Reference number  
DRS 344: 2017  
© RBS yyyy 
© RSB 2017  
2 
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS  
344 
 
1stedition  
2017-mm-dd 
(Reaffirmed yyyy)  
Plant based alcoholic beverages — 
Specification  
  DRS 344: 2017  
©RSB 2017 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  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© RSB2017 
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 R SB. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to  
Rwanda Standards  Board  
P.O Box 7099 Kigali -Rwanda  
Tel. +250 252 586103/ 582945  
E-mail: info@rsb.gov.rw  
Website: www.rsb.gov.rw  DRS xxx : 2017  
iii                 ©RSB 2017 All rights reserved  
 
 Contents  Page  
Plant -based alcoholic beverages — Specification  ................................ ................................ ..........................  1 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Requ irements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 Ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  2 
4.2 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
4.3 Specific quality requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  3 
5 Food additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
6 Heavy metal contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
7 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
7.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
7.2 Microbiological requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  4 
8 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
9 Sampling and test  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 5 
 DRS 344: 2017  
©RSB 2017 All rights reserved                  iv 
 
 Foreword  
Rwanda Standard sareprepared by Technical Committees and approved by R wanda 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 S tandards 
adopted by Technical committ ees are ratifie d by me mbers of RSB Board of Director s for publication and 
gazett ed as Rwanda Standards.  
RSnnn-n was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 017, TC Beverag e, In the preparation of this 
standard, reference was made to the following standard  (s): 
1) XYZ: Title  
2) XYZ:Title  
The assistance de rived from the above source is hereby acknowledged with thanks.  
This second/third/... edition cancels and replaces the first/ second/... edition (RS  nnn-n:yyyy ), [clause(s) / 
subclause(s) / table(s) / figure(s) / annex(es)] of whi ch [has / have] been technically revised.  
(The first/second/third/... edition (RS nnn-n: yyyy) has been re affirmed  by the Board ondd-mm-yyyy. ) 
RSnnn consists of the following parts, under the general title Introdu ctory element — Main element : 
 Part n: Part title 
 Part [n+1]: Part title  
Part [n+2]: Part title  
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Beverages  (RSB/TC 001) in the 
preparation of this standard.  
MINAGRI/RALIS  
PoA 
ICK BIK Kabgayi  DRS xxx : 2017  
v                 ©RSB 2017 All rights reserved  
 
 IMPANO Produ cts Ltd  
SPERANZA gp Ltd  
COPROVIBA  
UNIVERSITYOF RWANDA  
KASESE Distillers Ltd  
Ese URWIBUTSO  
UR/CAVM  
Rwanda  Standards Board (RSB) – Secretariat  DRS 344: 2017  
©RSB 2017 All rights reserved                  vi 
 
 Introduction  
 
 DRS 344: 2017  
1                 ©RSB 2017 All rights reserved  
 
 Plant -based alcoholic beverages — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Preliminary draft specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for  plant wine. 
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.  
RS EA S 303 -2:2016 : Ginger — Specification Part 2: Whole, dried and ground  
RS EAS 12:2014: Potable water — Specification  
RS CODEX STAN 212: 1999: Sugars — Specification  
CODEX STAN 67 -1981: Standard for raisins  
CAC/GL 66: 2008: Guidelines for the use of flavourings  
RS EAS 164:2016 Honey — Specification  
RS EAS 118:2011 Green tea — Specification  
RS EAS 139: 2014 Fortified wine — Specification  
RS EAS 138: 2014 Still table wine — Specification  
RS EAS 140: 2014 Sparkling wine — Specification  
 RS EAS 143:2014:  Brandy  — Specification  
RS EAS 104:2014: Alcoholic beverages —Methods of sampling and testing, 2nd Edition  
ISO 5523:1981:  Liquid  fruit and vegetables — Determination of sulphur dioxide content (Routine method)  
ISO 7952:1994:  Fruits , vegetables and derived products  — determination of copper content —- Method 
using flame atomic absorption spectrometry  
ISO 5517 :1978: Fruits, vegetables and derived products — determination of iro n content - 1,10 – 
phenanthroline photometric method   
©RSB 2017 All rights reserved                  2 
 
 ISO 6636 -2:1981:  Fruits , vegetables and derived products — Determination of zinc content — Part 2; 
Atomic absorption spectrometric method  
RS CODEXSTAN192: 1995  General standard for food additives . 
EAS 100:2000: Food stuffs — Methods of determination of Lead  
EAS 39:2000 : Hygiene in the food and  drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
RS EAS 38:2014: Labe lling of pre -packaged foods —Specification, 2nd Edition  
CODEX STAN 67:1981 Standard for Raisins  
RS ISO 4832: 2006 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for 
theenumeration of coliforms — Colony -count technique  
RS ISO 4833 -1:2013Microbiology of the food chain —Horizontal method for the enumeration 
ofmicroorganisms —Part 1: Colony count at 30 °C by the pour plate technique  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the follow ing terms and definitions apply . 
3.1  
Plant based alcoholic beverage  
 
