UGANDA STANDARD  
  US EAS 803 
First  Edition  
2014-10-15 
 
 Reference number  
US EAS 803: 2014 
© UNBS 201 4 
  
Nutrition labelling — Requirements  
 US EAS 803: 2014 
ii                © UNBS  2014 - 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 2014 
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 41 505 995 
Fax: 256 41 286 123 
E-mail: unbs@infocom.co.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 US EAS 803: 2014 
© UNBS  2014 - All rights reserved                iii National foreword 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and 
Industry established under Cap 327 , of the Laws of Uganda. 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/SPS Agreements 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, US EAS 803: 2014, Nutrition labelling — Requirements , is identical with  and has been 
reproduced from an East African  Standard , EAS 803: 2014, Nutrition labelling — Requirements , and adopted  
as a Uganda Standard.  
This standard cancels and replaces US 500:2003, Requirements for nutrition labelling of foods, which has been 
technically revised 
 
Wherever the words, “ East African Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard."  
   EAS 803: 2014 
ICS 67.230  
© EAC 2014                                                                                                                           First Edition 2014  
 
EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
Nutrition labelling — Requirements 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY EAS 803: 2014 
ii © EAC  2014 – 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 2014 — All rights reserved 
East African Community  
P.O.Box 1096 
Arusha 
Tanzania 
Tel: 255 27 2504253/8 
Fax: 255 27 2504481/2504255 
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 persecuted EAS 803: 2014 
© EAC 2014 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents Page 
Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................  iv 
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... v  
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ............................................................  1 
2 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ...........................................................  1 
3 General principles for nutrition labelling  ................................ ............................................................  3 
4 Nutrient declaration  ................................ ................................ ...............................................................  3 
4.1 Application of nutrient declaration  ................................................................ ................................ ...... 3 
4.2 Listing of nutrients  ................................ ................................ ................................................................  3 
4.3 Calculation of nutrients  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 4 
4.3.1  Calculation of energy  ................................ ................................ ............................................................  4 
4.3.2  Calculation of protein ................................ ................................ ............................................................  4 
4.4 Presentation of nutrient content  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 4 
4.5 Tolerances and compliance  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 6 
5 Principles and criteria for legibility of nutrition labelling  ................................ ................................ .. 7 
5.1 General principles  ................................ ................................................................ ................................ . 7 
5.2 Specific features of presentation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 7 
6 Supplementary nutrition information  ................................................................ ................................ .. 7 
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................................ 8  
 
 EAS 803: 2014 
iv © EAC  2014 – All rights reserved  
 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.  
In order to achieve this objective, the Community established an East African Standards Committee mandated 
to develop and issue East African Standards.   
The Committee is composed of representatives of the National Standards Bodies in Partner States, together 
with the representatives from the private sectors and consumer organizations. 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 procedures 
of the Community. 
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 .  
EAS 803: 2014 was prepared by Technical Committee EASC/TC 009, Food packaging and labelling . 
 EAS 803: 2014 
© EAC 2014 – All rights reserved  v 
 Introduction 
The purpose of this standard is to ensure that: 
a) nutrition labelling is effective: 
i. in providing the consumer with information about a food so that a wise choice of food can be 
made; 
ii. in providing a means for conveying information of the nutrient content of a food on the label; 
iii. in encouraging the use of sound nutrition principles in the formulation of foods which would 
benefit public health; and  
iv. in providing supplementary nutrition information on the label; 
b) nutrition labelling does not describe a product or present information about it which is in any way 
false, misleading, deceptive or insignificant in any manner; and 
c) no nutritional claims are made without nutrition labelling. 
 
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  EAS 803:201 4 
 
© EAC 2014  – All rights reserved  1 
 Nutrition labelling – Requirements  
1 Scope 
This East African Standard specifies requirements for the nutrition labelling of foods. The standard applies to 
the nutrition labelling of all foods except for foods for special dietary uses.  
2 Normative references 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application 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  
EAS 805, Use of nutrition and health claims — Requirements  
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply   
3.1 
dietary fibre 
edible plant and animal material not hydrolysed by the endogenous enzymes of the human digestive tract as 
determined by the agreed upon method 
3.2 
food  
any substance, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, which is intended for human consumption, and 
includes drinks, chewing gum and any substance which has been used in the manufacture, preparation or 
treatment of “food” but does not include cosmetics or tobacco or substances used only as drugs  
3.3 
nutrient 
any substance normally consumed as a constituent of food: 
(a) which provides energy; or 
(b) which is needed for growth, development and maintenance of life; or 
(c) a deficit of which will cause characteristic bio-chemical or physiological changes to occur. 
3.4 
nutrient declaration 
standardized statement or listing of the nutrient content of a food  EAS 803: 2014 
2 © EAC  2014 – All rights reserved  
 3.5 
nutrition claim 
any representation which states, suggests or implies that a food has particular nutritional properties including 
but not limited to the energy value and to the content of protein, fat and carbohydrates, as well as the content 
of vitamins and minerals . The following do not constitute nutrition claims: 
(a) the mention of substances in the list of ingredients; 
(b) the mention of nutrients as a mandatory part of nutrition labelling; and 
(c) quantitative or qualitative declaration of certain nutrients or ingredients on the label. 
3.6 
nutrition labelling 
description intended to inform the consumer of nutritional properties of a food and consists of two 
components: 
(a) nutrient declaration; and  
(b) supplementary nutrition information. 
3.7 
Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs)  
set of numerical values that are based on scientific data for purposes of nutrition labelling and relevant claims. 
They comprise the following two types of NRVs:  
a) Nutrient Reference Values - Requirements (NRVs-R) refer to NRVs that are based on levels of 
nutrients associated with nutrient requirements; and 
b) Nutrient Reference Values - Non-communicable Disease (NRVs-NCD) refer to NRVs that are based 
on levels of nutrients associated with the reduction in the risk of diet-related non-communicable 
diseases not including nutrient deficiency diseases or disorders. 
3.8 
portion 
amount of food an individual eats for a meal such as lunch or other eating occasion. A portion can be bigger 
or smaller than a serving and is affected by many factors such as the indivi dual’s age, gender, activity level 
and appetite and where and when the food is obtained and eaten 
3.9 
polyunsaturated fatty acids 
fatty acids with cis-cis methylene interrupted double bonds  
3.10 
serving 
specific amount of food that contains the quantity of nutrients listed on the nutrition label and is normally 
expressed in household measures such as cups, or pieces as well as in grams and generally reflect the 
amount an individual might reasonably consume each eating occasion. A serving is a unit of measure. 
3.11 
sugars 
all mono-saccharides and di-saccharides present in food 
3.12 
trans fatty acids 
all the geometrical isomers of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids having non-conjugated, 
interrupted by at least one methylene group, carbon-carbon double bonds in the trans configuration EAS 803: 2014 
© EAC 2014 – All rights reserved  3 
 4 General principles for nutrition labelling 
4.1 The information for nutrient declaration supplied is for the purpose of providing consumers with a 
suitable profile of nutrients contained in the food and considered to be of nutritional importance. The 
information is meant only to convey an understanding of the quantity of nutrients contained in the product. 
There is no exact quantitative knowledge of what individuals should eat in order to maintain health. A more 
exact quantitative delineation for individuals is not valid because there is no meaningful way in which 
knowledge about individual requirements can be used in labelling. 
4.2 The content of supplementary nutrition information will vary from one target population group to 
another according to the national health policy and guidelines. 
4.3 Nutrition labelling should not deliberately imply that a food which carries such labelling has 
necessarily any nutritional advantage over a food which is not so labelled.  
5 Nutrient declaration 
5.1 Application of nutrient declaration 
5.1.1 Nutrient declaration shall be made for all pre -packaged foods for which nutrition or health claims, as 
defined in the EAS 805 , are made.  
5.1.2 Nutrient declaration shall be made for all other pre-packaged foods except where national 
circumstances would not support such declarations. Certain foods may be exempted for example, on the 
basis of nutritional or dietary insignificance or small packaging. 
5.2 Listing of nutrients 
5.2.1 Where nutrient declaration is applied, the declaration of the following shall be mandatory: 
a) energy value; 
b) the amounts of protein, available carbohydrate (that is, dietary carbohydrate excluding dietary fibre), 
fat, saturated fat, sodium and total sugars; 
c) the amount of any other nutrient for which a nutrition claim is made; and 
d) the amount of any other nutrient considered to be relevant for maintaining a good nutritional status, as 
required by national legislation. 
5.2.2 Where a claim is made regarding the amount and/or the type of carbohydrate, the amount of total 
sugars shall be listed in addition to the requirements in 5.2.1. The amounts of starch and/or other 
carbohydrate constituent(s) may also be listed. Where a claim is made regarding the dietary fibre content, the 
amount of dietary fibre shall be declared. 
5.2.3 Where a claim is made regarding the amount and/or type of fatty acids or the amount of cholesterol, 
the amounts of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids and 
cholest erol should be declared, and the amount of trans fatty acid may be required according to national 
legislation, in addition to the requirements of 5.2.1 and in accordance with 5.4.7. 
5.2.4 In addition to the mandatory declaration under 5.2.1, 5.2.2 and 5 .2.3, vitamins and minerals may be 
listed in accordance with the following criteria: 
a) only vitamins and minerals for which recommended intakes have been established and/or which are 
of nutritional importance in the country concerned may be declared; and EAS 803: 2014 
4 © EAC  2014 – All rights reserved  
 b) when nutrient declaration is applied, vitamins and minerals which are present in amounts less than 5 
% of the Nutrient Reference Value or of the officially recognized guidelines of the competent authority 
per 100 g or 100 mL or per serving as quantified on the label should not be declared. 
5.2.5 The provisions for nutrient declaration set out in EAS 38 shall take precedence over but not conflict 
with the provisions of 5.2 of this standard. 
5.3 Calculation of nutrients 
5.3.1 Calculation of energy 
The amount of energy to be listed shall be calculated by using the following conversion factors: 
 1 g of carbohydrates is equivalent to 4 kcal or 17 kJ; 
 1 g of protein is equivalent to 4 kcal or 17 kJ; 
 1 g of fat is equivalent to 9 kcal or 37 kJ; 
 1 g of alcohol (ethanol) is equivalent to 7 kcal or 29 kJ ; and  
 1 g of organic acid is equivalent to 3 kcal or 13 kJ. 
5.3.2 Calculation of protein 
The amount of protein to be listed shall be calculated using the formula: 
Protein = Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen x 6.25  
unless a different factor is given in an East African or National Standard or in the method of analysis for that 
food. 
5.4 Presentation of nutrient content 
5.4.1 The declaration of nutrient content shall be numerical. Additional means of presentation may be used. 
5.4.2 Information on energy value shall be expressed in k ilojoules and k ilocalories per 100 grams or per 
100 mililitres. In addition, this information may be given per serving as quantified on the label, per package if 
the package contains only a single portion or per portion provided that the number of portions contained in the 
package is stated. 
5.4.3 Information on the amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat in the food shall be expressed in grams 
per 100 grams or per 100 mililitres. In addition, this information may be given per serving as quantified on the 
label, per package if the package contains only a single portion or per portion provided that the number of 
portions contained in the package is stated. 
5.4.4 Numerical information on vitamins and minerals shall be expressed in metric units and/or as a 
percentage of the NRV per 100 grams or per 100 mililitres or per package if the package contains only a 
single portion. In addition, this information may be given per serving as quantified on the label or per portio n 
provided that the number of portions contained in the package is stated .  
In addition, information on protein and additional nutrients  may also be expressed as percentages of the NRV 
where an NRV has been established. 
The following NRVs are for the general population identified as individuals older than 36 months. They shall 
be used for labelling purposes to help consumers make choices that contribute to an overall healthful dietary 
intake.  EAS 803: 2014 
© EAC 2014 – All rights reserved  5 
 They comprise two types of NRVs: Nutrient Reference Values-Requirements (NRVs-R) shown in Table 1 and 
Nutrient Reference Values – Non-communicable Disease (NRVs-NCD). 
Table 1 ― NRVs-R for the general population 
Vitamins  
Vitamin A (μg)  800* 
Vitamin D (μg)  5 
Vitamin C (μg)  60 
Vitamin K (μg)  60 
Thiamin (mg)  1.2 
Riboflavin (mg)  1.2 
Niacin (mg NE)  15 
Vitamin B6 (mg)  1.3 
Folate (μg DFE)  400 
Vitamin B12 (μg)  2.4 
Pantothenate (mg)  5 
Biotin (μg)  30 
Minerals  
Calcium (mg)  1,000  
Magnesium (mg)  300 
Iron (mg)  14 
Zinc (mg)  15 
Iodine (μg)  150 
Copper  Value to be established  
Selenium  Value to be established  
Other  
Protein  50 
* For the declaration of β-carotene (Provitamin A) the 
conversion factor should be used: 1 µg retinol = 6 β-carotene  
 
The conversion factors seen in Table 2 for vitamin equivalents in Table 1 provide supporting information for 
national authorities to enable national authorities to determine the application of NRVs at national level.  
Table 2 ― Conversion factors for niacin and folate equivalents 
Vitamin  Dietary equivalents  
Niacin  1 mg niacin equivalents (NE) =  1 mg niacin  
60 mg tryptophan  
Folate  1 μg dietary folate equivalents (DFE) =   1 μg food folate  
0.6 μg folic acid added to food or as 
supplement consumed with food  
0.5 μg folic acid as supplement taken 
on an empty stomach   
 EAS 803: 2014 
6 © EAC  2014 – All rights reserved  
 The list below shows the NRVs- NCD:  
 Saturated fatty acids  20 g 
 Sodium     2 000 mg 
5.4.5 Where serving sizes are normally used, the information required by 5.4.2, 5.4.3 and 5.4.4 may be 
given per serving only as quantified on the label or per portion provided that the number of portions contained 
in the package is stated. 
5.4.6 The presence of available carbohydrates shall be declared on the label as "carbohydrates". Where 
the type of carbohydrate is declared, this declaration shall follow immediately the declaration of the total 
carbohydrate content in the following format: 
"Carbohydrate ... g, of which sugars ... g". 
This may be followed by the following: "x" ... g , where "x" represents the specific name of any other 
carbohydrate constituent. 
5.4.7 Where the amount and/or type of fatty acids or the amount of cholesterol is declared, this declaration 
shall follow immediately the declaration of the total fat in accordance with 5.4.3. 
The following format shall be used: 
Total Fat   … g 
of which  
 saturated fatty acids  
trans fatty acids  
monounsaturated fatty 
acids  
polyunsaturated fatty 
acids  … 
… 
… 
 
