that standard.  
Further particulars of the terms and conditions of licensing may be obtained from the Director, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 
 WDUS 1953: 2018    
 
ICS 67.1 
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© UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved