DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
  FDUS 972  
First Edition  
2013 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
FDUS 972: 2013  
© UNBS 2013   
  
Chilli sauce ─ Specification 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 972: 2013  
ii © UN BS 2013  – 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 2013   
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: 256 414 505 995 
Fax: 256 414 286 123 
E-mail: unbs@infocom.co.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 972: 2013 
© UNBS 2013  – 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.  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 Final Draft Uganda Standard has been developed as a result of a need to provide guidance to industry in 
production and regulation of Chilli sauce. 
Committee membership 
The following organisations were represented under the Fruits and vegetables sub-committee of the Food and 
Agriculture Standards Technical Committee, UNBS/TC 2, during the development of this standard: 
 Federation of Uganda Exporters Association 
 Government Analytical Laboratory 
 Horticulture Exports Association of Uganda 
 Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries  
 Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives 
 National Drug Authority 
 National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda 
 Sulma Foods Ltd 
 Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
 Uganda National Farmers Federation 
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDDRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFINAL DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  FDUS 972: 2013  
 
© UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  1 
 Chilli sauce ─ Specification  
1 Scope 
This Final Draft Uganda S tandard specif ies requirements and methods of sampling and test for chilli sauce, 
offered for direct consumption, including for catering purposes or for repacking if required.  
This standard  does not apply t o the product when indicated as being intended for further processing.   
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. 
US 7, General standard for labelling of pre-packaged foods  
US 28, Code of practice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry   
US 45 , General standard for food additives 
US 217- 2, Methods for microbiological examination of foods — Part 2: General guidance for the enumeration 
of micro-organisms — Colony count technique at 30°C 
US 500, Requirements for nutritional labelling of foods  
US 508, Requirements for nutritional and health claims for foods  
US 738, General standard for contaminants and toxins in foods  
US ISO 7251,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
US 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 standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply. 
3.1  
chilli sauce  
product:  
a) intended for use as seasoning and condiment; 
b) prepared from the edible portion of sound and clean raw materials referred to in 4.1 which are mixed 
and prepared to obtain the desired quality and characteristics ; or DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 972: 2013  
2 © UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  
 c) processed by heat, in an  appropriate manner, before or after being hermetically ( impervious to air or 
gas) sealed in a container, so as to prevent spoilage.  
3.2 
pure chilli sauce 
chilli sauce composed of basic ingredients in 4.1.1 
4 Requirements 
4.1 Ingredients  
4.1.1  Basic ingredients 
Chilli sauce shall consist of the following basic ingredients: 
a) mature and fresh chilli ( Capsicum spp. ) or processed chilli such as chilli powder ground from dried 
chilli, roasted chilli, ground chilli , chilli preserved in vinegar or in brine ; or chilli extracts ; 
b) vinegar or any other permitted acid; 
c) salt; and 
d) water. 
4.1.2  Optional Ingredients 
The following optional ingredients, which shall conform to relevant standards, may be added  to the product 
provided t he ingredients are  suitable for consumption :  
a) mango, papaya, tamarind and/or other fruits; 
b) tomato, garlic, onion, carrot, sweet potato, yellow pumpkin and/or other vegetables; 
c) spices and herbs; 
d) sugars;such as white sugar, fructose syrup, or glucose syrup ;  
e) chilli extract; and 
f) other edible ingredients as appropriate to the product. 
4.2 General quality requirements  
4.2.1  Presentation 
4.2.1.1  Chilli  pods from which chilli sauce will be obtained sha ll be fresh, clean and at appropriate level of 
maturity conforming to the characteristics of the chillis and of a quality suitable for human consumption . 
4.2.1.2  Chilli  sauce  may be presented as follows:  
a) chilli sauce with pulp and seeds homogeneously ground together. 
                                                      
