PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS DEAS 917  
Second  Edition  
2018-mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
DUS DEAS 91 7: 2017  
© UNBS 201 8 
  
Turmeric — Specification 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS DEAS 917: 2017 
ii                © UNBS  2018 - 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 2018 
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: +256 417 333 250 /1/2 
Fax: +256 414 286 123 
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS DEAS 917: 2017 
© UNBS  2018 - All rights reserved                iii National 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 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 declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
This Uganda Standard, DUS DEAS 917: 2017 , Turmeric — Specification,  is identical with  and has been 
reproduced from an East African Standard , DEAS 917: 2017,  Tumeric — Specification , and adopt ed as a 
Uganda Standard. 
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS/TC 2, Food and agriculture 
Subcommittee SC 4 , Fruits , Vegetables, Spices and related products. 
This Second edition cancels and replaces the first edition, US ISO 5562:1983, Turmeric, whole or ground 
(powdered) —Specification, which has been technically revised. 
Wherever the words , “East African Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard." 
 
  PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT
 DEAS 917: 2017  
ICS 67.220.10  
 
© EAC 2017                                                                                                                              First Edition 2017 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
Turmeric — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017 
ii © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice 
This EAC document is copyright-protected by EAC. While the reproduction of this document by 
participants in the EAC standards development process is permitted without prior permission from EAC, 
neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form for 
any other purpose without prior written permission from EAC. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document for the purpose of selling it should be addressed 
as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community 2017  — All rights reserved 
East African Community  
P.O. Box 1096, 
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Tanzania 
Tel: + 255 27 2162100 
Fax: + 255 27 2162190 
E-mail: eac@eachq.org 
       Web: www.eac -quality.net  
Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement. 
Violators may be prosecuted. 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017  
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  iii 
 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 States, 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 standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards. XXXXXX. 
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing.  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 006, Spices culinary herbs 
and condiments . 
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. 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 917: 2017  
 
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  1 
 Turmeric — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for dried 
turmeric , Curcuma longa  (L). whole, in pieces and ground.  
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. 
CODEX STAN 193 , General standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed 
EAS 38,  Labelling of pre-packaged foods — Specification  
EAS 39 , Hygiene in the food and drink industry — Code of practice 
EAS 99 , Spices and condiments — Nomenclature  
ISO 927 , Spices and condiments — Determination of extraneous matter and foreign matter content 
ISO 928 , Spices and condiments — Determination of total ash 
ISO 930,  Spices and condiments — Determination of acid insoluble ash  
ISO 939 , Spices and condiments — Determination of moisture content Entrainment method 
ISO 948 , Spices and condiments —  Sampling  
ISO 4833-1 , Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of micro-organisms 
— Part 1: Colony-count at 30 degrees C — Pour plate technique 
ISO 6571 , Spices and condiments — Determination of volatile oil content (hydrodistillation method) 
ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Part 6: Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp.  
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 7954 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — General guidance for enumeration of yeasts 
and moulds — Part 8: Colony count technique at 25 degrees C 
ISO 16050 , Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017 
2 © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EAS 99 and the following apply. 
3.1 
turmeric whole and in pieces 
Is the primary (bulb) or secondary (fingers) rhizomes of the plants of Curcuma longa  L.; cured by boiling 
in water and drying for whole turmeric, or washing, slicing and drying for turmeric in pieces 
3.2 
rhizome 
Is underground stem continuously growing horizontally and puts out lateral shoots and adventitious roots 
at intervals 
3.3 
extraneous matter 
includes dust, dirt, stones, clay particles and pieces of wood, all particles originating from the plant other 
than turmeric 
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  The rhizome shall be well developed and shall have the shape and colour characteristic of the 
variety. The cured rhizome may be in natural state or machine polished. 
4.1.2  Turmeric whole, in pieces and ground shall have the taste and aroma or flavour characteristic of 
turmeric and shall be free from musty odour.  
4.1.3  Turmeric powder shall be free from any added colouring matter such as lead chromate, 
preservatives and extraneous matter like cereal or pulse flour or any added starch. 
4.1.4  Turmeric, whole, in pieces and ground shall be free from fungi, insect infestation, dead insects, 
insect fragments and rodent contamination.  
4.1.5  Defective rhizomes shall include shrivelled fingers and/or bulbs internally damaged, hollow or 
porous rhizomes, scorched rhizomes due to boiling and other types of damaged rhizomes. The proportion 
of defective rhizomes in whole turmeric shall be not more than five per cent by mass when tested in 
accordance with the methods prescribed under ISO 927.  
4.1.6  Pieces shall include rhizomes less than 15 mm in length. In whole turmeric the proportion of 
pieces shall be not more than seven per cent by mass when tested in accordance with the methods 
prescribed under ISO 927. 
4.2 Specific quality requirements  
4.2.1  Turmeric , whole, in pieces and ground shall comply with the specific quality requirements 
specified in Table 1. PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017  
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  3 
 Table 1 — Quality requirements for turmeric 
S/No.  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
Whole or pieces  Ground  
i)  Moisture % m/m, max . 12 10 ISO 939  
ii)  Volatile oil ml/100 g %m/m, min . 1.5 1 ISO 6571  
iii)  Total ash % m/m, max . 7 7 ISO 928 
iv)  Acid insoluble ash % m/m, max . 1 1 ISO 930 
v)  Chromate test  Negative  Negative  Annex A  
vi)  Colouring power, expressed as 
curcuminoids content, % (m/m) on 
dry basis, min.  Not specified  2 Annex  B 
vii)  Extraneous matter , % m/m, max.  2  ISO 927  
 
