ICS 67.220.10  
 
Reference number
DRS 169: 2023
© RSB 2023
  
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS 
169 
 
Second edition  
yyy-mm-dd  
 
Chilli oil — Specification   
DRS 169: 2023 
©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved                  ii 
 In order to match with technological development and to keep continuous progress in industries, 
standards are subject to periodic review. Users shall ascertain that they are in possession of the latest 
edition 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© RSB 2022 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized 
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without 
prior written permission from RSB. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to: 
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P.O Box 7099 Kigali-Rwanda 
KK 15 Rd, 49 
Tel. +250 788303492 
Toll Free: 3250 
E-mail: info@rsb.gov.rw  
Website: www.rsb.gov.rw  
ePortal: www.portal.rsb.gov.rw  DRS 169: 2023 
iii                ©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved 
 Contents Page 
Foreword ...................................................................................................................................................................... iv 
1 Scope .............................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
2 Normative references .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
3 Terms and definitions ................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4 Requirements ................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4.1 Essential ingredients ................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4.2 Optional ingredients ................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4.3 General requirements ................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.  
4.4 Specific requirements ................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.  
5 Hygiene ........................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
6 Microbiological limits .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7 Contaminants ................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7.1 Pesticide residues ...................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7.2 Heavy metals ............................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
7.3 Aflatoxins .................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
8 Packaging ....................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
9 Labelling ......................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
10 Sampling ...................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.  
Annex A  (normative)  Gravimetric determination of water-insoluble solids content (Type II 
method) ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 
A.1 Sampling .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 
A.1.1 Liquid or strained honey................................................................................................................................. 6 
A.1.2 Comb honey6 
A.2 Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 
A.2.1 Preparation of test sample ............................................................................................................................. 6 
A.2.2 Gravimetric determination .............................................................................................................................. 6 
A.2.3 Expression of results ...................................................................................................................................... 6 
Annex B  (normative)  Determination of fructose-glucose ratio ............................................................................. 7 
B.1 Principle of the method................................................................................................................................... 7 
B.2 Apparatus ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 
B.3 Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 
B.4 Calculation and expression of results .......................................................................................................... 7 
Annex C  (normative)  Fiehe's test ............................................................................................................................ 10 
C.1 Reagent10 
C.1.1 Resorcinol solution ....................................................................................................................................... 10 
C.2 Procedure ....................................................................................................................................................... 10 
C.3 Expression of results .................................................................................................................................... 10 
 DRS 169: 2023 
©RSB 2023 - All rights reserved                  iv 
 Foreword 
Rwanda Standards are prepared by Technical Committees and approved by Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) 
Board of Directors in accordance with the procedures of RSB, in compliance with Annex 3 of the WTO/TBT 
agreement on the preparation, adoption and application of standards. 
The main task of technical committees is to prepare national standards. Final Draft Rwanda Standards 
adopted by Technical committees are ratified by members of RSB Board of Directors for publication and 
gazettment as Rwanda Standards. 
RS 169 was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 019, Spices, condiments and food additives. 
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (RS 169: 2013) which has been technically revised. 
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Spices, condiments and food 
