FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
  DUS DEAS 923  
Second  Edition  
2018-mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
DUS DEAS 923 : 2018 
© UNBS 201 8 
  
Instant tea — Specification 
 DUS DEAS 923: 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 
permission 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: +256 417 333 250 /1/2 
Fax: +256 414 286 123 
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 DUS DEAS 923: 2018 
© UNBS  2018 - All rights reserved                iii National 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 representatives of 
consumers, traders, academicians, manufacturers, government and other stakeholders. 
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 recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
This Uganda Standard, DUS DEAS 923: 2018 , Instant Tea — Specification,  is identical with  and has been 
reproduced from an East African Standard, DEAS 923: 2018, Instant Tea — Specification , and adopt ed as a 
Uganda Standard. 
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS/TC 2, Food  and agriculture.  
This Second edition cancels and replaces the First edition, US ISO 6079:1990, Instant tea in solid form — 
Specification, which has been technically revised. 
Wherever the words, “ East African Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard." 
 
   DEAS 923: 2018  
ICS 67.160.10 
 
© EAC 2018                                                                                                                              First Edition 2018  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
Instant tea — Specification 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY DEAS 923: 2018  
ii © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice 
This EAC document is copyright-protected by EAC. While the reproduction of this document by 
participants in the EAC standards development process is permitted without prior permission from EAC, 
neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form for 
any other purpose without prior written permission from EAC. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document for the purpose of selling it should be addressed 
as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community 2018  — All rights reserved 
East African Community 
P.O. Box 1096, 
Arusha 
Tanzania 
Tel: + 255 27 2162100 
Fax: + 255 2 7 2162190 
E-mail: eac@eachq.org   
Web: www.eac-quality.net   
Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement. 
Violators may be prosecu ted. 
 DEAS 923: 2018  
© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword 
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee (EASC) mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards (EAS).  The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards. 
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC/002, Coffee, Tea, Cocoa and 
Related products.  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 923: 2018  
 
© EAC 2018 – All rights  reserved  1 
 Instant tea — Specification 
1 Scope 
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements sampling and test methods for instant tea of the 
species Camellia sinensis (Linneaus) O. Kuntze. 
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 (including any amendments) applies. 
EAS 38,  Labelling of Pre-packaged foods — General requirements  
ISO 7513,  Instant tea in solid form — Determination of moisture content (loss in mass at 103 degrees C) 
ISO 7514,  Instant tea in solid form — Determination of total ash  
ISO 7516,  Instant tea in solid form — Sampling 
ISO 10727, Tea and instant tea in solid form — Determination of caffeine content — Method using high -
performance liquid chromatography  
ISO 16649- 2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony-count technique at 44 °C using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-
indolyl-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 
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply. 
3.1 
Instant tea  
dried water dispersible solids obtained by acqueous extraction by an acceptable process of the leaves, buds 
and stems and of materials derived therefrom, of those varieties of the species  Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze 
exclusively which are known to be suitable for making tea for consumption as a beverage, and the residue if 
any of permitted process aids and permitted food additives  
3.2 
black tea 
Tea derived solely and exclusively, and produced by acceptable processes, notably withering, leaf 
maceration, aeration and drying from leaves, buds and/or tender stems  of varieties of the species Camellia 
sinensis  (L) O. Kuntze, known to be suitable for making tea for consumption as a beverage   
2 © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  
 3.3 
foreign matter 
any material which is not of tea  origin e.g. sand , stones, metallic chips and any organic matter  
3.4 
extraneous matter 
any material which is not tea leaf, but of tea origin such as twigs, bark and stems 
3.5 
adulterant 
any materials that changes the original composition of a product, etc. 
3.6 
filth 
any material such as but not limited to dead insects, rodents and their derivatives 
4 Requirements 
4.1 Types of instant tea 
The product shall be classified in the following types: 
a) cold water soluble instant tea; 
b) hot water soluble instant tea; and 
c) green instant tea. 
4.2 General requirements 
Instant tea shall be: 
a) free from taint and have typic al appearance; 
b) soluble in water; 
c) free from living insects, moulds, filth and adulterants ; 
d) free from harmful substances; and 
e) free from foreign and extraneous matter 
NOTE Instant tea may be flavoured in accordance with CAC/GL 66. 
4.2 Specific requirements 
The instant tea shall comply with the specific requirements specified in Table 1 when tested in accordance 
with test methods specified therein.  
© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  3 
 Table 1 ▬ Specific requirements for instant tea  
S.N 
Parameter  Requirements  Test method  
i. i Moisture content on dry weight basis, 
m/m, %. 6.0 ISO 7513  
ii. i
i Caffeine on dry matter, m/m, % 8.0 ISO 10727  
iii. i
i
i Total ash on dry matter, m/m, % 40 ISO 7514  
5 Hygiene 
5.1 Instant tea shall be processed and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with EAS 39. 
5.2 Instant tea shall comply with microbiological requirements specified in Table 2 when tested in 
accordance with test method stated therein. 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for instant tea 
S/N micro -organism  Maximum limits  Test method  
i.  Yeasts and Moulds CFU/ g  104 ISO 21527 -2 
ii.  E. Coli, CFU/ g  Absent  ISO16649 -2 
6 Contaminants 
When tested in accordance with Annex A, the amount of iron filings in instant tea shall not exceed 50 mg/kg . 
7 Pesticide residues 
Instant tea shall comply with the maximum residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
8 Sampling 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 7516. 
9 Packaging  
The product shall be packaged in closed, clean and dry materials which do not compromise the quality and safety of 
instant tea. 
10 Labelling 
In addition to the requirements specified in EAS 38, each package of the black tea shall be legibly and 
indelibly marked with the following: 
a) name of the product as “instant Tea’’;   
4 © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  
 b) name and physical address  of the manufacturer/packer/ importer/ exporter; 
c) date of manufacture; 
d) best before; 
e) identification number 
f) net weight in g or kg; 
g) country of origin 
h) instruction for use and storage  
© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of iron filings 
A.1 Apparatus 
A.1.1 Magnet (at least 4000 gauss) 
A.1.2 Polythene sheet 
A.1.3 Petridish 
A.2 Procedure 
A.2.1 A known amount of (25 g) tea is spread evenly on a petridish 
A.2.2 A powerful magnet wrapped in polythene sheet is run over the sample repeatedly till no more iron 
filings cling to the magnet 
A.2.3 Collect the iron filings in a clean, dry and previously weighed petridish 
A.2.4 Note down and express the mass of iron filings as mg/kg  
A.3 Calculation 
 
Where; 
M1=Mass, in g, of iron filings, and 
M2=mass, in g, of sample taken for the test. 
 DEAS 923: 2018    
 
© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved