© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
 
DEAS 757:201 8 
 
 
ICS 67.060  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT  EAST AFRICAN STANDARD   
 
 
 
Sorghum grains — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© EAS 2018  Second Edition 2018   © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
  
 
 
DEAS 757:2013   
 
 
 
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DEAS 757:201 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Content s  
 
 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  iv  
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  1  
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  1  
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  2  
4 Quality requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  2 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  2 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  3  
5 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  5 
5.1 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  5 
5.2 Other contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  5  
6 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  5  
7 Packag ing ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 5  
8 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 6  
9 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
.  © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
 DEAS 757:2013  
 
 
 
Foreword   
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing 
requirements governing qua lity 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 representativ es 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 sta ndards, 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 versi ons of 
the standards   
they are implementing.   
EAS 757:2013 was prepared by Technical Committee EAS/TC 014, Cereals, Pulses and related products  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
  
 
 
 © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
 DRAFT  EAST AFRICAN STANDARD                                                                             DEAS 757:201 8  
 
 
Sorghum grains — Specification  
 
1 Scope  
 
This East African Standard specifies the requirements , sampling and test methods  for sorghum 
grains of varieties (cultivars) grown from Sorghum bicolor  (L.) Moench intended for human 
consumption .  
 
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 — Specification  
 
EAS 39, Code of Hygiene Practice in Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry  
 
       EAS 901, Cereal and Pulses - Test methods  
       
       EAS 900 , Cereal  and Pulses - Sampling  
 
ISO 9648, Sorghum – Determination of ta nnin   
CODEX STAN 193, Codex general standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
 
  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply.  
 
3.1 
Sorghum  grain  
dried grain having the characteristics of the varieties (cultivars) grown from Sorghum bicolor  (L.) Mo ench  
 
3.2 
Broken  grain   
pieces of sorghum grain which pass  through a screen having round holes of 1.8mm in diameter  
 
3.3 
Defective / damaged  grain   
pest damaged, discoloured, stained, rotten and diseased, immature and shrivelled grains and broken 
grain  . 
 
 
3.4  
pest d amaged grain  
grains that shows damage or owing attack by rodents, insects, mites or other pests  
 
 
3.5   
diseased  grains - 
grains damaged by decay or rotting, moulds, or bacterial decomposition, and/or other causes that may 
be noticed without having to cut the grains open to examine them.  
 
 
 © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
 3.6  
discoloured grains   
kernel that is damaged by heat,frost or water.  
 
 
3.7  
foreign matter  
all organic and inorganic material other than maize grain, broken kernels and other grains  
 
3.7.1 
inorganic matter  
stones, glass, pieces of soil and other mineral matter  
 
3.7.2 
organic matter  
any animal or plant matter (see d coats, straws, weeds) other than grain of maize, damaged maize 
grain, other grains, inorganic extraneous matter and harmful/toxic seeds  
 
3.8  
immature and /or shrivelled  
grains that are not properly developed and/or fully green in colour.  
 
3.9    
harmful/ noxious  seeds    
seeds such as Crotolaria (Crotalaria spp.), Corn cockle (Agrostemma githago L.), Castor bean (Ricinus 
communis L.), Jimson weed (Datura spp.) which can have a damaging or dangerous effect on health, 
sensory properties or technological performance  
 
3.10   
sprouted  grains with visible evidence of root system beginning to  emerge  
 
3.11  
test weight  
density of a measured volume of grain expressed in kilograms per hectolitre  
 
 
3.12  
food grade packaging material  
packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use and which 
will not impar t any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product  
 
3.13  filth 
 impurities of animal origin like dead insects.  
   
 
4. Classif ication   
 
Sorghum shall be classified as re d, pink,  brown,  orange,  yellow,  white or a ny mixture of these colors 
according to the buyer preference . 
                    © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
  5.0 Quality Requirements   5.1 General Requirement  
The dried mature grains of Sorghum bicolor  (L.) Moench, shall be:  
 
a) clean, wholesome, uniform in size and  shape;   
 
b) well-filled grains  of uniform colour;  
 
c) free from musty  or other undesirable odour . 
 
d) practically free from live pests;  
 
e) practically free from noxious or harmful seeds in amounts that could be harmful to human 
health.   
 