additives (RSB/TC 019) in the preparation of this standard. 
AGASHINGURACUMU Ltd  
Enterprise URWIBUTSO 
IMARB Group 
Rwanda Consumer’s Rights Protection Organization (ADECOR) 
SPIRULINA Corporation 
Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) – Secretariat 
 DRS 169: 2023 
1                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Chilli oil — Specification 
1 Scope 
This Draft Rwanda Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for chilli oil intended for human 
consumption. 
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 document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the 
latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies. 
AOAC 950.17, Citric acid in non-alcoholic beverages 
AOAC 952.13,  Arsenic in food. Silver diethyldithiocarbamate 
AOAC 962.17, Volatile oil in spices 
AOAC 973.34,  Cadmium in food . Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 999.10 , Lead, Cadmium, Zinc, Copper, and Iron in Foods 
ISO 948, Spices and condiments — Sampling  
ISO 3513, Chillies — Determination of Scoville index 
ISO 16649-2,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of beta-
glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony-count technique at 44 degrees C using 5-bromo-4-chloro-
3-indolyl beta-D-glucuronide 
RS CAC/RCP 1, General principles of food hygiene — Code of practice  
RS CODEX STAN 192, General standard for food additives  
RS EAS 38, Labelling of pre-packaged foods — General requirements 
RS ISO 1842, Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of pH 
RS ISO 3960, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of peroxide value — Iodometric (visual) endpoint 
determination  
RS ISO 4833-1 , Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms — Part 
1: Colony count at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique DRS 169: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  2 
 RS ISO 6579-1 , Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and serotyping 
of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp. 
RS ISO 21527-1 , Microbiology of food 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 standard, the following terms and definitions apply. 
3.1 
chilli oil 
condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with chilli peppers. 
3.2 
fresh chillies 
fresh, mature and clean chillies of Capsicum and/or preserved chillies 
4 Ingredients 
4.1 Basic ingredients 
Chilli oil shall be a product prepared from fresh chillies, a mixture of chilli paste or chilli solids derived from clean, 
sound and whole some ripened chillies and cooking oil complying with standards for named vegetable oil. 
4.2 Optional ingredients 
Chilli oil may contain finely ground clean and wholesome garlic, sugar, ginger, onion and other spices or their 
extracts. It may contain ripened fruits and permitted thickeners contained in the RS CODEX STAN 192, for food 
additives. 
5 Requirements 
5.1 General requirements 
Chilli oil shall: 
have the characteristic colour of ingredients; 
based on the optional ingredient these requirement cannot be achieved be free from any foreign matter; and 
be free from objectionable flavour, off-flavour or objectionable odours of any kind. DRS 169: 2023 
3                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 5.2 Specific requirements 
Chilli oil shall comply with the requirements as prescribed in Table 1. 
Table 1 ― Specific requirements for chilli oil 
S/N Characteristic Limit Test method 
i. Acidity as acetic acid, % m/m, min. 0.8 AOAC 950.17 
ii. pH, max. 4 RS ISO 1842 
iii. Scoville index, Scoville Heat Unit 600 – 13 000 ISO 3513 
iv. Volatile oil, %, max. 2 AOAC 962.17 
v. Peroxide value, milliequivalents of peroxide 
oxygen/kg, max. 10 RS ISO 3960 
5.3 Microbiological requirements 
Chilli oil shall conform to microbiological limits in Table 2. 
Table 2 — Microbiological requirements in chilli oil 
S/N Parameter Maximum limit Test method 
i. Total viable count, CFU/g  104 RS ISO 4833-1 
ii. E. coli, CFU/ml Absent ISO 16649-2 
iii. Staphylococcus aureus Absent RS ISO 6888-1 
iv. Salmonella, spp , in 25 ml Absent RS IS0 6579-1 
v. Yeast and moulds, CFU/ml 100 RS ISO 21527-1 
6 Food additives 
Food additives may be used in the preparation of chilli oil and shall comply with RS CODEX STAN 192. 
7 Contaminants 
7.1 Heavy metals 
Chilli oil shall not contain heavy metals in excess of those given in Table 3.  
Table 3 — Maximum limits for heavy metal contaminants 
S/N Contaminant Maximum limit 
(mg/l) Test method 
i. Arsenic 0.5 AOAC 952.13 
ii. Cadmium 0.05 AOAC 973.34 DRS 169: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  4 
 iii. Lead 0.5 AOAC 999.10 
7.2 Pesticides residues 
The products covered by the provisions of this standard shall comply with those maximum residue limits established 
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
8 Hygiene 
Chilli oil shall be prepared and handled in accordance with the hygienic requirements stipulated in RS CAC/RCP 1. 
9 Packaging 
Chilli oil shall be packaged in food grade containers which shall safeguard the safety and the quality of the product 
and the container shall be sealed and airtight. 
10 Labelling 
In addition to the requirements specified in RS EAS 38, chilli oil shall be legibly and indelibly labelled with the 
following information: 
a) name of the product “Chilli oil”; 
b) name and address of the manufacturer/packer; 
c) country of origin; 
d) list of ingredients; 
e) net weight; 
f) expiry/best before date; 
g) date of packing; 
h) batch number;  
i) storage instructions; 
j) instructions for use; and 
k) cooking oil used. DRS 169: 2023 
5                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 11 Sampling 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 948. 
. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DRS 169: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  6 
 Annex A 
(normative ) 
 