Alcoholic beverage obtained from fermentation of suitable agricultural products other than fruits.  
3.2 
extraneous matter  
includes inorganic matter such as sand, glass, metal, gravel, dirt, pebbles, stones, lumps of earth, clay and  
mud and organic matter such as chaff, straw, weed seeds and fruit matter, insects or insects ’ fragments, 
rodent hairs or any other foreign matter . 
4 Requirements  
4.1 Ingredients  
The ingr edients for plant -based alcoholic beverages may include but not limited to the following:  
a) Suitable plant product or conforming to RS EAS 303 -2. DRS 344: 2017  
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 b) potable water  conforming to RS EAS 12  
c) sugarand other carbohydrate source material conforming to relevant standards  
4.2 General requirements  
Before producing any Plant based alcoholic beverages the producer shall prove the safety and suitability of 
the used material s and the final product  to the competent authority  
Alcohol may be added in plant based alcoholic beverages  
Plant based alcoholic beverages shall be: 
a)  free from cloudiness and suspended/particulate matter and shall be clear;have typical flavour and 
taste characteristics of plant material  
Note :Plant based alcoholic beverages may be flavoured and colo ured by using natural flavouring and 
colouring to adjust the flavour and the test   
b) be free from any extraneous matter injurious to health.  
4.3 Specific quality requirements  
Plant -based alco holic beverages  shall m eet the quality requirements specified in Table 1.  
Table 1 — Quality requireme nts for  plant based alcoholic beverages  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Ethyl alcohol content, %, v/v , max  14  
 
 
 
RS EAS 104  ii.  Total solids g/l 40-150 
iii.  Total sugar as invert sugars g /l, mmax  35 
iv.  Total Soluble S olids TSS(Brix) , max  5.80-6.20 
v.  Total acids  
*as citric acid, g/L of absolute alcohol (other  
fortified wine)  4 - 12 
vi.  Volatile acids, as acetic acid, g/L of absolute 
alcohol,  max.  2.04 - 2.16 
vii.  Sorbic acid, mg/kg, max.  1 000  
viii.  Copper, mg/L, max  2.0 ISO 7952  
ix.  Iron, mg/L, max  8.0 ISO 5517  
x.  Zinc, mg/L, max.  5 ISO 6636 -2 
  
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 5 Food additives  
Food additives may be used in the production of ginger wine in accordance with RS CODEX STAN 192. 
6 Heavy metal contaminants  
Heavy metals in plant wine shall not exceed the maximum limits set in table 2  
S/No.  Type of impurity  Limit  Test method  
1.  Arsenic (as As), mg/L, max.  0.01 ISO 6634  
2.  Lead (as Pb), mg/L, max.  0.2 AOAC 972.25  
3.  Cadmium (as Cd) mg/L, max  0.1 AOAC 999.11  
 
7 Hygiene  
7.1 General  
Plant -based alcoholic beverages  shall be manufactured and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with 
EAS 39.  
7.2 Microbiological requirements  
When the alcohol is less than 10%, Banana based alcoholic  shall comply with limits for micro -organisms 
specified in Table 3.  
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for Plant based alcoholic beverages  
S/No.  Organism  Maximum limit  Test method  
1 Staphylococcus aureus , cfu/ml,  100 ISO 6888 -1 
2 Salmonella spp , cfu/25 ml  Absent  ISO 6579  
3 E. Coli , cfu/ml  Absent  ISO 11866 -2 
4 Total viable count, cfu/ml  100 ISO 4833 -2 
5 Yeast and moulds  100  
 DRS 344: 2017  
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 8 Packaging  
Plant based alcoholic beverages shall be packaged suitable packaging materials that will maintain the quality 
and not impart toxic substances to the products . 
In addition to the requirements of RS EAS 38 , the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and 
shall belegibly and indelibly marked:  
a) common name as ‘Plant based alcoholic beverages  
b) name, physical locatio n and address of manufacturer;  
c) ethyl alcohol content, % by v  
d) list of ingredients in descending order  
e) net content;  
f) date of manufacture;  
g) best before date  
h) batch identification number/code;  
i) country of origin; and  
j) statutory warnings  
9 Sampling and test  
Sampling and test s shall be carried out in accordance with RS EAS 104 . 
 DRS 344:2017  
ICS 67.000  
 
 
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