DRAFT EAST  AFRICAN  STANDARD  DEAS  77:2022  
 
ICS 67.080.10  
 
 
 
Fruit  drinks  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAST  AFRICAN  COMMUNITY  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© EAC 2022   Third  Edition  2022 
  ii   
 
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 © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  iii  DEAS 77: 2022  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contents  Page  
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative  references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms  and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Product  description  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  3 
5 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  3 
5.1 Ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  3 
5.1.2  Sweetening  agents  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  4 
5.1.3  Water  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  4 
5.1.4  Fortification  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  4 
5.2 Genera l requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  4 
5.3 Specific  requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  4 
6 Food  additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 5 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  5 
7.1 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 5 
7.2 Heavy  metal contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  5 
8 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  5 
9 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
10 Weights  and measures  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  6 
11 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  6 
11.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  6 
11.2 Name  of the product  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  6 
11.3 Additional labelling requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 7 
11.4 Fruit  juice  content declaration  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  7 
11.5 Nutritional  labelling,  nutrition and health claims  ................................ ................................ ...............  7 
11.6 Labelling  prohibitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  7 
12 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  7 
Annex  A (normative)  Methods  of measuring gas  volume  ................................ ................................ .............  8 
Principle ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  8 
Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  8 
Annex  B (normative)  Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  9 
B.1 Definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  9 
B.2 Sampling  plans  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 10 © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  
iv  DEAS 77: 2022  
 
 
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.  
 
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee (EASC) mandated to develop and  
issue  East African  Standards  (EAS).  The Committee  is composed  of representatives  of the National  
Standards Bodies in Partner Stat es, together with the representatives from the public and private sector  
organizations  in the community.  
 
East African  Standards  are developed  through  Technical  Committees  that are representative  of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer  groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
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 stand ards, in 
accordance with  the Principles  and procedures  for development  of East African  Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East  
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure t hat they always have the latest versions of the standards  
they are implementing . 
The committee  responsible  for this document  is Technical  Committee  EASC/TC  025, Processed fruits,  
vegetables  and tubers . 
 
Attention  is drawn  to the possibility  that some  of the elements  of this document  may be subject  of patent  
rights. EAC  shall not be held responsible  for identifying  any or all such  patent rights.   
© EAC 2022 – All rights  reserved  1   
DRAFT EAST  AFRICAN  STANDARD                                                                          DEAS 77: 2022  
 
 
Fruit  drinks  — Specification  
 
1 Scope  
 
This Ea st African Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for fruit drinks either as  
ready -to-drink  or dilutables  containing  fruit juice.  
 
This standard  does  not apply  to the following  categories  of products  for which  other  standards  apply:  
 
a) fruit juices  and nectars;   
 
b) vegetable  juices  and nectars ; and 
 
c) water based  flavored drinks . 
 
 
2 Normative  references  
 
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes  
requirements of this docum ent. For dated references, only the edition cited appl ies. For undated references,  
the latest  edition  of the  referenced  document  (including  any amendments) applies.  
 
AOAC  999.10,  Lead,  Cadmium,  Zinc,  Copper  and iron in foods.  Atomic  absorption  spectrophoto metry  after 
microwave digestio n 
 
CODEX  STAN  192, Gener al standard  for food additives  
 
EAS 12 , Potable water — Specification  
 
EAS 38, Labelling  of pre-packaged  foods — General  requirements  
 
EAS 39, Hygiene  in the in the food and  drink  manufacturing industry  — Code of  practice  
 
EAS 803, Nutrition  labelling  — Requirements  
 
EAS 804, Claims  on foods  — Requirements  
 
EAS 805, Use of nutritional  and health  claims  — Requirements  
 
ISO 763, Fruit and vegetable  products  — Determination  of ash insoluble  in hydrochloric acid 
 
ISO 1842,  Fruit and  vegetable product s — Determination  of pH 
 
ISO 2173,  Fruit and vegetable  products  ─ Determination  of soluble  solids  ─ Refractometric  method  
 
ISO 2448,  Fruit and vegetable  products  ─ Determination  of ethanol  content  
 
ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology  of the food chain  — Horizontal  method  for the enumeration  of microorganisms  — 
Part 1: Colony coun t at 30 degrees C  by the  pour plate  technique  
 
ISO 4833 -2, Microbiology  of the food chain  — Horizontal  method  for the enumeration  of microorganisms  — 
Part 2: Colony count  at 30 degrees C  by the  surface  plating  © EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved  
2  ISO 4832,  Microbiology  of food and animal  feeding stuffs  — Horizontal  method  for the 
enumeration  of coliforms — Colony -count  technique  
 
ISO 6633 , Fruits,  vegetables  and derived  products  — Determ ination  of lead content  — Flameless  
atomic  absorption  spectrometric method  
 
ISO 6634,  Fruits,  vegetables  and derived  products  — Determination  of arsenic  content  — Silver  
diethyldithiocarbamate  spectrophotometric method  
 
ISO 7251,  Microbiology  of food and animal  feeding  stuffs  — Horizontal  method  for the detection  and 
enumeration of  presumptive  Escherichia  coli — Most  probable  number  technique  
 
ISO 21527 -2, Microbiology  of food and animal  feeding  stuffs  — Horizontal  method  for the 
enumeration  of yeasts  and m oulds — 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 document,  the following  terms  and definitions  apply.  
 
3.1 
fruit 
edible  part of the plant  that conta ins the seeds 
 
3.2 
fruit juice  
liquid  obtained  from the edible  part of sound,  appropriately  mature  and fresh  fruit or of fruit 
maintained  in sound  condition  by suitable  means  
 
3.3 
fruit pulp  
edible  portions  of the fruit, mashed,  or cut into pieces, but  not reduced  to a puree  
 
3.4 
one gas (carbonation)  volume  
amount  of carbon  dioxide  the water  volume  absorbs  at the standard  atmospheric  pressure  at 15.6 ºC  
 
3.5 
carbonation  
process  of addition  of carbon  dioxide  to fruit drinks  to achieve  the characteristics  of the produ ct 
at the specified  temperature  and pressure  
 
3.6 
standardized  fruit juice  
juice made  by blending  single  strength fruit  juices  to a standard or  reference  brix value  
 
3.7 
single  strength  fruit juice  
natural  liquid  obtained  from fruit without  any blending  or modification  
 
3.8 
brix 
total soluble  solids  content  of the juice 
 
3.9 
dilutables  
fruit drinks  that require  dilution  to suit the taste  of consumers  
 © EAC 2022 – All rights  reserved  3  3.10 
fruit puree  
any unfermented pulpy fruit  juice product obtained by finely comminuting and sieving only  the edible portion of  
fruit or the fruit as a whole after removal of the rind and seeds or pits or pips, and preserved in a permitted  
manner  
 
3.11 
blended  fruit drink  
any fruit drink  obtained  by mixing  two or more  fruit juice,  pulp and/or  purées  from different  kinds  of fruit  
 
3.12 
food  grade  material  
material that will safeguard the hygienic, safety, nutritional, technological, and organoleptic qualities of the  
product  
 
3.13 
ready -to-drink  
fruit drink of a single strength or that the fruit drink which had been concentrated into a solid or liquid form, has  
been reconstituted  or diluted  according  to the instructions on  the container  
 
3.14 Fruit drink  
is a manufactured beverage intended for direct h uman consumption which contains fruit juice,  fruit pulp/puree , 
fruit juice concentrate s or other  edible parts of the fruits  and other permitted ingr edients and /or additives  
 
4 Product  description  
 
4.1 Fruit drink may be made from  a single (single strength fruit juice) or  a mixture of two or more fruits. It 
may be sweetened  with nutritive and/ or  non-nutritive (intense)  sweeteners  with or without added carbon 
dioxide and other permitted food additives. These beverages may be clear,  cloudy, or may contain particulate 
matter (for example, fruit pieces, crushed pips, seeds and/ or peel of the  fruit).  
 
4.2 Fruit cordial is a syru p concentrated drink which has to be diluted to a minimum ration of one to three, to  
produce a suitable drink after dilution. The product is obtained by blending clarified fruit juice with nutritive  
and/or non -nutritive (intense) sweeteners, water, with or  without salt and peel oil and any other ingredients  
suitable to  the product.  
 
4.3 Fruit  squash  is cordial,  containing after  dilution  in a minimum  of one to three  to produce a ready to  
drink. It is made from fruit  juice, nutritive and/or non -nutritive (intense ) sweeteners singly or in combination,  
water,  and diluted  sugar  syrup.  Squashes  may also contain  food colouring and  additional  flavouring . 
 
4.4 Fruit  crush  are drinks  obtained by squeezing/crushing  fruits  without  further  straining.  
 
5 Requirements  
 
5.1 Ingredi ents 
 
5.1.1  The following  ingredients  shall comply  with the relevant  East African  Standards.  
 
a) fruits;  
 
b) fruit juice;  
 
c) puree,  pulp;  and 
 
d) concentrates  
 © EAC 2022 – All rights  reserved  7  5.1.2  Sweetening  agents  
 
a) Honey, sucrose, gluc ose (dextrose anhydrous) or fruc tose, and other nutritive sweeteners 
and/or  non-nutritive  sweeteners  may be added.  
 
When  non-nutritive  sweetener  is used,  the amount  and type shall comply  with clause  6 and it shall 
be declared  as such  in accordance  with clause 11.  
 
b) Syrups (as defined in t he relevant standards for sugars), liquid sucrose, invert sugar 
solution,  invert sugar syrup, fructose syrup, liquid cane sugar, isoglucose and high fructose 
syrup may be  added  only to fruit drinks  from concentrate.  
 
5.1.3  Water  
 
The water  used for  the manufactu re of fruit  drinks  shall comply  with EAS 1 2. 
 
5.1.4  Fortification  
 
For the purposes  of product  fortification,  essential  nutrients  such  as vitamins  and minerals  may be 
added  to fruit drinks.  Such  additions  shall comply  with natio nal legislation established  for this purpose.  
 
5.2 General  requirements  
 
5.2.1  Fruit drinks  shall 
 
a) have the  essential  physical, chemical, nutritional characteristics, colour,  aroma and flavour  
of juice from the same  kind of fruits  from which  it is made.  
 
b) have  a uniform appearance  and consistency.  
 
c) have not undergone any  kind of deterioration  or spoilage.  
 
d)  free from foreign  matter.  
 
 
5.2.2  Clear  fruit dri nks shall remain  so when  stored under  normal  storage  conditions.  
 
5.3 Specific  requirements  
 
Fruit drinks  shall comply  with the specific  requirements  in Table  1 when  tested  in accordance  with 
the methods  specified  therein.  
 
Table  1 — Specific requiremen ts for fruit drinks  
 
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i. Ethanol  content, %,  max.  0.3 ISO 2448  
ii. Acid insoluble  ash, %, max.  0.1 ISO 763 © EAC 2022 – All rights  reserved  7  iii. Fruit juice/fruit  puree  in the final product  %, min. 
 
 
Ready  to drink  (RTD)  
Fruit squash (in the undiluted form)  
Fruit crush  
Fruit cordial   
 
 
10 
24 
24 
24  
 
 
GMP  
iv. Total  soluble  solids,  %, min. 
 
 
Ready  to drink  (RTD)  
Fruit squash (in the undiluted form)  
Fruit crush  
Fruit cordial   
 
 
10 
40 
55 
30  
 
 
ISO 2173 
v. pH, max. 4.5 ISO 1842 
vi. a, b 
Carb on dioxide,  CO 2, min. One gas volume  Annex  A 
a Only applicable to carbonated  fruit drinks.  
b Where  the drink  contains  more  than one gas volume  of carbon  dioxide,  the term carbonated  /sparkling  shall appear  in 
the name  of the product.  
 
6 Food  additives  
 
6.1 Fruit drinks  may contain  only permitted  additives  in accordance  with CODEX  STAN  192. 
 
6.2 For tomato  drink,  salt, spices  and aromatic  herbs may  be used.  
 
7 Contaminants  
 
7.1 Pestic ide residues  
 
Fruit drinks  shall comply  with the pesticide  residue  limits  prescribed by  the Codex  Alimentarius  
Commission  of the respective  commodity.  
 