Gravimetric determination of water-insoluble solids content (Type II method) 
A.1 Sampling 
A.1.1 Liquid or strained honey 
If sample is free from granulation, mix thoroughly by stirring or shaking; if granulated, place closed container in 
water-bath without submerging, and heat 30 min at 60 °C; then, if necessary, heat at 65 °C until liquefied. 
Occasional shaking is essential. Mix thoroughly and cool rapidly as soon as sample liquefies. Do not heat honey 
intended for Hydroxymethylfurfural or diastatic determination. If foreign matter, such as wax, sticks, bee’s particles or 
comb, etc., is present, heat sample at 40 °C in water-bath and strain through cheesecloth in hot-water-funnel before 
sampling 
A.1.2 Comb honey 
Cut across top of comb, if sealed, and separate completely from comb by straining through a sieve the meshes of 
which are made by so weaving wire as to form square opening of 0.500 mm by 0.500 mm when portions of comb or 
wax pass-through sieve, heat sample as in A.1.1 and strain through cheesecloth. If honey is granulated in comb, 
heat until wax is liquefied; stir, cool and remove wax. 
A.2 Procedure 
A.2.1 Preparation of test sample 
Weigh 20 g of honey and dissolve in a suitable quantity of distilled water at 80 °C and mix well.  
A.2.2 Gravimetric determination 
The test sample is filtered through a previously dried and weighed fine sintered glass crucible (pore size 15.40) and 
washed thoroughly with hot water (80 °C) until free from sugars (Mohr test). The crucible is dried for one hour at 135 
°C, cooled and weighed to 0.1 mg.  
A.2.3 Expression of results 
The result is expressed as percent water insoluble solids (m/m). 
 
 
 DRS 169: 2023 
7                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
 Annex B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of fructose-glucose ratio 
B.1 Principle of the method 
The glucose portion of the invert sugar content of honey is determined by reacting it with iodine. The fructose 
content is calculated by subtraction.  
B.2 Apparatus 
B.2.1 0.05 N iodine solution  
B.2.2 0.01 N sodium hydroxide solution  
B.2.3 0.05 N standard sodium thiosulphate solution 
B.3 Procedure 
Pipette 50 ml of honey solution in a 250-ml stoppered flask. Add iodine solution and 25 ml of sodium hydroxide 
solution. Stopper the flask and keep in dark for 20 min. Acidify with 5 ml of sulphuric acid and titrate quickly the 
excess of iodine against standard thiosulphate solution. Conduct a blank using 50 ml of water instead of honey 
solution.  
B.4 Calculation and expression of results 
B.4.1 Approximate glucose, percent by mass (g of glucose per 100 g honey):  
𝑤=(𝐵−𝑆)×0.004502×100
𝑎 
where 
B is the volume, in millilitres, of sodium thiosulphate solution required for the blank.  
S is the volume, in millilitres, of sodium thiosulphate solution required for the sample, and  
a is the mass, in grams, of honey taken for the test.  
B.4.2 Approximate fructose, per cent by mass (g fructose per 100 g honey): DRS 169: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  8 
 𝑥=𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑠 (𝑐)−𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡  (𝑤)
0.925 
B.4.3 Actual glucose content (g per 100 g honey), per cent (Y)= W-0.012X and  
𝐹𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑔𝑝𝑒𝑟 100𝑔 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦),𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑧) =𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑠 −𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙
0.925 
 
B.4.4   Fructose-glucose ratio  
𝐹𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑒 −𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜=𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡  (𝑧)
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡  (𝑦) 
 
. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DRS 169: 2023 
9                ©RSB 2023- All rights reserved 
  DRS 169: 2023 
©RSB 2023- All rights reserved                  10 
 Annex C 
(normative ) 
 
Fiehe's test 
C.1 Reagent 
C.1.1 Resorcinol solution 
Dissolve 1 g of resublimed resorcinol in 100 ml of hydrochloric acid (specific gravity 1.18 or 1.19).  
C.2 Procedure 
Dissolve 2 g of honey in 10 ml of water and extract with 30 ml ether. A continuous extractor is preferable. Remove 
ether in a separating funnel and concentrate the layer at 5 ml. Add 2 ml of freshly prepared resorcinol solution, 
shake and note the colour.  
C.3 Expression of results 
A cherry red colour appearing in a minute indicates the presence of commercial invert sugar.DRS 169: 2023 
 
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