PUBLIC REVIEW 
DRAFT  
DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 919:2012  
 
First  Edition  
2012 -mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 919: 201 2 
©UNBS 201 2  
  
Dried  silver cyprinid  (Mukene)  — Specification  
 DUS 919: 2012  
ii © UNBS 2012  – 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 c orrect application  
© UNBS  2012  
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: 256 312 262688/ 9 
Fax: 256 41 4 286 123 
E-mail: info@unbs .go.ug  DUS 919: 2012  
©  UNBS  2012  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal  under the Ministry of Trade, Industry  and 
Cooperatives  established by the Act of Parliament of 1983, 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 pre paring 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 declaratio n as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
This Draft Uganda Stand ard, DUS 919:2012 , was developed  by the subcommittee on F ish and Fishery 
products (SC 10 ) under supervision of technical committee on Food and Agriculture standards  (UNBS/TC 2) .   
This Draft Uganda Standard has been developed  as a result of a need to provide guidance to industry in  
produc tion and regulation of dried silver cyprinid (mukene) . DUS 919: 2012  
iv © UNBS 2012  – All rights reserved  
 Introduction  
The Silver Cyprinid  (Rastrineobola argentea ) is a species of ray -finned fis h in the family Cyprinidae, the only 
member of the genus Rastrineobola . It is found in the Lake Victoria of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its local 
names are mukene  (Uganda ), omena  (Kenya)  and dagaa  (Tanzania).  
 
Being a fast -swimming smallish fish of the op en waters, it has been better able to withstand the ecological 
upheaval caused mainly by the introduced predator Lates niloticus  (Nile perch) than most other local species. 
It is not considered a threatened species by the International Union for Conservati on of Nature ( IUCN ). 
This Draft Uganda Standard specifie s minimum requirements for dried silver cyprinid , commonly known as 
Mukene /Omena/Dagaa . 
The objective of this standard is to ensure that the dried fish reach es the consumer in as wholesome state as 
possible and help in enhancing exports. It will also ensure that dried  silver cyprinid (mukene) is of acceptable 
and wholesome quality.  
The body of Rastrineobola  argentea  is spindle -shaped, although somewhat heavier toward the front than the 
rear, the cross -section is elliptical.  The head is integral with the body, i.e. a neck is lacking. The body surface 
is generally free from projections that might offer resistance. The eyes are smooth and do not extend beyond 
the contours of the head; the gill opening is covered with a smooth flap (operculum) and the scales lie closely 
against the body surface.  DUS 919:2012 
UNBS 2012  – All rights reserved   
 Dried silver cyprinid  (Mukene) — Specification  
1 Scope  
 
This Draft Uganda Standard specifies the requirement s and methods of  sampling and  test for dried  whole 
silver cyprinid  (Mukene ) 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 o f the referenced 
document (including any amendments) applies.  
US 7, General standard for the 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 201,  Drinking (potable) water  ─ Specification  
US 500, Guidelines  for nutritional labelling of foods  
US 508, Guidelines  for nutritional and health claims for food 
US 566, Use of Nutrition claims — Requirements  
US 738, General standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
FDUS EA S 217 -2, Microbiology of foods and animal feeding stuffs ─ Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
microorganisms – Part 2: Colony count technique at 30 °C 
FDUS EAS 217 -4, Microbiology of foods and animal feeding stuffs ─ Horizontal method for the detecti on and 
enumeration of coliforms – Part 4: Most probable number technique  
FDUS EAS 217 -8, Microbiology of foods and animal feeding stuffs ─ General guidance for enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds – Part 8: Colony count technique at 25 °C  
US ISO 7251, Microbi ology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
US ISO 11290 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detect ion and 
enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes – Part 2: Enumeration method  
ISO 16050, Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 in 
cereals, nuts and derived products — High-performance liquid chromato graphic method   
ii © UNBS 2012  – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply.  
3.1 
dried sliver cyprinid (mukene)  
a whole product presented as a dried fresh water fish which has not been gutted, beheaded or, spli t and 
subsequently washed and dried  
3.2  
Sound  
free from physiological deter ioration  or adulteration/contamination, that appreciably affe cts their appearance, 
edibility and  the keeping qualit y of the dried fish   
3.3 
food grade material  
materials that are f ree from substances that are hazardous to human health  
4 Provisions with regard to quality  
4.1 Dried Fish shall be prepared from sound fish of the designated species, which is of an acceptable quality 
and fit to be sold fresh for human consumption.  
4.2 Water used for washing t he fish shall  be potable  compl ying with US 201 . 
4.3 After washing , the fish shall be dried either in the sun or in artificial dryers .  
4.4 The fish, while drying  and during storage  shall be protected against contamination from dirt, sa nd, birds,  
vermins and insects.  
4.5 The skin of the dried fish shall have the characteristic silvery colour and shall not show any evidence of 
halophilic mould (dun) nor visible evidence of red, halophilic bacteria (pink).  
4.6 The product shall have the ch aracteristic dried fish odour. It shall be free from any indication of spo ilage.  
4.7 The product shall be practically free from the cestode parasite , Ligula intestinalis.  
4.8 The dried fish shall have a moisture content of between 5 to 7 %, when tested acc ording to Annex A . 
4.9 The dried fish shall be presented 90 per cent whole.  
5 Hygiene  
Dried  silver cyprinid (mukene) shall be produced and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with US 28.   
Dried silver cyprinid (mukene)  shall comply with the microbi ological limits given in Table 1.  
Table 1 — Microbiological limits for  Dried silver cyprinid  (Rastrineobola argenta ) 
S/No.  Type of microorganism  Maximum limit  Method of test  
1 Pseudomonas  species/g , max.  Absent  ISO 13720  
2 Salmonella  in 30 g , max.  Absen t ISO 6579  
3 E. coli/g, max.  Absent  ISO 7251  
4 Coliforms /100 g , max.  Absent  ISO 4832   
©  UNBS  2012  – All rights reserved  iii 
 5 Staphylococcus aureus /10 g, max.  2 × 103 ISO 6888  
6 Total viable count /g, max.  105 ISO 4833  
7 Clostridium perfrigens /g, max.  Absent  ISO 7937  
8 Listeria monocytogen es in 25 g, max.  Negative  ISO 11290 -2 
 