… g 
g 
g 
 
g 
Cholest erol   … mg 
 
 
5.5 Tolerances and compliance 
5.5.1 Tolerance limits shall be set in relation to public health concerns, shelf-life, accuracy of analysis, 
processing variability and inherent liability and variability of the nutrient in the product, and, according to 
whether the nutrient has been added or is naturally occurring in the product.  
5.5.2 The values used in nutrient declaration shall be weighted average values derived from data 
specifically obtained from analyses of products which are representative of the product being labelled. 
5.5.3 In those cases where a product is subject to an East African or National Standard, requirements for 
tolerances for nutrient declaration established by the standard shall take precedence over this standard. 
5.5.4 When a nutrient is subject to a standard or has been specifically highlighted by a claim, five sample 
units shall be drawn at random and analyzed as a composite or separately. If the five samples are analysed 
separately, the test results will be averaged to give a mean result. 
5.5.4.1  The lot will be deemed to be out of compliance if the result of the analysis is less than the 
minimum required value. The lot will also be out of compliance if the result of the analysis is less than 90 % of 
the declared value, or if any one sample has less than 30 % of the declared value. EAS 803: 2014 
© EAC 2014 – All rights reserved  7 
 5.5.4.2  The lot will be deemed to be out of compliance if the result of the analysis is greater than the 
maximum value prescribed. The lot will also be out of compliance if the result of the analysis is more than 
110% of the declared value, or if any one sample has more than 170 % of the declared value. 
5.5.5 When a nutrient is present naturally in the food and there is no regulated minimum or maximum 12 
sample units shall be drawn at random and then combined to make a composite to be analyzed. 
5.5.5.1  For vitamin, mineral, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, polyunsaturated fatty acids, 
monounsaturated fatty acids, or potassium, the nutrient content of the composite must be at least equal to 80 
% of the value declared on the label. 
5.5.5.2  For energy, sugars, fat, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol or sodium, the lot is deemed to be 
unsatisfactory if the result exceeds 120 % of the declared value. 
6 Principles and criteria for legibility of nutrition labelling 
6.1 General principles 
In the case of nutrition labelling, the principles of 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.1.3 and 7.2 of EAS 38 should be applied. 
7.1.1, 7.1.2 and 7.1.3 should be applied to any supplementary nutrition labels. 
6.2 Specific features of presentation 
6.2.1 Nutrient content shall be declared in a numerical, tabular format. Where there is insufficient space for 
a tabular format, nutrient declaration may be presented in a linear format. 
6.2.2 Nutrients shall be declared in a specific order developed by competent authorities and shall be 
consistent across food products. 
6.2.3 The font type, style and a minimum font size as well as the use of upper and lower case letters should 
be considered by competent authorities to ensure legibility of nutrition labelling. 
6.2.4 A significant contrast shall be maintained between the text and background so as to be that the 
nutrition information is clearly legible. 
6.2.5 The numerical presentation of nutrient content shall be in accordance with the provisions of 5.4. 
7 Supplementary nutrition information 
7.1 Supplementary nutrition information, when used shall be consistent with national health policy and 
guidelines and should be developed in consultation with relevant authority.  
7.2 The use of supplementary nutrition information on food labels may only be given in addition to, and not 
in place of, the nutrient declaration. Food group symbols or other pictorial or colour presentations may be 
used in addition to nutrient declaration for target populations who have a high illiteracy level and/or little 
knowledge of nutrition. 
7.3 Supplementary nutrition information on labels should be accompanied by consumer education 
programmes to increase consumer understanding and use of the informati on. 
 EAS 803: 2014 
8 © EAC  2014 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography 
CAC/GL 2- 1985 (Amended 2013), Guidelines on nutrition labelling 
 EAS 803: 2014   
 
© EAC 2014  – All rights reserved