i           DRAFT KENYA STANDARD           DKS 2723: 2016  
ICS 67.120 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
Dried meat – Specification 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT, MARCH 2017 
 
No copying of this standard without KEBS permission except as permitted by copyright law   
 
 
 
 
    
 
  
 
 
 © KEBS 2016        First Edition 2016
  
         ©KEBS 2015 — All rights reserved iiDRAFT KENYA STANDARD        
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dried Meat — Specification 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT, MARCH 2017  
 
 
 
  
©KEBS 2016         First Edition 2016  
 
 
  
iii          TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee. 
 Ministry of Industry, Trade and cooperatives  
Ministry of Health – food safety unit  
Kenya Industrial and Research Development Institute (KIRDI) National Public Health Laboratories 
Government Chemist’s Department 
University of Nairobi –— Department of Food science, nutrition and technology Egerton University – Dairy and Food Science Department Consumer Information Network 
Alpha Fine Foods Ltd. 
Farmer’s Choice Ltd. Kenya Meat Commission 
Department of Livestock production 
Directorate of Veterinary Services  Choice Meats Ltd 
Quality Meat Packers Ltd. 
Kenya Camel Association Brian Resource Centre 
Kenya Bureau of Standards —Secretariat 
 
  
  
 
 
  
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS 
 
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya standards shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestions 
for improvement to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, 
are welcome. 
 
 
  
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 2017 
 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 12 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyrig ht 
subsists in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau  of 
Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in w riting 
from the Managing Director. 
 
  
         ©KEBS 2015 — All rights reserved iv KENYA STANDARD         
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Dried Meat — Specification 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS) 
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi-00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020)  604031 
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Coast Region    Lake Region         Rift Valley Region  
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Fax: (+254 041) 229448   Fax: (+254 057) 21814  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
v           Foreword 
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Meat and Meat Products Technical Committee under the 
guidance of the Standards Projects Committee, and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau of Standards. 
 
The preparation of the fifth edition of the standard wa s found necessary so as to align the microbiological 
requirements and heavy metal limits with the current advances in science. 
 
The standard covers dried meat made from deboned red meat.  The standard incorporates requirements that enhance maintenance of quality and safety of dried meat. The standard also incorporates parameters which facilitate fair trade prac tices by stipulating the minimum levels 
of total meat and lean meat. 
  
During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following documents: 
 
(CAC) Codex Alimentarius Commission Standard , Meat and Meat products Volume 10 1994. 
 
The Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act, Cap 254 of the Laws of Kenya. 
 
International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods -  Micro-organisms in Foods, 
Book 8.  
Kenya Meat Act Cap 256  
 Gulf Standards Organization (GSO 1924: 2008) – specification for dried meat. 
 
South African for Standard for Biltong (1988) 
 The assistance derived from the above sources is highly acknowledged.  
  
©KEBS 2013 — All rights reserved       1   
KENYA STANDARD           
 
 
Dried Meat — Specification 
  
1 Scope 
 
This standard prescribes the quality and safety requirements, method of analysis and sampling of dried 
meat.  
 
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. 
 
I. KS EAS 39 - Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry - Code of practice. 
II. KS ISO 22000 Food safety management systems - Requirements for any organization in the food 
chain.  
III. KS EAS 151 - Hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP). 
IV. KS 2299 Code of practice for Ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection of meat animals. 
V. KS CAC/MRL 2- Maximum Residue Limits for Veterinary Drugs in Food 
VI. KS EAS 38 - Labelling of pre-packaged foods 
VII. KS ISO 4832 — Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs -- Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of coliforms — Colony-count technique. 
VIII. KS ISO 16649-2 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs -— Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of beta-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli — Part 2: Colony-count technique at 44 
degrees C using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-glucuronide. 
IX. KS ISO 6888-1 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 1: Technique using Baird-Parker agar medium. 
X. KS ISO 6579 Microbiology of food and animal f eeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection 
of Salmonella spp. 
XI. KS ISO 11290 - 1 Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. -- Part 1: Detection method 
XII. KS CAC/RCP 58-2005, Codex code of hygienic practice for meat. 
XIII. KS EAS 12 - Specification for potable water  
XIV. KS ISO 17604 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs- carcass sampling 
XV. KS ISO/TS 17728 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs- sampling techniques for 
microbiological analysis of foods and feeds. 
XVI. KS ISO 16654 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs- Horizontal method for the detection of 
Escherichia coli 0157:H7 
 