7 Contaminant s 
7.1 Heavy metals  and other contaminants  
Dried  silver cyprinid (mukene) shall comply with those maximum limits for heavy metals and other 
contaminants specified in US 73 8. 
7.2  Pesticide s and veterinary  drug  residues  
Dried  silver cyprinid  (mukene) shall comply with those maximum pesticide and veterinary drug residue limits 
established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for similar commodities .  
7.3 Mycotoxins  
Dried  silver cyprinid (mukene)  shall comply  with those maximum mycotoxin limits established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity. In particular, the product shall conform to the maximum limits for 
aflatoxin specified in Table 2.  
Table 2— Maximum limits for aflatoxin in Powdered  silver cyprinid (mukene)  
S/N Parameter  Limit  Method of Test  
1 Total aflatoxin , micrograms per kilogram, maximum  10 
US ISO 16050  
2 Aflatoxin B1 only, ppb max  5 
9 Packaging  
Dried  silver cyprinid  (mukene) shall be packaged in food grade containers which will safeguard the hygienic, 
nutritional, technological, and organoleptic qualities of the product.  
The containers, including packaging material, shall be made of substances which are safe and suitable for 
their intended use. They shall not impart any toxi c substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product.  
10 Weights and Measures  
Dried  silver cyprinid (mukene) shall be packaged in accordance with the Weights and Measures legislation  of 
the destination market . 
11 Labelling  
11.1  In additi on to the r equirements in  US 7 , the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and 
shall be legibly  and indelibly marked : 
a) common name of the product as “Dried  silver cyprinid (Mukene) ”;  
iv © UNBS 2012  – All rights reserved  
 b) net weight  in metric units ;  
c) name and physical address of the manufact urer/packer/distributor of the product shall be declared on 
the label;  
d) date of manufacture;  
e) lot identification ;  
f) expiry date ;  
g) country of origin ; 
h) storage instruction s; and  
i) instructions on disposal of used package.  
11.2 When labelling non -retail packages, information for non -retail packages shall either be given on the 
packages or in accompanying documents, except that the name of the product, lot identification and the name 
and address of the manufacturer or packer shall appear on the packages.  
 
11.3 Nutri tion labelling and claims  
Nutritional labelling, nutrition and health claims may be made in accordance with US 500, US 508, US 56 6. 
12 Methods of sampling and test  
Dried  silver cyprinid  (mukene) shall be sampled in accordance with the appropriate methods o f sampling. 
Tests shall be conducted in accordance with appropriate methods where indicated in an appropriate clause or 
other international standard methods.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
©  UNBS  2012  – All rights reserved  v 
  
 
 
  
vi © UNBS 2012  – All rights reserved  
  
Annex A  
(normative)  
 
Determination of moisture content  
 
A.1 Principle  
The deter mination should be carried out in duplicate and a reagen t blank should be carried out.  
A.2 Preparation of the sample  
Cut the large portions of fish into small pieces and mix. Comminute the pieces as finely as possible to obtain a 
homogenous sample, care b eing taken that no moisture is lost during the process.  Keep the product in an air -
tight container in order to prevent changes in moisture content during subsequent handling.   Use this product 
for testing.  
A.3 Procedure  
A.3.1 Place a steel dish containing  about 20 g of acid washed sand and a glass rod in an air oven and dry 
to constant weight at 103 ± 2 °C (1 hour should be sufficient). Cool in a desiccator for 30 minutes and weigh 
the dish with sand and glass rod (4 -place balance).  
A.3.2 Add about 5 g of the sample and reweigh.  
A.3.3 Add about 5 cm3 of industrial ethanol and stir with the glass rod to give a homogenous paste.  
A.3.4 Place on a water bath (temperature 60 °C to 80 °C) and stir occasionally until all the ethanol has 
evaporated.  
A.3.5 Place the  dish and content (including the glass rod) in an air oven  and  dry to constant weight at 103 
± 2 °C. Cool in a desiccator for 30 minutes and weigh.  
A.3.6 Calculation  
Moisture, per cent by mass  = 
12100
MM   
  
where,  
M2 =  loss of mass, in g, o f the sample, and  
M1 = mass, in g, of the sample taken.  
  
©  UNBS  2012  – All rights reserved  vii 
 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 Certif ication 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 Ug anda 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 wit h 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 Executi ve Director, 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards.  
 
.DUS 919:2012    
 
ICS 67.120.3 0 
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