7.2 Heavy  metal  
 
Fruit drinks shall not contain heavy metal contaminants in excess of the limits specified i n Table  2 when 
tested  in accordance  with the methods specified  therein.  
 
Table  2 — Heavy  metal contaminants  limits  for fruit drinks  
 
 
S/N  
Heavy  metal  Maximum limit,  
mg/kg   
Test method  
    
ii. Lead  (as Pb) 0.03 ISO 6633  
iii.    
 
 © EAC 2022 – All rights  reserved  7  8 Hygiene  
 
8.1 Fruit drinks shall be produced  and handled  under  hygienic  conditions  in accordance  with EAS 39.  
 
 
8.2 Fruit drinks  shall comply with the microbiological  limits  given  in Table  3 when  tested  in 
accordance  with the methods specified  therein.  
 
Table  3 ─ Microbiological  limits  for fruit drinks  
 
S/N Microorganism  Limit  Test method  
i.  
Total  plate  count,  cfu/g,  max.   
103 ISO 4833 -1 
ISO 4833 -2 
ii. Escherichia  coli, cfu/g,  max.  Absent  ISO 16649 -2 
iii. Yeasts  and moulds,  cfu/g,  max.  30 ISO 21527 -2 
 
 
 
9 Pack aging  
 
Fruit drinks  shall be packaged  in food grade  material  that ensures  the integrity  and safety  of the product.  
 
 
10 Labelling  
 
10.1 General  
 
In addition  to the requirements  of EAS 38, EAS 803, EAS 804 and EAS 805, the following  specific  label ling 
requirements  shall apply  and shall be legibly  and indelibly  marked  on the container.  
 
10.1.1  Name  of the product  
 
10.1.1 The name  of the product  shall be"----------  drink” or “ -----------  fruit drink”,  or “------------  squash,  or “----- 
------ cordial  or ---------- crush  , where  “ -----------  ” shall be replaced  with the common  name  of the fruit(s)  from 
which  the drink  is made.  
 
10.1.2 In the case of fruit  drink products manufactured from two or more fruits, the product name shall  
include the names of the fruit drinks comprising the mi xture in descending order of proportion by weight 
(m/m)  or the words "fruit drink  blend", "  a fruit drink mixture", "mixed  fruit drink"  or other  similar  wording.  
 
In case  of fruit squash,  cordial  or crush  the word  “drink”  shall be substituted  respectively.  
 
10.1.2  Date of  manufacture  
 
10.1.3   Expiry  date.  
 
10.1.4  Brand  /trade  name.  
 
10.1.5  List of ingredients.  
 
10.1.6  Net contents.  
 
10.1.7  Instructions  for use. 
 
10.1.8  Storage  conditions.  © EAC 2022 – All rights  reserved  7   
10.1.9  Name  and address  of the manufacturer.  
 
10.1.10  Country  of origin.  
 
10.2  Additional  labelling  requirements  
 
The following  designatio ns shall be used  where applicable:  
 
a. When  food additive  sweeteners  are employed  as substitutes  for sugars  in fruit drinks,  the statement, 
“with sweetener(s),” shall be included in conjunction with or in close proximity to the  product  name;  
 
b. If non-nutritive  sweetener  is used,  the following  words “contains  non-nutritive sweetener for  special  
dietary  use” shall be declared  on the label  in close  proximity; and  
 
c. The name,  type and  the amount of  non-nutritive  sweeteners used  shall be indicated  in the label.  
 
10.3 Fruit  juice  content  declaration  
 
Fruit drinks, squashes, crushes and cordials shall be labelled with declaration of juice conte nt as specified in  
Table  1. 
 
10.4 Nutriti onal labelling,  nutrition  and health  claims  
 
Nutritional labelling, nutrition and health claims may be made in accordance with EAS 803, EAS 804 and EAS  
805. 
 
If non - nutritive sweetener is used, the following words ‘cont ain non -nutritive sweetener for spec ial dietary use’  
shall be  declared  on the  label in  close  proximity.  
 