 Not to include sweeteners that are used as food additives  DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS  972: 2013  
© UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  3 
 b) chilli sauce with pulp and seeds homogeneously ground together with the addition of particles of chilli 
c) pulp, flakes,pieces and seeds distributed in the sauce ;  
d) chilli sauce with crushed pulp and seeds as separate layers or distributed in the sauce; a nd 
e) chilli sauce with only pulp or crushed pulp or both. 
4.2.1.3  Any other presentation of the product should be permitted provided that the product:  
a) is sufficiently distinctive from other forms of presentation laid down in the standard; 
b) meets all other requirements of the standard, as applicable; and 
c) is adequately described on the label to avoid confusing or misleading the consumer. 
4.2.2 Physical appearance 
4.2.2.1 Colour, odour and flavour 
Chilli sauce shall be free from off -odour, off -flavour and foreign taste including rancidity and mustiness. Color 
may be corresponding to the type of raw materials used .  
4.2.2.2 Extraneous matter 
Chilli sauce shall be practically free from extraneous matter including soil particles and loose stalks, when 
examined visually. The product shall be practically free from dark specks or dark particles for pure chilli sauce.  
4.3 Quality tolerances 
4.3.1  Foreign vegetal matter shall be absent 
4.3.2  Raw material with abnormal color shall be not more than three (3) pieces per 100 g of sample.  
NOTE 1 Foreign vegetal matter means any vegetable part such as chilli pedicels, leaves, calyxes, or other plant parts 
used in the production of chilli sauce that is not intended to be included in the composition of chilli sauce and does not 
pose any hazard to human health, but affect the overall appearance of the final product.  
NOTE 2 Raw material with abnormal colour means an abnormal colour of the raw material such as seeds or dark 
specks of chilli that does not pose any hazard to human health.  
5 Food additives 
5.1 General 
Only those food additive classes listed below are technologically justified and may be used by this standard. 
Within each additive class only those food additives listed below, or referred to, may be used and only for the 
functions, and within limits, specified.   
The pH of the product shall not exceed 4.5 using  AOAC 981.12 of Codex General method of analysis.  for 
processed fruits and vegetables . DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 972: 2013  
4 © UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  
 5.2 Acidity regulators 
INS No.  Food additive  Maximum level  
334 Tartari c acid  5000 mg/kg  
452(i)  Sodium polyphosphate  note 33
  1000 mg/kg  
Note 33: As phosphorus . 
5.3 Antioxidants 
INS No.  Food Additive  Maximum level  
301  Sodium ascorbate  1000 mg/kg  
303  Potassium ascorbate  1000 mg/kg  
307a  Tocopherol, d -alpha - 600 mg/kg  
(Singly or in 
combination)  307b  Tocopherol concentrate, mixed  
307c  Tocopherol, dl -alpha - 
320  Butylated hydroxyanisole  100 mg/kg  
321  Butylated hydroxytoluene  100 mg/kg  
386  Disodium ethylene diamine tetra acetate  75 mg/kg  
5.4 Colou rs 
INS No.  Food  Additive  Maximum level  
100(i)  Curcumin  GMP  
101(i)  Riboflavin, synthetic  350 mg/kg  
(Singly or in 
combination)  101(ii)  Riboflavin, 5’ -phosphate sodium  
102 Tartrazine  100 mg/kg  
110 Sunset yellow FCF  300 mg/kg  
120 Carmines  50 mg/kg  
124 
 Ponceau (4R) ( cochineal red A)  50 mg/kg  
127 
 Erythrosine  50 mg/kg  
129 Allura Red AC  300 mg/kg  
133 
 Brilliant blue, FCF  100 mg/kg  
141 
 (i) Chlorophylls, copper complexes  30 mg/kg (as Cu)  
150c  
 Caramel III – ammonia process  1500 mg/kg  
150d  
 Caramel IV – sulphite amm onia process  1500 mg/kg  
155 
 Brown HT  50 mg/kg  
160a (ii)  
 Carotenes, beta (vegetable)  2000 mg/kg  
160b(i)  
 Annatto extracts, bixin based  10 mg/kg  
160c  
 Paprika oleoresin  GMP  
160d(i)  Lycopene (synthetic)  390 mg/kg  
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS  972: 2013  
© UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  5 
 5.5 Preservatives  
INS No.  Food Addi tive Maximum level  
210 Benzoic acid note 13   
1000 mg/kg  
(singly or in 
combination)  211  Sodium benzoate note 13  
212 Potassium benzoate note 13  
213 Calcium benzoate note 13  
200  Sorbic acid note 42   
1000 mg/kg  
(singly or in 
combination)  
 201  Sodiu m sorbate note 42  
202  Potassium sorbate note 42  
203  Calcium sorbate note 42  
220  Sulfur dioxide note 44  
300 mg/kg  
(singly or in 
combination)  
 221  Sodium sulfite note 44  
222  Sodium hydrogen sulfite note 44  
223  Sodium metabisulfite note 44  
224  Potassium metabisulfite note 44  
225  Potassium sulfite note 44  
227  Calcium hydrogen sulfite note 44  
228  Potassium bisulfite note 44  
539 Sodium thiosulfate note 44  
218  Methyl para -hydroxybenzoate  1000 mg/kg  
Note 13: as benzoic acid. 
Note 42: as sorbic acid. 
Note 44: As residual SO2 
5.6 Emulsifiers  
INS No.  Food Additive  Maximum level  
432  Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan 
monolaurate   
5 000 mg/kg  
(singly or in 
combination)  
 433  Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate  
434  Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan 
monopalmitate  
435  Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan 
monoesterate  
473  Sucrose esters of fatty acids  5 000 mg/kg  
475  Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids  10 000 mg/kg  
477  Propylene glycol esters of fatty acids  20 000 mg/kg  
 
5.7 Sweeteners 
INS No.  Food Additive  Maximum level  
951  Aspartame  350 mg/kg  
950  Acesulfame potassium  1000 mg/kg  
955  Sucralose  450 mg/kg  
954(iv)  Sodium saccharin  150 mg/kg  
 
5.8 Stabilizers 
INS No.  Food Additive  Maximum level  
 
472e  Diacetyctartaric and fatty acid  esters of 
glycerol  10 000 mg/kg  
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 972: 2013  
6 © UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  
 5.9 Thickeners  
INS No.  
 Food Additive  Maximum level  
405  Propylene glycol alginate  8 000 mg/kg  
1204  Pullulan  50 000 mg/kg  
 
6 Contaminants 
Chilli sauce shall conform to the tolerance limits for contaminants as specified in US 738. 
Chilli sauce shall comply with those maximum residue limits for pesticides established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.  
7 Hygiene 
Chilli sauce shall be produced and handled in accordance with US 28. The product shall conform to the 
requirements for microbiological limits in Table 1. 
Table 1 — Requirements for microbiological limits in Chilli sauce 
Microbiological parameter  Require ment  Method of test  
Total plate count, cfu/g, max.  10,000  US 217 -2  
Escherichia coli , cfu/g, max.  <1 US ISO 7251  
Yeast and moulds, cfu/g, max.  10 US ISO 21527 -2 
8 Packaging  
Chilli sauce shall be packaged in clean food grade containers, made of a material which does not affect the 
product and which protects it from extra moisture, and from loss of volatile matter.  
The container shall protect the product from any form of contamination. 
9 Weights and measures  
Containers shall be as full as practicable without impairment of quality and shall be consistent with a proper 
declaration of contents for the product.  
The container should be well filled with the product which should occupy not less than 90% (minus) any 
necessary head space according to good manufacturing practices of the water capacity of the container.  
Flexible containers should be filled as full as commercially practicable. 
NOTE The water capacity of the container is the volume of distilled water at 20 oC which the sealed container will 
hold when completely filled. 
10 Labelling 
Chilli sauce shall be labelled in accordance with the requirements of US 7. In addition the following specific 
provisions shall apply:  DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS  972: 2013  
© UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  7 
 (a) the name of the product as declared on the label shall be "Chilli sauce”, “ Sweet chilli sauce” or other 
names in accordance with the composition and the law and custom of the country in which the 
product is sold and in a manner not to mislead the consumer; 
(b) the level of chilli pungency (heat value) may be declared in conjunction with, or in close proximity to 
the name of the product in a manner not to mislead the consumer, and shall be accepted by or be 
acceptable to competent authorities of the country where the product is sold; and 
(c) if other permitted ingredients, as defined in 4.1.2, alters the flavour characteristic of the product, the 
name of the product shall be accompanied b y the term “ Flavoured with X” or X Flavoured” as 
appropriate. 
Nutritional labelling, nutrition and health claims may be made in accordance with US 500 or US 508.  
11 Sampling 
Representative samples of the material shall be drawn and tested for conformity to this specification as 
prescribed in Annex A.  DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 972: 2013  
8 © UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  
 Annex A 
(normative)  
 
