DEAS 915: 2018  
ICS 67.100.10  
 
© EAC 2018                                                                                                                               First Edition 2018   
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Ghee — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 915: 2018  
ii © EAC  2018 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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 DEAS 915: 2018  
© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the nee d 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, togethe r 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, pr ivate 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 develop ment of East African Standards.  
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 al ways have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 017, Milk and milk products . 
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.  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 915: 2018  
 
© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
 Ghee — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements , sampling and test for ghee  intended  for human 
cons umption.  
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.  
AOAC 999.10, Official method for lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, and iron in foods Atomic absorption 
Spectrophotometry after microwave Digestion  
CAC /RCP 1 , General principle s for food hygiene  
CAC /RCP 57 , Code of hygienic practice for milk and milk products  
EAS 22, Butter — Specification  
EAS 38 , Label ling of pre - packaged foods — General requirements  
EAS 67, Raw cow milk — Specification  
EAS 803, Nutrition labelling — Requirements  
ISO 663, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of insoluble impurities content  
ISO 707 , Milk and milk products — Guidance on sampling  
ISO 1740, Milkfat products and butter  — Determination of fat acidity (reference method)  
ISO 3727 -1, Butter — Determination of moisture, non -fat solids and fat contents — Part 1: Determination of 
moisture content (Reference method)  
ISO 3727 -3, Butter  — Determination of moisture, non -fat solids and fat contents  — Part 2: Determination of 
non-fat solids content (Refere nce method)  
ISO 3960 , Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of peroxide value — Iodometric (visual) 
endpoint determination  
ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms — 
Part 1: Colony co unt at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique  
ISO 6320, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of refractive index   
2 © EAC  2018 – All rights reserved  
 ISO 6321, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of melting point in open capillary tubes (slip 
point)  
ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp  
ISO 6611 , Milk and milk products — Enumeration of colony -forming units of yeasts and/or moulds — Colony -
count technique at 25 degrees C  
ISO 6888 -3, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 3: Detection and MPN 
technique for low numb ers 
ISO 8294, Animal and vegetable oils — Determination of copper, iron, nickel content graphite furnace atomic 
absorption method  
ISO 11866 -1, Milk and milk products — Enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Part 1: Most probable 
number technique usi ng 4-methylumbelliferyl -beta-D-glucuronide (MUG)  
ISO 14501, Milk and milk powder — Determination of aflatoxin M1 content — Clean -up by immunoaffinity 
chromatography and determination by high -performance liquid chromatography  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the  purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
3.1 
ghee  
product exclusively obtained from cow milk, cream or butter, by means of heat processes which result in 
almost total removal of water and non fat solids, with an especially dev eloped flavour and physical structure  
3.2 
milk 
normal, clean and fresh secretions extracted from the udder of a healthy milking cow, excluding that obtained 
during the  first seven days after calving  
3.3 
cream  
fluid  milk product comparatively rich in fat, i n the form of an emulsion of fat -in skimmed milk, obtained by 
physical separation from milk.  
3.4 
butter  
fatty product derived exclusively from milk and/or products obtained from milk, principally in the form of an 
emulsion of the type water -in-oil 
3.5 
milk 
normal, clean and fresh secretions extracted from the udder of a healthy milking cow, excluding that obtained 
during the first seven days after calving  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Raw materials  
The following raw material may be used and comply with relevant standa rds where they exist:   
© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  3 
 a) raw milk  complying with EAS 67;  
b) butter  complying with EAS 22; or  
c) cream . 
4.2 General requirements  
Ghee shall have transparent amber color (golden yellow) in liquid form or cream white in solid form.  
4.3 Specific requirements  
Ghee shall  comply with the specific  requirements stipulated in Table 1 when tested in accordance with test 
methods specified therein : 
Table 1 — Specific requirements for ghee  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Melting point range, C 28 - 44 ISO 6321  
ii.  Free fatty acid, as oleic acid, (%), m/m, 
max.  0.4 ISO 1740  
iii.  Milk fat content,%, (m/m), min.  99.6 ISO 3727 -3 
iv.  Moisture content, %, (m/m), max.  0.4 ISO 3727 -1 
v.  Peroxide value (mEq O2/kg fat), max.  0.6 ISO 3960  
vi.  Refractive index, at 40 °C  1.4530 - 1.4590  ISO 6320  
vii.  Insoluble impurities, %,  max.  0.05 ISO 663  
 
5 Microbiological limits  
Ghee shall comply with microbiological limits in Table 2  when tested in accordance with test methods 
specified therein . 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits  for ghee  
S/N Micro -organ ism Maximum limits  
per g  Test m ethod  
i.  Total plate count, CFU/g  103 ISO 4833 -1 
ii.  E. Coli , CFU/g  Absent  ISO 11866 -1 
iii.  Salmonella  spp, 25  g Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Yeasts and Moulds, CFU/ g  10 ISO 6611  
v.  Staphylococcus aureus , per g  Absent  ISO 6888 -3 
  
4 © EAC  2018 – All rights reserved  
 6 Contami nants  
6.1 Heavy metals  
Ghee shall comply with the maximum limits for heavy metals given in Table 3 when tested in accordance with 
the test methods specified therein.  
Table 3 — Maximum limits for heavy metals in ghee  
S/N Heavy metal  Maximum limits  
mg/kg  Test method  
i.  Lead, Pb  0.02 AOAC 999.10  
ii.  Copper, Cu 0.05 
ISO 8294  
iii.  Iron, Fe  0.2 
 
6.2 Mycotoxin  
When tested in accordance with ISO 14501, the level of Aflatoxin M1shall not exceed 0.50 μg/kg.  
6.3 Pesticide and veterinary drug residues  
The products covered by this standard shall comply with the maximum residue limits for veterinary drug and 
pesticide residues established in Codex Standard Guide for Maximum Pesticide Limits in Foods . 
7 Hygiene  
Ghee shall be processed in accordance with the hygienic requiremen ts stipulated in CAC/RCP 1 and 
CAC/RCP 57.  
8 Packaging  
Ghee  shall be packaged in food grade containers which safeguard the quality of the product . 
9 Labelling  
The containers shall be labelled in compliance with the requirements of EAS 38  and EAS 803 . In ad dition, the 
following particulars shall be legibly and indelibly labelled on the container:  
a) name of the product as  “Ghee”;  
b) net content in  SI units ; 
c) name and physical address of manufacturer;  
d) batch or code number;  
e) nutritional information ; 
f) the date of manufa cture and expiry date;   
© EAC 2018 – All rights reserved  5 
 g) instruction for storage and use ; and  
h) country of origin.  
10 Sampling  
Sampling for the purpose of testing shall be done in accordance with ISO 707.  
 DEAS 915: 2018    
 
© EAC 2018  – All rights reserved