 
 5.2 Specific requirements  
 
Sorghum grains shall comply with the limits given in Table 1 when tested in accordance with the test  
methods specified therein  
 
 
  © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
 Table 1 — Specific requirements for sorghum grains  
 
S/N   Characteristic   Grade   Method of  
         
test       
1 2 3        
        EAS 901  
i) Moisture, % m/m max.    13.5   
          
         
ii) Test weight, kg/hl min.   71 62 62  
          
          
        
iii)  0.3  0.4  0.5   
 in organic  matter  %  m/m,  
max     
          
iv) Foreign matter, % m/m, max.        0.5 1.5   2.0  
        
V  Filth , % m/m, max.  0.1  0.1  0.1  
 
      
         
        
 vii) Tanni
n content  (on  dry  
matter  Whole grains   0.5  ISO 9648  
 
basis), %  m/m, max.        
  
  
      
      
viii 
 Defective   Discolored  1.5  2.0 2.5   
 grains, % 
by        
 
 Diseased grain   
1.0  2.0  3.0   
 Perce
ntage 
,    
        
  
  
 
max.    
   
  
Immature grain(fully green in colour)  1.0  2.0  3.0   
    
         
    broken   0.5  1.0 2.0   
         
   
  
   
   Pest damaged grains  1 3 5  
  Total defective   4 7 11  
ix)  Other edible grains  
, % m/m, max.    1.6    
      
NOTE : The parameter, Total defective grains is not the sum total of the individual defects. It is limited to 70 
% of the sum  total of individual  defects.  
        
          © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
  
6 Contaminants  
6.1         Pesticide residues  
 
Sorghum grains shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.  
 
NOTE Where the use of certain pesticides is prohibited by some Partner States, it should be notified to all 
Partner States accordingly.  
 
6.2      Other contaminants  
 
Sorghum grains shall comply with those maximum limits f or other contaminants established in CODEX 
STAN 193.  
 
6.2.1 Heavy metals  
Sorghum  grain shall comply with those limits f or heavy metals specified in CODEX STAN 193 established by 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission . 
 
6.2.2  Mycotoxin  
Sorghum grain shall comply with  the mycotoxin limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission as 
given in Table 2 when tested in accorda nce with the test methods specified therein  
 
Table 2 — Mycotoxins limits for Sorghum grains  
S/N Mycotoxin  limit 
 Test method  
i.  Total Aflatoxin 
(AFB 1+AFB 2+AFG 1+AFG 2), 
ppb, max  10 EAS901 , Clause 9 or 
10 
ii.  Aflatoxin B 1  ppb, max  5 
iii.  Fumonisins ppm, max  2 EAS901  Clause 10 or 
11 
 
7  Hygien e 
Sorghum grains shall be produced, prepared and handl ed in accordance with the provisions of  appropriate 
sections of EAS 39  
 
8. Weights and measures  
Sorghum grains shall be packaged in accordance with the weights and measures regulations of the 
destination country.  
NOTE: EAC Partner States are signatory to the Intern ational Labour Organizations (ILO) for maximum package weight 
of 50 kg where human loading and offloading is involved  
 
 
9. Packaging  
  Sorghum grains shall be packed in food grade packaging materials which will safeguard the hygienic, 
nutritional and o rganoleptic qualities of the product . 
 
 
9.2 Each package shall be securely closed and sealed© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
  
10  Labelling  
 
10.1  
In addition to the requirements in EAS 38, each package shall be legibly and indelibly labe lled with the 
following:  
a) product name as “ Whole Sorghum  Grains”;  
b) grade;  
c) name, address and physical location of the producer/packer/importer;  
d) lot/batch/code number;  
e) net weight, in kilograms;  
f) the declaration “Food for Human Consumption’’;  
g) storage instruction as “Store in a cool dry place away from any contaminants’’;  
h) crop year;  
i) packing date;  
j) instructions on disposal of used package;  
k) country of origin; and  
l) declaration on whether the Sorghum  was genetically modified, where ap plicable.  
 
10.2 Labelling of non -retail containers  
Information detailed in 10.1 shall be given either on the container or in accompanying documents, except 
that the name of the product, lot identification and the name and address of the processor or packer  as well 
as storage instructions, shall appear on the container.  
However, lot identification and the name and address of the processor or packer may be replaced by an 
identification mark provided that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanyi ng documents.  
 
 
11  Sampling  
 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with the EAS 900.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 © EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
 EAS 757:2013   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© EAC 2013 – All rights reserved   .