10.5 Labelling  prohibitions  
 
The following  are prohibited:  
 
If the product is a drink that contains the juice whose color, taste or other organoleptic prope rties have been  
modified to the exte nt that the original juice is no longer recognizable by the end processing or if the content of  
the juice is less than 10 %, then the source fruits shall not be depicted on the label by sketch or pictorial  
presentations.  
No fruit drink may be represented p ictorially on the label except the species of fruits or fruit juices present, in  
the fruit drink in amounts constituting 10 % or more, provided that where two or more fruits or fruit juices are  
used, the combination of t he fruits or fruit juices whose cont ent individually constitutes 10 % or more may be  
used  in the pictorial.  
 
 
11 Sampling  
 
Sampling  shall be done  in accordance  with Annex  B. 8  Annex A  
(normative)  
 
Methods  of measuring  gas volume  
 
 
 
 
A.1 Principle  
 
The method i nvolves snifting of the top gas. The pre ssure reading should drop to 2 psi, to remove the air  
before testing for carbon dioxide volume. In so doing correction of altitude as per table should be 
considered  as pressure  is affected  by altitude.  
 
The apparatus  consists of pressure gauge having a hol low spike with holes in its side. The bottle is 
inserted  from the side into the slot provided in the neck of the carbon dioxide tester and is secured in 
place by  tightening with a threaded system. The pressure gauge is inserted until the needle point touch es 
the crown  cork. There is a  snift valve on the  gauge stem  which is kept closed  until the  needle  point  of the 
pressure  gauge  is forced  through  the crown  cork.  The reading  is noted  on the gauge.  
 
 
A.2 Procedure  
 
Clam p the bottle in the frame of the gas  volume tester.  Pierce the crown cork  but do not shake  the 
bottle.  Snift off the top gas quickly until the gauge reading drops to zero.  Make certain to close the valve 
instantly the  needle touches zero in the pressure ga uge. Shake the bottle vigorously until the g auge gives 
the reading that  additional shaking does not change. Record the pressure.  Note the temperature and 
record. Obtain the  volume  of gas from  pressure -temperature  chart  (carbon  dioxide  chart).  
 
 
 © EAC 2022– All rights  reserved  11  Annex  B 
(normative)  
 
Sampling  
 
 
 
 
B.1 Definitions  
 
B.1.1  lot 
collection of primary containers or units of  the same size, type, and style manufactured or packed under  
similar  conditions  and handled  as a single  unit of trade  
 
B.1.2  lot size 
number  of primary  containers  or units  in the lot  
 
B.1.3  sample  size 
total number of sample  units  drawn  for examination  from a lot 
 
B.1.4  sample  unit 
container,  a portion of the contents  of a container, or  a composite mixture of product from  small containers  
that is sufficient for the e xamination or testing as a single unit. For fil l of container, the sample unit shall be the  
entire contents of  the container  
 
B.2 Sampling  plans  
 
Sampling  shall be done in  accordance  with the plan  specified  in Table  B.1. 
 
Table  B.1 — Sampling  plan 
 
 
 
Lot size (primary  containers)   
Size of container,  
n a 
 
Net weight  equal  to or less than  1 kg (2.2 lb) 
 
4 800 or less  
13 
 
4 801 to 24 000  
21 
 
24 001 to 48 000  
29 
 
48 001 to 84 000  
48 
 
84 001 to  144 000  
84 
 
144 001 to 240 000  
126 
 
Over  240 000  
200 
 
Net weight  greater  than 1 kg (2.2 lb) but not more than 4.5 kg (10 lb) 
 
2 400 or less  
13 © EAC 2022– All rights  reserved  11   
2 401 to 15 000  
21 
 
15 001 to 24 000  
29 
 
24 001 to 42 000  
48 
 
42 001 to  72, 000  
84 
 
72 001 to  120 000  
126 
 
Over  120 000  
200 
 
Net weight  greater  than 4.5 kg (10 lb) 
 
600 or less  
13 
 
601 to 2 000   
21 
 
2 001 to 7 200  
29 
 
7 201 to 15 000  
48 
 
15 001 to 24 000  
84 
 
24 001 to 42 000  
126 
Over  42 000 200 
 
a n = number  of primary  containers  in sample.  
 
. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  DEAS 77: 20 22 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© EAC 2022  – All rights  reserved