DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 2121  
First Edition  
2019 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 2121 : 2019 
© UNBS 2019  
  
Dark sweet and Black strap molasses — Specification   
 DUS 2121 : 2019 
ii © UNBS 2019 – 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 2019  
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
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permission from UNBS.  
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The Executive Director  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
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Uganda  
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Fax: +256 41 4 286 123  
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 DUS 2121 :2019 
© UNBS 2019 – 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 , 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 key stakeholders 
including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comm ents before recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
The committee responsible for this document Technical Committee UNBS/TC 2, [Food and Agriculture], 
Subcommittee SC 11 , [Sugar, edible starches and related confectionery products ]. 
This is the first edition which has been tec hnically developed . 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 2121 : 2019 
 
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  1 
 Dark sweet and Black  strap molasses — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft Uganda Standard specifies requirements , test and sampling method s for Dark sweet and Black 
strap molasses  intended for direct human consu mption . 
2 Normative references   
The following referenced documents 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 . 
US 28, Code of practice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  
US 45, General s tandard for food additives  
US 738, General standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed (4th Edition)  
US 1659, Materials in Contact with Food — Requirements for Packaging materials  
US CAC/GL 50 , General guidelines on sampling  
US EAS 5, Refined whi te sugar – Specification  
US EAS 8, Raw cane sugar – Specification  
US EAS 12, Potable water — Specification  
US EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — General requirements  
US EAS 749, Brown sugar – Specification  
US EAS 770, Fortified sugar — Specification  
US EAS 805, Use of nutrition and health claims — Requirements  
US ISO 2173 , Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of soluble solids — Refractometric method  
US ISO 2447, Fruit and vegetable Products — Determination of tin content  
US ISO 4831 , Microbi ology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of coliforms — Most probable number technique  
US ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of the food chain – Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms – 
Part 1: Co lony count at 30 C by the pour plate technique  
US ISO 5379:2013, Starches and derived  products – Determination of sulphur dioxide content, Acid metric 
method and nephelometric method   
2 © UNBS  2019 – All rights reserved  
 US ISO 6633 , Fruit and vegetables products — Determination of lead conten t – Flameless atomic absorption 
spectrometric method  
US ISO 6634 , Fruit, vegetables and derived products — Determination of arsenic content — Silver 
diethyldithiocarbamate spectrophotometric method  
US ISO 6637 , Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of mercury content — Flameless 
atomic absorption method  
US ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 1:  Technique using 
Baird -Parker agar medium  
US ISO 7251, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuf fs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherich ia coli — Most probable number technique  
US ISO 21527 -1, Microbiology of foo d and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds — Part 1, Colony count technique in products with water activity greater than 0.95  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
3.1  
brix or degrees brix  
the concentration of sugar in syrup corresponding approximately to concentration of solutes expressed in 
percentage as measured with a refractometer or hydrometer and expressed in oBrix units  
3.2  
food packagi ng material  
any product to be used for containment, protection, handling, delivery, storage, transport and presentation of 
food  
Note 1 to entry: Food packaging may have direct or indirect contact with the food. — Direct food contact 
surfaces or materials are in contact (i.e. physically touching the food or in contact with the headspace) or will 
be in contact with the food during normal use of the food packaging. — Indirect food contact surfaces or 
materials are not in direct contact with the food during  
3.3  
Molasses  
Is clean, sound, liquid product obtained by evaporating the juice of sugarcane and other alternative plant 
sources and removal of all or any part of the commercially crystallisable sugar  
4 Essential composition and quality requirements  
4.1 Gene ral requirements  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall;  
a)  be characteristic of the pro duct and have a  well-balanced flavour  
b) be free from off -odours and off -flavours when assessed using the normal sensory tests.  
c) be free from foreign matter such as impur ities of animal origin, including dead insects when  assessed 
using the normal senses.  DUS 2121 : 2019 
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  3 
 d) have a uniform consistency  
e) show no turbidity (except turbidity arising from the ingredients)  
f) shall show no sedimentation (except sedimentation arising from the ingredient s) 
4.2 Ingredients  
4.2.1 Sugar cane  
a) Dark sweet and black strap molasses shall be prepared from  Sugarcanes  and other alternative plant 
sources  selected  at the proper stage of maturity   
b) Sugar canes  used shall be free from damage or contam ination  
c) Sugar cane us ed shall be clean and of good quality  
4.2.2 Other permitted ingredients   
Other added ingredients used in the production of dark sweet and black strap molasses shall comply with t he 
requirements ; 
a) Brown sugar added shall comply with US EAS 749  
b) Refined white sugar  added shall comply with US EAS 5  
c) Fortified white sugar  added shall comply with US EAS 770  
d) Raw cane sugar  added shall comply with US EAS 8  
4.2.3 Water  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall be  manufactured with potable water that comply  with US EAS  12. 
4.3 Essential composition  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall have the following proximal parameters as in T able 1   
Table 1— Proximal analysis of Dark sweet and black strap molasses  
S/N Parameter  Limit   Method of test  
  Dark sweet 
molasses  Black strap 
molasses   
i Total soluble solids at 20 
o C Min. 74º Brix 
  US ISO 2173  
ii pH of 10% solution m/v  4.0-6.0 ICUMSA 
GS1/2/3/4/7/8/9 -
23 
iv Total sugars  % m/m  Min. 45 35 ICUMSA GS 
4/3- 7 
v Ash content % m/m Max.  10 AOAC 900.02  
vi Density, g/cm3 min . 1.30 AOAC 962.37  
vii Sulphated ash % m/m 
Max.  16 ICUMSA 
GS3/4/ 7/8-11 
vii Sulphur dioxide as SO 2 
ppm, Max.   < 100  
 US ISO 5379  
ix Sludge % v/v Max  absent  Annex A   
4 © UNBS  2019 – All rights reserved  
 5 Contaminant s 
5.1 Pesticide  residues  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall conform t o those residual  limits for pesticides established by the 
Codex Alimentari us Commission.  
5.2 Heavy metals  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall not exceed the limits of metal Contaminant s as in T able 2 .  
Table 2 — Maximum level of metallic contaminants  in Dark sweet and black strap mol asses  
S/N Parameter  Limit (mg/kg)  Method of test  
i) Lead  (Pb) 0.05 US ISO 6633  
ii) Arsenic (As)  0.2 US ISO 6634  
iii) Tin (Sn)   250 US ISO 2447  
iv) Mercury  (Hg) 0.05 US ISO 6637  
5.3 Other Contaminants  
Dark sweet and bl ack strap molasses  shall conform to those maximum levels for contaminants and toxins as 
in US 738 . 
6 Hygiene  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall be processed , packaged  and transported following hygienic 
practices in accordance with US 28. 
6.1 Microbi ology  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall be free from mic roorganisms as stated in Table 3  below;  
Table 3  — Microbiological requirements for  Dark sweet and black strap molasses  
S/N Microorganism  Limit  Test method  
i) Total plate count, cfu/ g, max. 25 US ISO 4833 -1 
ii) Coliform count, cfu/ g, max. Absent  US ISO 4831   
iii) Yeast and mould count, cfu/ g, max. 5 US ISO 21527 -1 
iv) E.coli  cfu/, max.  Absent  US ISO 7251  
v) Staphylococcus aureus  cfu/g, max.  Absent  US ISO 6881 -1 
7 Additives  
Dark sweet and b lack strap molasses  shall contain only permitted additive s in accordance with US 45 . 
8 Packaging  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall be packaged in clean food grade packaging material which comply  
with US, 1659.  DUS 2121 : 2019 
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  5 
 9 Weights and measures  
9.1 Method of f ill 
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall be filled in compliance with the Weights and measures act.  
10 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of US EAS 38, the following labelling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked.   
a) Common name of the product to be declared on the label as ' ’Dark sweet molasses or Black strap 
molasses ’'; 
b) Net contents by volume (`System International') units;  
c) Name and physical address of the manufacturer/distributor;  
d) Country of origin;  
e) Lot /batch identification;  
f) Shelf life: best before/use by date;  
g) Statement ‘Food for Human Consumption’ shall appear on the package;  
h) Storage conditions  
i) Instructions on disposal of used package;  
j) Each container may also be marked with a Certif ication Mark  
k) Any other requirement as given OIML R87, Quantity of product in pre -packages.  
l) List of the ingredients  and their quantities  
m) Packing date  
n) Instruction for use  
11 Nutrition and health claim  
Dark sweet and black strap molasses  may have  health claims associated with nutritional composition and 
health. Such claims when declared shall be consistent with US EAS 805 . 
12 Sampling  
Sampling and analysis  of Dark sweet and black strap molasses  shall be done in accordance with  US CAC/GL 
50. 
  