Sampling of chilli sauce 
A.1 Definition 
A.1.1 
lot 
group of products of the same size and type manufactured under the same condition 
A.1.2 
lot size 
number of product units in a lot 
A.1.3 
sample size 
number of sample units to be drawn from each lot for test 
A.1.4 
acceptance number 
maximum number of defectives allowable in product for the acceptance of a lot 
A.2 Sampling and sample size  
A.2.1  The lot sampling shall be randomly drawn in accordance with the number specified in Table A .1, 
Table A.2 or Table A.3 for further inspection of labeling, marking, packaging and quality criteria. 
A.2.2  Five sample units shall be drawn for microorganism analysis (if the size of sample unit is less than 
500 g, the sample unit shall be sufficiently drawn for analysis).  
A.2.3  For the analysis of food additives and contaminants, the method of sampling shall be carried out 
according to the sampling plans shown in Table A.1, Table A.2 and Table A.3 below.  
Table A .1 — Sampling plan for chilli sauce in containers of net weight equal to or less than 1 kg 
Lot size  
(Number of container units)  Sample size  
(Number of container units)  Acceptance number  
4 800 or less  6  1  
4 801 - 24 000  13  2  
24 ,001 - 48 000 21  3  
48 001 - 84 000 29  4  
84 001 - 144 000  38  5  
144 001 - 240 000 48  6  
More than 240  000 60  7  
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS  972: 2013  
© UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  9 
 Table A .2 — Sampling plan for chilli sauce in containers of net weight greater than 1 kg but not more 
than 4.5 kg  
Lot size  
(Number of container units)  Sample size  
(Number of container units)  Acceptance number  
2 400 or less  6 1 
2 401 - 15 000  13 2 
15 001 - 24 000 21 3 
24 001 - 42 000 29 4 
42 001 - 72 000  38 5 
72 001 - 120 000 48 6 
More than 120  000 60 7 
 
Table A .3 — Sampling plan for chilli sauce in containers of net weight greater than 4.5 kg  
Lot size  
(Number of container units)  Sample size  
(Number of container units)  Acceptance number  
600 or less  6 1 
601 - 2, 000  13 2 
2,001 - 72,000  21 3 
72,001 - 15,000  29 4 
15,001 - 24, 000  38 5 
24,001 - 42,000 48 6 
More than 42,000  60 7 
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 972: 2013  
10 © UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography 
[1] CODEX STAN 306R -2012; Proposed draft regional standard for chilli sauce  
[2] T hai Agricultural Standard TAS 8401-2009 for chilli sauce  
[3] CODEX STAN 192 -1995; Rev. 3 -2001, General standard for food ad ditives (Asia1)  
. DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS  972: 2013  
© UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  11 
 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 Standards 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 mark 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 Standards. 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.  
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 972: 2013    
 
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