4.2.2  Turmeric powder shall be of such fineness that all of it passes through 300 - 500 micron sieve 
(0.300 - 0.500 mm) based on grades identified in 5.2.  
5 Types and grades of turmeric  
5.1 Turmeric whole and in pieces 
Turmeric, whole shall be graded in accordance with column 2 of Table 2  
Table 2 — Characteristics of various grades of turmeric whole 
Type Grade  Flexibility  Surface  Pieces, 
percent 
by mass 
max Extraneous 
matter percent 
by m ass max . Defective 
rhizomes 
percent by 
mass max . Percent of 
bulks, 
percent by 
mass max . 
Fingers  Special  Hard to touch to 
break with a 
metallic twang  Free from 
wrinkles   
2  
0.5  
0.5  
1.0 
Good Hard to touch to 
break with a 
metallic twang  Free from 
wrinkle s 3 1.0 1.0 1.0 
Fair Hard Hard 5 1.5 1.5 5.0 
Fingerlets   Hard to touch  - 6 4.0 4.0 5.0 
Bulbs/rounds  Special  - - 0.5 1.0 1.0 - 
Goods  - - 1.0 3.0 3.0 - 
Fair - - 2.0 5.0 5.0 - 
 
5.2 Ground turmeric 
Ground (powdered) turmeric is graded according to its particle size into two types, as follows: 
a) Coarse powder: 98 % of the product shall pass through a sieve of aperture size 500 microns; PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017 
4 © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 b) Fine powder: 98 % of the product shall pass through a sieve of aperture size 300 microns. 
6 Food additives 
Turmeric, whole, in pieces and ground shall be free from added colouring matter, flavour and 
preservatives. 
7 Contaminants 
7.1 Pesticide residues 
Pesticide residues in turmeric, whole, in pieces and ground shall not exceed maximum residue limit as 
established by the Codex Online Guideline for pesticide residues in food. 
7.2 Heavy metal 
Heavy metals in turmeric, whole, in pieces and ground shall not exceed maximum residue limit as 
stipulated in Codex Stan 193. 
7.3 Aflatoxin limits. 
Total aflatoxin shall not exceed 10 µg/L and aflatoxin B 1 shall not exceed 5 µg/L when tested with ISO 
16050 
8 Hygiene  
Turmeric, whole, in pieces and ground shall be manufactured and handled in a hygienic manner in 
accordance with EAS 39 and shall conform to the microbiological limits stipulated in Table 3. 
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for turmeric, whole, in pieces and ground 
S/No.  Organism  Limit  Test method  
i) Total plate count, cfu/mL, max.  1*105 ISO 4833 -1 
ii) Yeast and mould cfu/g, max . 1*103 ISO 7954  
iii) Salmonella spp. per 25 g, m ax. Absent  ISO 6579  
v) Escherichia coli  MPN/g, max . Absent  ISO 7251  
9 Weights and measures 
The weight and fill of ginger, whole, in pieces and ground shall comply with the weights and measures 
regulations of Partner States or equivalent legislation. 
10 Packaging  
10.1 Turmeric shall be packed in clean and sound container made of food grade material and sealed 
with temper-proof seal. The container shall be made of a material which does not impart any smell, does 
not react with turmeric and protects it from ultra-violet radiation, ingress of moisture and loss of volatile 
matter PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017  
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  5 
 10.2 The packaging shall be easy to sterilize, shall not be a source of contamination, and shall protect 
the product safety and quality during transportation and storage.  
10 Labelling 
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and 
shall be legibly and indelibly marked: 
a) Common name of the product  
b) brand name or trade name if any; 
c) name, physical location and address of manufacturer; 
d) ingredients; 
e) net weight;  
f) date of manufacture/packing; 
g) year of harvest for turmeric in whole and piece 
h)  batch identification number/code; 
i) best before; 
j) country of origin; and 
k) storage condition. 
11 Sampling  
Sampling of turmeric, whole, in pieces and gro und shall be done in accordance with ISO 948. PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017 
6 © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 Annex A 
(normative)  
 
