UGANDA STANDARD  
  US EAS 61 
First  Edition  
2014-10-15 
 
 Reference number  
US EAS  61: 2014 
© UNBS 201 4 
   
Opaque beer — Specification  
 US EAS 61: 2014 
ii                © UNBS  2014 - 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 20 14 
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 wr itten 
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 41 505 995  
Fax: 256 41 286 123  
E-mail: unbs@infocom.co.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 US EAS 61: 2014 
© UNBS  2014 - 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 mandat ed 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 Agreeme nts 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 
consu mers, 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 re commending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
This Uganda Standard, US EAS 61: 2014, Opaque beer — Specification , is identical with  and has been 
reproduced from  an East African  Standard , EAS 61: 2014, Opaque beer — Specification , and adopted  as a 
Uganda Standard.  
Wherever the words, “ East African  Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard."  
 
   EAS 61: 201 4 
ICS 67.160.10  
© EA C 2014                                                                                                                        Second  Edition 2014  
 
EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Opaque beer  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  EAS 61: 2014  
ii © EAC  2014  – 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 withou t 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 purp ose of selling it should be addressed 
as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community  2014  — 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  EAS 61: 2014  
© EAC 2014  – 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 th e 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 Bo dies 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 ar e 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 exp ected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
EAS 61 was prepared by Technical Committee EASC/TC 007, Alcoholic and non -alcoholic beverages . 
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition EAS  61:2000 , which has been technically revised.  
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  EAS 61:2014  
 
© EAC 2014  – All rights reserved  1 
 Opaque beer  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This East African Standard specifies  the requirements and methods of sampling and test for opaque beer. The 
standard does  not cover stout beer . 
2 Normative references  
The f ollowing 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.  
CODEX STAN  192, Codex general standard for food additives  
EAS 5 , Refined white sugar — Specification   
EAS 38, Labelling of prepackaged foods — Specification  
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink industry — Code of practice  
EAS 10 0, Food stuffs — Methods of determina tion of Lead   
ISO 1842, Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of pH  
ISO 4832 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms — Colony -count technique  
ISO 4 833-1, 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 6461 -2, Water quality — Detection and enumeration of the spores of sulphite -reducing anaerobes 
(Clostridia) — Part 2: Method by membra ne filtration  
ISO 6634, Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of arsenic content  — Silver 
diethyldithiocarbamate spectrophotometric method  
ISO 16050,  Foodstuffs Determination of aflatoxin B 1, and the total content of aflatoxins B 1, B2, G 1 and G 2 in 
cereals, nuts and derived products  — High-performance liquid chromatographic method  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the following term and definition  shall apply . 
opaque beer  
potable liquid derived from the fermentatio n of a mash of cereal grain, and /or  other products of plant origin , 
with or without honey, sugar or a mixture of any of these ; containing the mash or the residual mash from 
which it is derived  EAS 61: 2014  
2 © EAC  2014  – All rights reserved  
 4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
Opaque beer shall:  
a) be free from any harmful ingredients, substances, additives and any other contaminants injurious to 
health or any extraneous matter;   
b) be free from any added artificial colouring matter, apart from caramel derived from white sugar 
complying with relevant Eas t African standards;  
c) be free from artificial sweetening agents;  
d) not contain any added alcohol;  
e) not show a separation of more than 20 %  of solid phase ; and  
f) have the characteristic appearance, taste and aroma of their type.  
4.2 Specific quality requirements  
Opaque beer shall comply with the quality requirements specified in Table 1.  
Table 1 — Quality requirements for opaque beer  
S/No.  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Ethyl alcohol  content, % , v/v  1.5 - 8.0 EAS 104  
ii.  pH 2.5  - 5.0 ISO 1842  
iii.  Soluble solids content,  %, m/v 3.0 - 6.0 
EAS 104  iv.  Specific gravity at 20 °C  1.005 - 1.045  
v.  Total solid , %, m/v.  4.0 - 9.0 
vi.  Total acidity as tartaric acid , g/100 L, max.  0.55 
vii.  Volatile acidity as acetic acid , g/100 L, max.  0.6 
5 Food additives  
Food additiv es may be used in the preparation of opaque beer in accordance with CODEX STAN 192.  
6 Contaminants  
6.1 Pesticide residues  
All the raw materials used in the production of opaque beer shall comply with the maximum residue limits for 
pesticides as established  by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.  
6.2 Heavy metal s 
Opaque beer shall not contain heavy metals at levels exceeding the limits indicated in Table 2.  EAS 61: 2014  
© EAC 2014  – All rights reserved  3 
 Table 2 — Limits for heavy metal contaminants in opaque beer  
S/No.  Type of impurity  Limit  Test method  
i.  Arsenic  (as As), mg/L , max.  0.01 ISO 6634  
ii.  Lead (as Pb), mg/L , max.  0.01 EAS 10 0 
 
6.3 Aflatoxin limits  
Total aflatoxin shall not exceed 10 µg/L and aflatoxin B 1 shall not exceed 5 µg/L when tested in accordance 
with ISO 16050 . 
7 Hygiene  
Opaque beer shal l 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 opaque beer  
S/No.  Organism  Maximum limit  Test method  
i.  Coliforms ,cfu/mL  Nil ISO 4832 
ii.  Total viable count , cfu/mL, max.  102 ISO 4833 -1 
8 Weight s and measures  
The volume and fill of opaque beer shall comply with the Weights and measures regulations ’ of Partner States 
or equivalent legislation.  
9 Packaging  
9.1. Opaque beer  shall be packaged  in suitable food grade containers.  
9.2 Opaque beer shall be packaged for bulk delivery and storage in containers that shall prevent 
contamination of the product and preserve its safety and quality.  
10 Labelling  
In addition to the requireme nts of EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked:  
a) name of the product as “Opaque beer ”; 
b) name and physical and postal address of manufacturer ; 
c) net contents in millilitres or litres ; 
d) minimum e thyl alcohol content at the time of packing ; 
e) date of manufacture ; EAS 61: 2014  
4 © EAC  2014  – All rights reserved  
 f) best before  date;  
g) storage instruction ; 
h) statutory warnings ; and  
i) list of ingredients . 
7 Sampling and test  
Sampling and  testing of opaque beer shall be done in accordance with EAS 104.  
 EAS 61: 2014    
 
© EAC 2014  – All rights reser ved