6 © UNBS  2019 – All rights reserved  
 ANNEX  A, 
(Normative)  
Determination of Brix  
A.1 Brix determination by spindle method Determine the Brix by using an appropriate spindle 30 0C Baume -60 
0C Baum. Note the reading and the temperature from the thermometer attached to the base of the spindle. 
Apply t he temperature correction and record the Brix at 20 0C.  
A.2 Brix determination by refractometer method Using a 50 % sample solution pipette a few mL through the 
clarity filter rubber teat pipette and pour onto the glass prism cover. Press the read functio n to take the 
reading. Multiply the reading by two to get the result.  DUS 2121 : 2019 
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  7 
 ANNEX B  
(Normative)  
Determination of loose sludge  
B.1 Weigh 270 g of raw molasses and add the following quantity of distilled water X g,  
where  X = 6 x (Brix – 45) g of distilled water at 20 0C.  
B.2 Adjust the pH to 4.5 using 10 % H 2SO 4.  Boil for 3 min and allow settling in graduated cones. Note the 
settled volume after 30 min and express as %, (v/v) loose sludge.   
8 © UNBS  2019 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1] CODEX  STAN  247-2005, GENERAL STANDARD FOR FRUIT JUICES AND NECTARS . 
[2]       US EAS 819:2014, Molasses for Industrial use — Specification  
 DUS 2121 : 2019 
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  9 
 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 con junction 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 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 Directo r, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 
 DUS 2121 : 2019   
 
ICS 67.180.10 
Price based on nn pages  
© UNBS  2019– All rights reserved