 
 
3 Definitions 
 
For the purpose of this standard, the following definitions shall apply: 
 
 
3.1 Meat 
 is all parts of an animal that are intended for, or have been judged as safe and suitable for human 
consumption (CAC/RCP 58-2005) 
 
3.2 Meat Product  
Is meat that has been subjected to treatment irrevers ibly modifying its Organoleptic and physiochemical 
characteristic (OIE) 
  
         ©KEBS 2015 — All rights reserved  23.3 Dried Meat   
 
is a product of a food animal that has undergone water loss to achieve desired moisture content. This can be 
obtained through appropriate techniques such as but not limited to sun drying, solar drying, oven drying, air 
drying, heat drying and freeze drying.   
 
3.4   Food producing animals  
are gazetted animals that are wholesome and fit for human consumption as per the Kenya Meat control act CAP 356. 
 
3.5 Ready-to-eat 
Products that are intended to be consumed without any further cooking steps 
 
 
4 Raw materials 
 
4.1 Meat shall be inspected and approved as wholesome and fit for human consumption and free from 
objectionable odours, flavou rs and other contamination. 
 
4.2 All ingredients shall be of acceptable biological, chemical and physical quality and complying with the 
relevant Kenya standards. 
 
5    Requirements 
 
5.1 General requirements 
 5.1.1  The meat used for preparing dried meat product shall be obtained from food producing animals which 
have been slaughtered according Meat control Act cap 356 and shall be in compliance with KS 2299 and 
specifications for specific meats as applicable. 
 
5.1.2  Dry meat products shall be prepared in hygienic conditions as stipulated in KS EAS 39 and KS 
CAC/RCP 58-2005.  
 5.1.3  The meat used for this processing shall be from one type and its flavor must be characteristic of that 
type. 
 5.1.4  The products shall be free from foreign bodies, dirt, sign of spoilage and unacceptable odors. 
 
 
5.2 Essential compositional and quality requirements 
 
5.2.1 Compositional requirements 
 
The Dried meat shall comply with the compositional requirements as given in Table 1 
 
Table 1 — compositional requirements  
 
 
 
 
5.2.2 Quality requirements 
 
Dried meat shall comply with the following quality requirements. SL 
No. Characteristic limits for the final product
(% m/m) Test method 
Min Max
I. Moisture content 7 30 KS ISO 936  
II. Crude fat  1.18 25 KS ISO 1442 
III. Crude protein 20 48 KS ISO937 
IV. Total ash 1 5 KS ISO 936   
 
©KEBS 2015 — All rights reserved     3  
5.2.2.1  The appearance  of the dried meat shall be as uniform as possible. The absence of large wrinkles 
and notches indicates the desired steady and uniform dehydration of meat. 
 
5.2.2.2  The colour  of the surface, as well as of the cross-cut should be uniform and dark red. A darker 
peripheral layer and bright red colour in the centre indicates excessively fast drying. Because of the 
remaining higher water content in the centre, these meat parts may still be susceptible to microbiological 
growth. 
 
5.2.2.3  The texture  of properly dried meat shall be hard, similar to frozen meat. A softer texture can be 
recognized by pressing the meat between your fingers. These pieces shall be kept for one more day in the 
dryer for finishing.  
5.2.2.4  Taste and flavour  are very important criteria for the acceptance of dried meat by the consumer. 
Dried meat shall possess a mild salty taste which is characteristic for naturally dried meat with no added 
spices. Off-odours shall not occur. However, a slightly rancid flavour, which occurs because of chemical 
changes during drying and storage, is commonly found in dried meat and is acceptable. Dried meat with a 
high fat content shall not be stored for a long period but  used as soon as possible in order to avoid intensive 
rancidity. 
 
