DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
 FDUS 1507  
First Editio n 
2013-mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
FDUS 1507 :2013 
© UNBS 2013 
  
Tomato paste — Specification  
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
ii © UNBS 2013– 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 2013   
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: 256 414 505 995 
Fax: 256 414 286 123 
E-mail: unbs@infocom.co.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
© UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and 
Industry established under Cap 327, of the Laws of Uganda.  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/SPS Agreements 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 Final Draft Uganda Standard has been developed as a result of a need to provide guidance to industry in 
production and regulation of Fresh paste   
Committee membership 
The following organisations were represented under the Fruits and vegetables sub-committee of the Food and 
Agriculture Standards Technical Committee, UNBS/TC 2, during the development of this standard: 
 Federation of Uganda Exporters Association 
 Government Analytical Laboratory 
 Horticulture Exports Association of Uganda 
 Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries  
 Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives 
 National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda 
 Sulma Foods Ltd 
 Uganda National Farmers Federation 
 Uganda Consumer Protection Association 
 
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDDRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFINAL DRAF T UGANDA STANDARD  FDUS 1507 : 2013 
 
© UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  1 
 Tomato paste — Specification 
1 Scope 
This Final Draft Uganda standard specifies requirements and methods of test for tomato paste for direct 
consumption, including for catering purposes or for repacking if required. This standard also applies to the 
product when indicated as being i ntended for further processing.  
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. 
EAS 9, Lemon juice preserved exclusively by physical means — Specification  
EAS 12, Drinking (potable) water — Specification  
US 7 , General standard for labelling of pre-packaged foods  
US 28, Code of practice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry   
US 45, General standard for food additives  
US EAS 35, Fortified food grade salt — Specification 
US 318/EAS 212 Determination of Lead Content - Flameless atomic absorption spectrometric method  
US EAS 217-2  Methods for microbiological examination of foods – Part 2: General Guidance for the 
Enumeration of Micro-Organisms – Colony Count Technique at 30 OC 
US EAS 217-4  Methods for microbiological examination of foods – Part 4: General Guidance for the 
Enumeration of Coliforms - Most Probable Number Technique at 30°C 
 US 217-6/EAS 217-6 , Methods for microbiological examination of foods — Part 6: Examination for 
Salmonella Spp   
US 217-8 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of yeasts 
and moulds — Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water activity less than or equal to 0.95  
US 570, Code of hygienic practice for dried frui ts 
US 738, General standard for contaminants and toxins in foods 
US 235:2000/ISO 3094 Fruit and vegetable products – Determination of copper  
US ISO 6634, Fruit, vegetables and derived products — Determination of arsenic content — Silver 
diethyldithiocarbamate spectrophotometric method DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
2 © UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  
 US ISO 6636-1, Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of zinc content — Part 1: 
Polarographic method 
US ISO 7251 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumer ation of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply. 
3.1 
tomato concentrates 
products prepared by concentrating the liquid obtained from sound, ripe tomatoes ( Lycopersicum esculentum  
P. Mill). 
4 Requirements 
4.1 Ingredients  
4.1.1  Basic ingredients 
Tomato paste shall be prepared from processed liquid obtained from sound, ripe tomatoes ( Lycopersicum  
esculentum P. Mill) of  a quality su itable for human consumption.   
The liquid shall be strained or otherwise prepared to exclude skins, seeds and other coarse or hard 
substances in the finished product.  
4.1.2 Optional ingredients  
The following optional ingredients may be appropriate to stuffing the tomato paste:  
a) salt (sodium chloride) conforming to US EAS 35 ; 
b) spices and aromatic herbs (such as basil leaf, etc.) and their natural extracts; 
c) lemon juice (single strength or concentrated) used as an acidulant  conforming to EAS 9 ; and   
d) water  conforming to  EAS 12.   
4.2 General quality requirements  
Tomato paste shall  
a) be derived from sound  and ripe tomatoes ; and  
b) have good flavor, odor and, fairly good color, and shall possess a homogeneous texture, 
characteristic of the product. No artificial coloring material shall be added to the product. 
4.3 Composition requirements 
Tomato paste shall comply with the compositional requirements indicated in Table 1. 
Table 1 — Compositional requirements for tomato paste 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
© UNBS 2013– All rights reserved  3 
 S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Method of te st 
i Natural tomato soluble solids content, 
percent by mass, min.  25 
EAS 76  ii Edible salt content, percent by mass, 
max.  0.6  
iii “ pH  < 4.6  
iv Benzoic acid content, ppm, max.  750  
 
4.4 Defects  
4.4.1  General 
Tomato paste shall be free from the following defects: 
i) dark specks or scale-like particles of seeds; 
ii) seeds or other objectionable particles of seeds; and 
iii) tomato peels. 
iv) any extraneous plant material other than seed and peel and other than those used as seasonings 
that cannot be detected by the naked eye, and can only be seen under microscope.  
4.4.2 Tolerances for defects  
The mineral impurity content does not exceed 0.1 % of the natural total soluble solids content.  
The content of lactic acid (total) does not exceed 1 % of the natural total soluble solids content. 
5 Hygiene 
5.1 General  
Tomato paste shall be produced and handled in accordance with US 28 .  
5.2 Microbiological limits   
Tomato paste shall be free from pathogenic organisms and shall comply with the microbiological limits 
indicated in Table 2 below. 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for tomato paste 
S/N Type of microorganism  Limits (number of counts),max  Method of test  
i  Total viable counts, per g  104 US EAS 217-2  
ii  Yeasts and molds  shall be absent  US EAS 217 -8 
iii  Esche richia coli  shall be absent  US EAS 217 -4 
iv  Salmonella  shall be absent  US EAS 217-6 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
4 © UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  
 6 Food additives 
Food additives such as preservatives and acid regulators may be used. The use of such additives shall be in 
accordance with US 45. 
7 Contaminants 
7.1 General 
Tomato paste shall conform to the tolerance limits for contaminants in US 738. 
7.2 Heavy metals 
Tomato paste shall comply with those maximum levels for heavy metals established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity. The current levels are as indicated in Table 3. The maximum 
limits are reviewed annually, users shall use the reviewed maximum limits. 
Table 3 — Metal unit of measurement maximum limit test method 
S/N Type of impurity, max  Maximum limit,  
ppm Method of test  
i Arsenic (as As)  0.5 US ISO 6634  
ii Lead (as Pb)  1.0 US 318/EAS 212  
iii Copper (as Cu)  10 US 235/ISO 3094  
iv Zinc (as Zn)  50 US ISO 6636 -1 
v Tin (as Sn)  250 EAS 41 -6 
 
7.3 Pesticide residues 
7.3.1 Tomato paste shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission. 
7.3.2 In order to consider the concentration of the product, the determination of the maximum pesticide 
residue limits shall take into account the natural total soluble solids, the reference value being 4.5 for fresh 
fruit. 
8 Packaging and presentation 
8.1 Uniformity  
The packaging material in a lot shall each contain tomato paste of the same commercial type, and shall have 
a uniform net weight. 
8.2 Packaging  
8.2.1  The packaging material shall be such as to ensure adequate protection against humidity during 
storage and transport of the product.  DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
© UNBS 2013– All rights reserved  5 
 8.2.2  The material used inside the package shall be food grade  and acid- resistant so as to protect the 
quality of the product.  
8.2.3  The container shall protect the product from any form of contamination. 
9 Weights and measures  
9.1 Tomato paste shall occupy a minimum fill of not less than 90 % the water holding capacity of  the 
container. The water holding capacity of the container shall be the volume of distill ed water at  20 °C, which 
the sealed container sh all hold when completely filled. Determination of  water capacity of containers  is shown 
in Annex A.  
9.2 The container shall be consistent with a proper declaration of contents for the product. 
10 Labelling 
10.1 Retail containers 
Labelling of tomato paste shall be done in accordance with the requirements of US 7. In addition, the following 
specific provisions shall apply:  
a) name of the product; 
b) name and address of the manufacturer; 
c) list of ingredients; 
d) net weight in grams or minimum volume in millilitres or litres; 
e) date of manufacture; and 
f) best before date. 
10.2 N on-retail containers  
Information for non-retail containers shall be given either on the container or in accompanying documents, 
except that the name of the product, lot identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, 
distributor or importer, as well as storage instructions, shall appear on the container. 
However, lot identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or importer may 
be replaced by an identification mark, provided that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanying 
documents.  DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
6 © UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  
 Annex A 
(normative)   
 
Determination of water capacity of containers according to CAC/RM 46  
A.1 S cope  
This method applies to glass containers.  
A.2 D efinition  
water capacity of a container  
volume of distilled water at 20 °C which the sealed container will hold when completely filled 
A.3 P rocedure  
A.3.1  Select a container which is undamaged in all respects.  
A.3.2  Wash, dry and weigh the empty container.  
A.3 3  Fill the container with distilled water at 20 °C to the level of the top thereof, and weigh the container 
thus filled.  
A.4 Calculation and expression of results  
Subtract the weight found in A.3.2 from the weight found in A.3.3. The difference shall be considered to be the 
weight of water required to fill the container. Results are expressed as m illilitres of water.  DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
© UNBS 2013– All rights reserved  7 
 Bibliography 
[1] CODEX STAN 57:1981, Standard for processed tomato concentrates   
[2] Codex Alimentarius website: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/mrls/pestdes/jsp/pest_q-e.jsp  
[3] East African Standard, EAS 66, Tomato products — Specification   
 
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDDRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507: 2013 
© UNBS 2013 – 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 conjunction 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 with 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 Director, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARDFDUS 1507 : 2013   
 
ICS 67.080. 20 
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© UNBS 2013 All rights reserved