DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS DEAS 872 
First  Edition  
2015-mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
DUS DEAS 872: 2015 
© UNBS 201 5 
  
Frozen octopus — Specification   
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEWDUS DEAS 872:2015 
ii                © UNBS  2015 - 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 applicati on 
© UNBS 2015 
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 UNB S. 
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 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEWDUS DEAS 872:2015 
© UNBS  2015 - 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 Draft Uganda Standard, DUS DEAS 872: 2015, Frozen octopus  — Specification , is identical with  and has 
been reproduced from an East African  Standard , DEAS 872: 2015, Frozen octopus  — Specification , and is 
being proposed for adoption  as a Uganda Standard.  
Wherever the words, “ East African Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard." 
 
  DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEW DEAS 872: 2015 
ICS 67.120.30 
© EAC 2015                                                                                                                              First Edition 2015  
 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
Frozen Octopus — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEWDEAS 872: 2015 
© EAC 2015  – All rights reserved  ii 
 Copyright notice 
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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 
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as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community 2015 — All rights reserved 
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement. 
Violators may be persecuted DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEWDEAS 872: 2015 
© EAC 2015  – 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.  
In order to achieve this objective, the Community established an East African Standards Committee mandated 
to develop and issue East African Standards.   
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 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 procedures 
of the Community. 
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.  
DEAS 872 was prepared by the Technical Committee EASC/TC 003, Fish and fishery products.  
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEWDEAS 872 : 2015    
 
© EAC 2015 – All rights reserved 
  
 Frozen octopus — Specification 
1 Scope 
This draft East African Standard specifies requirements and methods of sampling and test for frozen octopus. 
 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. 
AOAC 952.13,  Arsenic in food — Silver diethyldibocarbamate method 
AOAC 972.23 , Lead in fish —– Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 973.34 , Cadmium in food — Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 983.20 , Mercury (methyl) in fish and shellfish — Gas chromatographic method 
CAC/GL 50-2004 General guideline on sampling 
CAC/RCP 52-2003 , Code of practice for fish and fishery products 
EAS 38 , Labelling of pre-packaged foods — Requirements 
EAS 39 , Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry ― Code of practice  
ISO 4833-1 , Microbiology of food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms — Part 
1: Colony-count at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique 
ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of Salmonella 
spp. 
ISO 6888 (all parts) , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration 
of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species)  
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/TS 21872 (all parts), Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the 
detection of potentially enteropathogenic Vibrio spp.  
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply. 
3.1 
octopus  
cephalopods having eight circumpolar arms, belonging to the family Octopodidae.   
 
3.2  
tenderized octopus DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEW 
© EAC 2015  – All rights reserved  2 
 octopus rolled in an appropriate circular container at a controlled 0 oC temperature to become firm for the 
purpose of individual quick freezing. 
 
3.3  
non-tenderized octopus  
octopus that has not undergone tumbling process   
 
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements 
4.1.1  Raw materials 
4.1.1.1  Octopus shall be wholesome, clean and fresh and shall not show any signs of spoilage such as pink 
colour or any breaking or abrasions of the skin.  
 
4.1.1.2  Octopus shall weigh 500 g or more.  
 
4.1.2  Finished product 
4.1.2.1 The frozen octopus on thawing shall be clean and have its own characteristic colour and odour . 
 
4.1.2.2 The frozen octopus shall be in a sound, intact and undamaged condition. 
 
4.1.2.3  The texture of the frozen octopus shall not deteriorate and shall be free from dehydration oxidative 
rancidity and off odour. 
 
4.1.2.4 Frozen octopus shall be free from any signs of spoilage and defects. 
4.1.2.5 Frozen octopii  in each pack shall be of a fairly uniform size. 
4.1.2.6 Frozen octopus shall be quick frozen at temperature - 35 ºC up to - 40 ºC between 6 to 8 hours  
4.1.2.7 Frozen octopus shall be maintained at a temperature of -18 ºC or lower. 
4.1.2.8 Frozen octopus may be presented as whole flowered or any other form. 
 
4.2 Specific requirement 
Frozen octopus gut, eyes, beak and mucous like substance shall be removed.  
5 Hygiene 
Frozen octopus shall be produced and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with EAS 39 and 
CAC/RCP 52 and shall comply with the microbi ological limits given in Table 1 . 
Table 1— Microbiological limits for frozen octopus  
S/No.  Type of microorganism  Maximum limit  Test method  
i) Salmonella  in 25 g  Absent  ISO 6579  
ii) Escherichia coli ,  MPN/g  Absent  ISO 7251  
iii) Staphylococcus aureus, CFU/g  2 × 103 ISO 6888  
iv) Total viable count, CFU/g  105 ISO 4833 -1 
v) Vibrio spp.  Absent  ISO/TS 21872  DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEW 
© EAC 2015  – All rights reserved  3 
 6 Contaminants 
Heavy metals  
Frozen octopus shall comply  with the heavy metal limits given in Table 2 . 
Table 2 — Heavy metal limits for frozen octopus  
S/No.  Heavy metal  Maximum limit,  
mg/kg  Test method  
i) Arsenic  0.1 AOAC 952.13  
ii) Lead  0.3 AOAC 972.23  
iii) Cadmium  2 AOAC 973.34  
iv) Methyl mercury  0.5 AOAC  983.20  
 
7 Weights and measures 
The fill and the weight of the product shall comply with Weights and Measures regulations of the importing 
Partner State.  
8 Packaging 
Frozen products shall be packed in food grade containers which will safeguard the hygieni c, nutritional, 
technological and organoleptic qualities of the products . They shall not impart any toxic substance or off od our 
or flavour to the product.  
 
9 Labelling  
9.1 In addition to the requirements in EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and 
shall be legibly and indelibly marked: 
a) name of the product shall be “ frozen octopus” ; 
b) name and physical address of processor; 
c) net weight in grams or kilograms; 
d) production date; 
e) batch number; 
f) expiry date; 
g) storage conditions; 
h) instruction for use; and 
i) country of origin. 
j) Net weight in g or kg 
9.2 Nutrition labelling, nutrition and health claim may be made in accordance with EAS 803, EAS 804 and 
EAS 805. 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD ON PUBLIC REVIEW 
© EAC 2015  – All rights reserved  4 
 10 Sampling 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with CAC/GL 50-2004.