 
6 Optional ingredients 
 
a) Spices, Seasonings and Condiments shall comply with relevant Kenya Standards.  
b) Edible fat and oil complying with KS EAS 769 , Specification for edible fats and oils ;  
c) Salts complying with KS EAS 35, Edible salt - Specification ; 
d) Curing agents complying with The Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act, Cap. 254 of the Laws     
of Kenya 
 
7  Food additives 
 
The food additives used in the dried meat product shall be in accordance with the Food, Drugs and Chemical 
Substances Act, Cap. 254 of the Laws of Kenya and Codex Standard GSFA 192. 
 
 
8. Hygiene requirements  
 
Dried meat shall be prepared, handled and stored in accordance with the appropr iate sections of the  
a) Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act Cap 254,  
b) Public Health Act CAP 242,  
c) Meat Control Act, Cap. 356 of the Laws of Kenya,  d) KS EAS 39 - Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry - Code of practice,  
e) KS ISO 22000:2005 Food safety management systems - 
Requirements for any organization in the food 
chain,   
f) KS EAS 151 - Hazard analysis critical control points,  
g) KS 2299 Code of practice for Ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection of meat animals and  
h) KS CAC/RCP 58-2005 Codex code of hygienic practice for meat. 
 
9. Microbiological limits 
 
Samples shall be taken in accordance to the provisions of KS ISO/TS 17728. 
 
Dried meat  shall not contain any pathogenic organisms and shall comply with microbiological limits given in 
Table 2. 
 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for dried meat 
 
SL No. Type of organisms Dried Meat Test method 
Max   
         ©KEBS 2015 — All rights reserved  4i.  Enterobacteriaceae  KS ISO 21528-2 
ii.  E. coli  per g(max) absent KS ISO 16649-2 
iii.  Coagulase positive 
staphylococcus aureus,  per 
g(max) Not detected   KS ISO 6888-1 
iv.  Salmonella, per 25g.  Not detected  KS ISO 6579 
v.  Listeria monocytogenes per g Not detected  KS ISO 11290-2 
vi.  Yeast and moulds 104  
 
 
10 Dried Meat speciation  
 
The identification/isolation of meat species shall be done according to the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) 
test and Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) procedure amongst other validated methods. 
 
11 Limits for heavy metal contaminants in dried meat 
 Dried meat shall not contain heavy metal contaminants in excess of the limits given in Table 2 and the limits 
are subject to the latest revision of CODEX STAN 193 
 
Table 3 — Limits for heavy metal contaminants in dried meat 
 
SL No. Contaminants 
limits Maximum limits
ppm Test methods 
I.  Arsenic (Ar) 0.1 AOAC 986.15 EN14332, 14627 
II.  Lead (Pb) 0.1 AOAC 999.10, 999.11, 986.15 EN14082, 
14083,14084 
III.  Cadmium 0.05 AOAC 986.15, 999.11,973.34 EN 
14082,18083,14084 
IV.  Mercury 0.03 AOAC 971.21 
 
 12   Residues of Veterinary Drugs and Pesticides   
The products covered by this standard shall comply with the maximum residue limits specified in KS 
CAC/MRL 2- Maximum Residue Limits for Veterinary Drugs in Food and KS CAC/MRL 1- Maximum Residue 
Limits for Pesticide Residues in Foods.  When analyzed using the appropriate approved methods, the 
products shall not contain any veterinary drug residue above the approved limit. 
 
13 Packaging and labelling  
 
13.1 Packaging 
 
Packaging of dried meat shall be done in food grade packaging materials that protect the meat product from 
any physical, microbiological, chemical or any othe r type of contamination during storage and distribution 
(packaging standard).  
13.2 Labelling  
 
Labelling of packages dried meat shall be done in accordance with the requirements stipulated in KS EAS 
38, Labelling of pre-packaged food  and shall include the following: 
  
a) Name of the product ( of meat used) as appropriate  
b) Name, location and address of manufacturer; c) Net weight, in g or kg; 
d) Declaration as either “raw”,” cooked” “smoked’’  
 
©KEBS 2015 — All rights reserved     5 e) Declaration of method of drying. 
f) List of ingredients in descending order; 
g) Nutritive value  
h) Declaration of preservatives used; 
i) Date of manufacture; 
j) Expiry date; 
k) Batch number; 
l) Instructions for use; 
m) Storage conditions; 
n) Country of origin or “Made in Kenya” for locally manufactured products.