Chromate test  
A.1 Reagents 
A.1.1  Dilute sulphuric acid  (1:7 by volume) 
A.1.2  Diphenyl Carbozide Solution - 0.2% (W/v) in ethyl alcohol (95%v/v) 
A.2 Procedure  
Ash about 2 g of the material. Dissolve the ash in 4 to 5 ml of dilute sulphuric acid in a test tube and add 
one millilitre of diphenyl carbozide solution. The presence of chromate is indicated by the production of 
violet colour.  PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017  
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  7 
 Annex B  
(normative) 
 
Determination of colouring power of turmeric by spectrophotometric 
method  
B.1 Definition 
Colouring power of turmeric: The curcuminoids content of turmeric, expressed as curcumin as a 
percentage by mass. 
B.2 Principle 
Extraction of the Pigments of turmeric with hot ethanol, dilution of the extract and spectrophotometric 
measurement at the wavelength of maximum absorption (i.e. 425 nm). 
B.3 Reagent 
B.3.1 Ethanol, 96 % (V/V). 
B.4 Apparatus 
Usual laboratory apparatus, and in particular 
B.4.1  Round-bottomed extraction flask, of capacity 100 ml, fitted with a reflux condenser. 
B.4.2  Pipette, of capacity 5 ml. 
B.4.3  One-mark volumetric flasks, of capacities 100 and 250 ml. 
B.4.4  Spectrophotometer, suitable for making measurements of absorbance at 425 nm. 
B.4.5  Matched spectrophotometric cells (of silica), of optical path length 1 cm. 
B.4.6  Analytical balance. 
B.5 Test Portion 
Weigh, to the nearest 0.001 g, about 0.5 g of the ground sample. 
B.6 Determination 
Place the test portion in the extraction flask (B.4.1), add 36 ml of the ethanol (B.3.1) and boil under reflux 
for 2.5 h. Allow the extract to cool and filter quantitatively into the 100 ml volumetric flask (B.4.3). Wash 
the residue on the filter thoroughly, collecting the washings in the volumetric flask. Dilute the contents of 
the flask to the mark with the ethanol (B.3.1). Transfer, by means of the pipette (B.4.1), 5 ml of the filtered 
extract to the 250 ml volumetric flask (B.4.3). Dilute to the mark with the ethanol. Fill one of the PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017 
8 © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 spectrophotometric cells (B.4.5) with this solution and fill the other with the ethanol. Measure the 
absorbance (R) at 425 nm using the ethanol as the reference liquid. 
B.7 Expression of results 
The colouring power of turmeric, expressed as curcumin as a percentage by mass, is equal to 
A x D x 100 
   1 % 
E1 cm  X m 
 
=  A x D x 100 
    1607 X m 
where 
A - is the measured absorbance; 
D - is the dilution of the extract, i.e. 
100 x 250  
  5      100 
   1 % 
E1 cm -   is the specific absorbance of a 1 % solution of curcumin measured at 425 nm in cells of Optical 
path length 1 cm, i.e. 1 607; 
m - is the mass, in grams, of the test portion 
NOTE  The result may also be expressed on the dry basis by means of the formula 
        
= A x D x 100 x 100 
    1607 X m x (100- H) 
where H is the moisture content of the Sample, expressed as a percentage by mass. 
B.8 Test report 
The test report shall show the method used and the results obtained. 
It shall also mention all operating conditions not specified in this standard, or regarded as optional, as well 
as any circumstances likely to have influenced the results. 
The test report shall include all the information necessary for the complete identification of the sample  
. PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 917: 2017    
 
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved