FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
  FDUS EAS 770 
First  Edition  
2012-mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
FDUS EAS 770: 2012 
© UNBS 201 2 
  
Fortified sugar  — Specification  
 FDUS EAS 770: 2012 
ii                © UNBS  2012 - 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 correc t application  
© UNBS 20 12 
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 FDUS EAS 770: 2012 
© UNBS  2012 - All rights reserved                 iii National 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 -ordin ate 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 Wor ld 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, FDUS EAS 770: 2012, Fortified sugar  — Specification , is identical with  and 
has been reproduced from an East Afri can Standard, EAS 770: 2012, Fortified sugar  — Specification , and is 
being proposed for adoption as a Uganda Standard.  
This standard was developed by Food and agriculture Standards  Technical Committee (UNBS/TC 2).  
Wherever the words, “ East African  Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard."  
 
 
   FDEAS 770:2012  
 
 
© EAC 20 12 — All rights reserved    
1 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FINAL DRAFT EAST AFRICA STANDARD  
 
Fortified sugar  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 FDEAS 770:201 2 
 
© EAC 2012 — All rights reserved    
ii 
  
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 p ermission 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  2012 — All rights reserved  
East African Community   
P.O.Box 1096  
Arusha  
Tanzania  
Tel: 255 27 2504253/8  
Fax: 255 27 2504481/2504255  
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 persecuted  
 
 FDEAS 770: 2012 
© EAC 2012  — All rights reserved   iii 
 Foreword  
Developme nt of the East African Standard  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 which are encount ered when 
goods and services are exchanged within the Community will be removed.  
 
In order to meet the above objectives, the EAC Partner States have enacted an East African 
Standardization,  Quality Assurance, Metrology and Testing Act, 2006 (EAC SQMT Act, 2006) to make 
provisions for ensuring  standardization, quality assurance, metrology and testing of products 
produced or originating in a third country  and traded in the Community in order to facilitate industrial 
development and trade as well as helping to  protect the health and safety of society and the 
environment in the Community.  
 
East African Standards are formulated in accordance with the procedures established by the East 
African  Standards Committee. The East African Standards Committee is establishe d under the 
provisions of Article 4  of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006. The Committee is composed of representatives of 
the National Standards  Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the private 
sectors and consumer organizations. Draft Eas t 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 procedures of the 
Community.  
 
Article 15(1) of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006 provides that “Within six months of the declaration of an 
East African  Standard, the Partner States shall adopt, without deviation from the approved text of the 
standard, the East  African Standard as a national standard and withdraw any existing national 
standard with similar scope and  purpose”.  
 
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.  
 
© East African Community 201 2 — All rights reserved*  
East African Community  
P O Box1096  
Arusha  
Tanzania  
Tel: 255 27 2504253/8  
Fax: 255 -27-2504481/2504255  
E-Mail: eac@eachq.org  
Web: www.each.org  
 
  FDEAS 770:2012  
iv  © EAC 201 2 — All rights reserved  
 Introduction  
 
The Health Ministers of the East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) Health Community passed a 
resolution in 2002 directing the Secretariat to work with the countries to fortify commonly consumed foods 
in the region after recognizing the high levels of malnutrition in the region.  ECSA -HC is an inter-
governmental organization that fosters cooperation in health among countries in the East, Central and 
Southern African Region . It has 10 active member states  namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, 
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mauritius and Seychelles. The mandate of the organization is to 
promote relevance and efficiency in health in the region.  
 
Following initial promotion efforts, the countries id entified staple foods suitable for fortification as oil, sugar, 
maize /meal  flour and wheat flour. These foods can be used as vehicles to deliver essential micronutrients 
to the populations. Based on scientific evidence and working with countries using coun try data, the 
Secretariat developed implementation focused guidelines on fortification of these foods to help countries 
start up programs and scale up the existing programs. These guidelines included fortification levels for 
addition of micronutrients at t he factory, and levels for monitoring at commercial level.  
 
Based on the guidelines and other available information, most of the countries in the East African Region 
and in the larger Africa have initiated national programs on oil fortification with vitami n A; and wheat and 
maize /meal  flour fortification with iron, zinc, folic acid, niacin, vitamin B -1, B-2 and B -12, B6 and vitamin A. 
Sugar fortification with vitamin A has also been considered as a way of supplementing other sources of the 
vitamin in order to prevent and reduce problems associated with the deficiency of this vitamin. Salt 
fortification with iodine continues to be implemented in all the countries.  
 
With the increased trade of food commodities including these fortified foods within the region,  it has 
become imperative to develop regional standards that over and above the other standards, stipulate 
minimum and maximum levels of the added nutrients, provide clauses on how to pack the fortified product 
and the use of health and nutrition claims. T he guidelines developed through ECSA have now been 
incorporated into food standards to provide for specific fortified products.  
 
It is envisaged that, the adoption of these standards and their utilization within the region will help countries 
adopt food fo rtification as a strategy to prevent, alleviate or eliminate micronutrient deficiency in the region. 
Standards will not only promote the health of the population but will also ensure safety of food products and 
enhance fair trade.  
 
This standard was develo ped with support from the East, Central and Southern African Health community 
(ECSA -HC) Secretariat. This was possible through a grant by the A2Z Project of the United States Agency 
for International Development (USAID). The financial and technical support  was used in the process of 
formulation of fortification levels, development of the draft standards and mobilization of stakeholders to 
review the standard in national and regional fora. This support is hereby acknowledged.  
  FDEAS 770: 2012 
 
© EAC 2012 — All rights reserved    
1 
 FINAL DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Fortified sugar  — Specificati on 
  
1 Scope  
 
This Final  draft East African Standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test  
for fortified brown  sugar s and fortified plantation (mill) white sugar  intended for  direct  human 
consumption . 
 
2 Normative references  
 
The foll owing normative documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text constitute 
provisions of this draft Standard  
 
EAS 16 Plantation ( mill) white sugar — Specification  
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — Specification  
EAS 39, Code of pr actice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  
EAS 103,  General standard for food additives  
EAS 749, Brown sugars — Specification  
CAC/GL 1 , General  guidelines on  claims  
CAC/GL 2 , Guidelines on nutrition  labelling  
CAC/GL 23 , Guidelines fo r use of nutrition and health claims  
CODEX STAN 193, G eneral s tandard for contaminants and toxins in food and f eed 
ISO 4833,  Microbiology of food and anima l feeding stuffs  — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
microorganisms -— Colony -count technique at 30 degrees C   
ISO 6579,  Microbiology of food and a nimal feeding stuffs — 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 21527 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feedstuffs — 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    
ICUMSA Method GS 1/2/3/9-1, The Determination of the Polarisation of Raw Sugar by Polarimetry 
ICUMSA Method GS 1/3/4/7/8-13, The Determination of Conductivity Ash in Raw Sugar, 
Brown Sugar, Juice, Syrup and Molasses 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/1/3/9-15, The Determination of Sugar Moisture by Loss on Drying 
ICUMSA GS 2/3-35, The Determination of Sulphite in Brown Sugars 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-19, The Determination of Insoluble Matter in White Sugar by Membrane 
Filtration 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/9-6, The Determination of Reducing Sugars in White Sugar  and 
Plantation  White Sugar by the Modified Ofner Titrimetric Method 
ICUMSA Method GS 3/4/7/8-11, The Determination of Sulphated Ash in Brown Sugar, Juice , 
Syrup and Molasses 
ICUMSA  Method GS 9/1/2/3-8, The Determination of Sugar Solution Colour at pH 7.0 by the 
MOPS Method FDEAS 770:2012  
2  © EAC 201 2 — All rights reserved  
  
3 Terms and d efinitions  
 
For the purposes of this sta ndard the terms and definitions in EAS 16 , EAS 749  and the following 
shall apply : 
 
3.1 
diluent  
suitable, inert, edible food-grade carrier for micronutrients  
3.2 
fortificant  
compound wh ich contains the specified micronutrient intended to be added to a food vehicle  
3.3 
food fortification  
practice of deliberately  adding essential micronutrients in a food to improve the nutritional quality of 
the food and to provide a public health benefit  with minimal risk to health   
 
 
4  Requirements  
 
4.1 General  
 
Fortified sugars shall be  
 
a) free-flowing crystals, 
 
b) practically  free from dirt, foreign and extraneous matter and 
 
c) Free from fermented, musty or undesirable odours. 
 
4.2  Specific quality  requirements 
 
Fortified sugars shall conform to the specific quality  requirements provided  in Table 1. 
 
 
 
 FDEAS 770 :2012 
© EAC 2012  — All rights reserved   3 
 Table 1 — Specific quality  requirements for fortified sugars  
 
Sl No Characteristic Requirement/limits 
Methods of test 
Light brown  Brown sugar  Plantatio n 
(mill) white  
(i) Polarisation,  
oZ, min. 99.2 99.0 99.5 ICUMSA Method 
GS 1/2/3/9-1 
(ii) Invert sugar  content,  
% by mass , max. 0.2 0.2 0.1 ICUMSA Method 
GS 2/3/9-5 
ICUMSA Method 
GS 2/9-6 
(iii) Conductivity ashes,  
% by mass , max. 0.3 0.3 0.1 ICUMSA Method 
GS 1/3/4/7/8-13 
(iv) Moisture content (loss on 
drying for 3 h at 105 oC ± 2 
oC),  
% by mass, max. 0.15 0.2 0.1 ICUMSA Method 
GS 2/1/3/9-15 
(v) Colour,  
ICUMSA u nits, max 700 1300 400 ICUMSA Method 
GS 9/1/2/3-8 
(vi) Sulphur dioxide,  
mg/kg, max. 20 20 20 ICUMSA GS 2/3-35 
(vii) Water insoluble matter,  
mg/kg, max. 250 250 150 ICUMSA Method 
GS 2/3/9-19 
 
 
5 Fortification requirements  
 
5.1 Levels of Vitamin A1 
 
The fortified sugar sh all conform to the requirements and the levels of vitamin A provided in Table 2. 
 
 
Table 2 — Requirements for vitamin A in fortified sugar  
 
Nutrient  Fortificant 
compound  Recommended 
factory level , 
mg/kg Regulatory levels,  
mg/kg  
Minimum  Maximum  
Vitamin A  Vitamin A (Retinyl) 
palmitate  10±5  2 15 
 
                                                 
1 Countries may add other micronutrients if available country data indicate deficiency in such nutrients.  FDEAS 770:2012  
4  © EAC 201 2 — All rights reserved  
 5.2 Fortificants  
 
Vitamin A sh all be added in the form of stabilized vitamin A compound or premixes of oily nature, 
such as oily vitamin A  which guarantees the stability of the vitamin  A in the sugar .    
Fortificant for use shall be stable compounds conforming to specifications  in any of the  following 
documents:  
 British Pharmacopoeia  (BP),  
 Food Chemical Codex  (FCC) , 
 Merck Index  (MI), 
 United States National Formulary  (USNF) , 
 European Pharmacopoeia  (Ph Eur ), 
 United States Pharmacopoeia  (USP)  and 
 FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius C ommiss ion (CAC) . 
 
6 Food additives 
 
Fortified s ugars may contain food additives in accordance with  EAS 103 . 
 
7 Contaminants  
 
7.1 Heavy metal s  
 
Fortified s ugars  shall conform to  those maximum limits for heavy metals established in CODEXSTAN 
193.  
 
7.2 Pesticide residues  
 
Fortified sugars shall conform to  those maximum residue limits established by the Codex  Alimentarius 
Commission for this product . 
 
NOTE  Where the use of certain pesticides is prohibited by so me Partner States, then it should be notified to all 
Partner States accordingly.  
 
8 Hygiene  
 
Fortified s ugar s hall be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with EAS 39 . 
 
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for fortified sugars  
 
Microbiological parameter  Limits Method of test  
Total Plate Count (mesophylic ), cfu/g, max . 103 ISO 4833  
Yeast and moulds, cfu/10 g, max . 50 ISO 21527 -2 
Escherichia coli, cfu /g, max.  Not detected  ISO 7251  
Salmonella, per 25 g  Absent  ISO 6579  
 FDEAS 770 :2012 
© EAC 2012  — All rights reserved   5 
  
9 Packaging  
 
Fortified sugars  shall be packaged in food grade, non-absorbent materials which do  not have 
adverse influence upon effects on the composition of the product  including its nutritional value , 
properties and appearance.   
NOTE 1 Packaging materials may be required to meet different regulations in the different destination countries.  
NOTE 2  The package fill should conform to the requirements of the legal metrology of the destination 
country . 
NOTE 3   East African Community P artner States are signatory to the  International Labour  Organisation  (ILO)  
recommendation  for maximum package weight for 50  kg per load where human loading and offloading is 
involved.  
 
10 Labelling 
 
10.1 General  
 
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38 , the following specific provisions shall apply: 
a) name of the product as “light brown sugar ”, “brown sugar ”, “plantation (mill) white sugar ” 
and any other name from country of origin reflecting nature of the product.  The words 
„fortified  with Vitamin  A‟ shall be d eclared in close proximity to the name of the sugar ;  
b) net contents shall be declared by weight in the metric units ( 'Systeme International e'); 
c) name, address and physical location of the manufacturer and/or the packer, distributor, 
importer, exporter or ven dor of the product shall be declared;  
d) Country of origin o f the product shall be declared;  
e) batch or lot number  in code or clear format ; 
f) date of manufacture  of the sugar , in reference to the date of fortification , in the form 
„month and year‟ ; 
g) best before date of the sugar , in reference to the date of fortification,  in the  form „month 
and year‟ ; and  
h) instructions on disposal of used package . 
Each product unit may also be marked with the national food fortification Logo, where the industry 
qualifies  to use the mark.  
 
10.2 Nutrition labelling  
 
The amount of vitamin  A in the  fortified sugar shall be declared on the label in accordance with 
CAC/GL 2.  
 
10.3 Nutrition and health claims  
 
Fortified s ugar may have claims on the importance of the vitamin  A in nutrition a nd health. Such 
claims when declared shall be consistent with CAC/GL 1 and CAC/GL 23.  
 
11 Method of sampling 
 
11.1 General  requirements  
In drawing, preparing, storing and handling samples, the following precautions and directions 
shall be observed. FDEAS 770:2012  
6  © EAC 201 2 — All rights reserved  
 a) Samples shall be taken in a protected place not exposed to damp air, dust or 
soot. 
b) The sampling instruments shall be clean and dry when used. 
c) When sampling for microbiological purposes, the sampling instruments and containers 
for samples  shall be sterilized preferably by dry heat at 170 0C for 1 h before use. 
d) Precautions  shall  be  taken  to  protect  the  samples,  the  material  being  sampled,  the  
sampling instruments and the containers for samples from adventitious contamination. 
e) The samples shall be placed in clean, dry, and moisture-proof containers. 
f) The sample containers shall be sealed air-tight after filling and marked with name of 
material, date of sampling, name of the manufacturer, name of the person sampling and 
such other particulars of the consignments. 
g) Samples shall be protected from light as far as practicable and shall be stored in a cool, dry 
place. 
11.2 Scale of sampling 
11.2.1 All the packages of the same size, type and style which have been manufactured and 
packaged  under essentially the same conditions in a single consignment shall constitute a lot. 
Samples shall be tested separately for each lot for ascertaining the conformity of the sugar. 
11.2.2 The number of bags to be selected (n) from the lot shall depend on the size (N) of the lot 
and shall be in accordance with the formula: 
n = √N 
11.2.3  These bags shall be selected at random from the lot; to ensure the randomness of selection 
a random number table, as agreed to between the purchaser and the supplier shall be used.   
In case such a table is not available, the following procedure shall be used: 
11.2.4  Starting from any bag, count them as 1,2,3,…..  up to r and so on in one order, where r is 
equal to the integral part of N/n, N being the total number of bags in the lot and n the number of 
bags to be selected.  Every rth bag thus counted shall be separated until the requisite number of 
bags is obtained from the lot to give samples for test. 
11.2.5  In case of bags stacked in a pyramidal shape, approximately equal number of bags shall 
be selected from all exposed sides of the lot, so as to give the required number of sample bags. 
11.3 Preparation of samples  
11.3.1  Procedure  
From the top, middle and bottom portions  of each of the selected  bags  (see 11.2) 
approximately  equal quantity of sugar shall be taken with the help of a suitable sampling 
instrument.   The sample collected from each of the bags shall be thoroughly mixed so as to 
give a composite sample of 600 g.   The composite sample thus prepared shall be divided 
approximately into three equal parts; one for the purchaser, one for the supplier, and the third for 
the referee and sealed air tight with particulars as given in 11.1(f). 
11.3.2 Number  of tests 
The composite sample prepared as under 11.3.1 shall be tested for the characteristics as 
prescribed in Table 1. 
11.3.3 Criteria for conformity 
The lot shall be declared as conforming to this specification, when the test results on various 
characteristics obtained on the composite sample satisfy the corresponding requirements. 
 FDEAS 770 :2012 
© EAC 2012  — All rights reserved   7 
 12 Methods  of test 
 
Testing for micronutrients may be conducted using any ECSA2 or any other internationally recognized 
test methods . 
 
                                                 
2 Manual of metho ds for determining micronutrients in fortified foods. www.a2zproject.org/ -
a2zorg/pdf/Manual_Foods.pdf  FDEAS 770 :2012 
 
© EAC 2012 — All rights reserved