FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
  FDUS 952 
First Edition  
2013 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
FDUS 952:2013 
© UNBS 2013   
  
Amaranth grain — Specification  
 FDUS 952: 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 applicati on 
© 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 UN BS. 
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 4 505 995  
Fax: 256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: unbs@infocom.co.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug . FDUS 952:2013  
© 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 
elaborat ion 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 Organis ation (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, m anufacturers, 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.  
Committee membership  
The following organisations were represented under the Cereals and cereal producs  sub-committee (SC 3) of 
the Food and Agriculture Standards Technical  Committee, UNBS/TC 2, during the development of this 
standard:  
 East Africa Basic Foods (U) Limited  
 Hortexa  
 Maganjo millers  
 Makerere University  
 Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooporatives  
 NARO - NARL  
 Seba foods (U) Ltd  
 Smart foods Ltd 
 Uganda Consumer Prot ection Association (UCPA)  
 
 FDUS 952: 2013  
iv © UNBS 2013  – All rights reserved  
 Introduction  
The grain Amaranth is a grain obtained from the genus Amaranth . Amaranth grows as short -lived herbs that 
occur in temperate and tropical regio ns. There are about 60 species , of which , mainly three are cultivated fo r 
grain purposes namely ; A. hypocodriacus , A. cruentus  and A. caudatus . When  cultivated . Amaranth produces 
a large amount of bioma ss in a short period of time and therefore has the potential to contribute to a 
substantial increase in the world ‘s food produ ction.  
Grain  Amaranth has various nutritional and health benefits due to its having  high protein content and also 
having high quality proteins. Grain amaranth  is also rich in unsaturated fatty acids especially linolei c acid a nd 
contain substantial levels of essential micronutrients. The grain is used for the vulnerable groups.  
Because of this advantage, the grain Amaranth has been used to develop products s uch as the flour for 
porridge, meal flour, cook ies and other snacks.  
Due to this, FDUS  952 has been developed to specify the mi nimum requirements .  
 FINAL DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  FDUS 952: 2013  
 
© UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  1 
 Amaranth grain — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Final D raft Uganda standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test of whole 
grains obtained from A. caudutus, A . hypochondaricus  and A. cruentus  intended for human consumption . 
2 Normative references  
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated 
references, only the edition cited applies.  
ISO 605,  Pulses  — Determination of impurities, size, foreign odour, insects, and species and variety  — Test 
methods  
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 97  (ISO 13690),  Cereals, pulses and milled products — Sampling of static batches  
US 217 -4, Methods for microbiological examination of foods — Part 4: General guidance for the enumeration 
of col iforms — Most Probable  Number Technique at 30  °C 
US 217 -5, Methods for microbiol ogical examination of foods — Part 5: Enumeration of coagulase -positive 
Staphylococci  
US 217 -8, Methods for microbiological examination of foods — Part 8: Enumeration of yeasts and moulds  
US 246, Specification for woven bags made from natural fibres for ce reals and pulses  
US 343,  Agricultural food products — General directions for the determination of nitrogen by Kjeldahl method  
US 738,  General standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
3 Terms and definition s 
For the purposes of this standard , the following terms and definitions shall apply . 
3.1 
amaranths whole grains  
grains obtained from species of Amaranthus  (A. caudutus, A.  hypochondaricus, and A. cruentus )  
3.2 
extraneous matter  
inorganic materials other than the amaranth seeds , other seeds and filth  FDUS 952: 2013  
2 © UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  
 3.3 
filth 
impurities of animal origin  
3.4 
foreign matter  
any extraneous matter than other food grains comprising of  
a) ―inorganic matter‖ which includes metallic pieces , dust , sand , gravel, stones , dirt , pebbles , lumps 
or earth , clay , mud and animal filth , etc; and  
b) ―organic matt er‖ consisting of husks , straws , weeds and other inedible grains etc . 
4 Essential composition and quality factors  
4.1 General  quality factors  
Amaranth grain  shall  
a) be practically free from filth (impurities of animal origin, including dead insects) in am ounts that may 
represent a hazard to human health ,  
b) be free of off flavours and odours , 
c) be practically  free from any foreign matter , and 
d) have a colour characteristic of the variety .  
4.2 Specific quality factors  
Amaranth grain  shall comply with the compo sitional requirements specified in Table 1.  
Table 1 — Composition requirements for amaranth grain  
Characteristic  Level  Method of test  
Protein content, %, min. 12 US 343  
Moisture content, % by mass, max  13 US 98  
Filth, % , max 0.1 ISO 605  
extraneous matt er,%, max 0.2 ISO 605  
5 Contaminants  
5.1 Pesticide residues  
Amaranth grain  shall conform to those maximum residue limits for pesticides established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.  
5.2 Other contaminants  
Amaranth grain shall con form to those maximum levels in accordance US 738 . 
6 Hygiene  
6.1 Amaranth  grains shall be produced, prepared and h andled in accordance with US 28 .  FDUS 952: 2013 
© UNBS 2013 – All rig hts reserved  3 
 6.2 When tested by appropriate standards f or sampling and examination in  Clause 2, the product  shall be 
free from microorganisms in amounts which may represent a hazard to health and shall not exceed the limits 
stipulated in Table 2. FDUS 952: 2013  
4 © UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  
 Table 2 — Microbiological limits in Amaranth grain  
S/No  Type of micro -organism  Limits  Test method  
i) Yeasts and moulds, per g , max. 104 EAS 217 -8 
ii) S. aureus , per 25 g  Not detectable  EAS 217-5 
iii) E. coli, per g , max Not detectable  EAS 217 -4 
 
7 Packaging  
Amaranth grain  shall be packaged in food grade materials that will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional and 
organoleptic qua lities of the product. The packaging materials shall comply with the legisla tion requirements  of 
the destination country.  
8 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of  US 7 , the following labeling requirements shall apply and shall be  legibly 
and indelibl y marked : 
a) common name of the food to be declared on the label shall be 'Amaranth grain';  
b) net contents by weight in metric (`System International') units;  
c) name and physical address of the manufacturer / distributor;  
d) country of origin;  
e) lot identification;  
f) statement ‗ Food for Human Consumption‘‘ shall appear on the package ; 
g) storage conditions as ‗Store in a cool dry place away from contaminants‘ : 
i) instructions on disposal of used package ; 
ii) crop year;  and 
iii) packing dat e. 
9 Methods of sampling  
Sampling shall be carri ed out in accordance with US 97 . 
. FDUS 952: 2013 
© UNBS 2013 – All rights reserved  5 
 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 gover ned 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 Nati onal 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.  
 
 FDUS 952: 2013   
 
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© UNBS 2013 – All rights  reserved