Fortified edible oils – Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTE: This is a draft stan dard and it shall neither be used nor regarded as a Malawi Standard  ICS 67.200 .10              DMS 51:201 8 
Fourth  edition  
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROPOSAL  
 
 
  
  ICS 67.20 0.10             DMS 51:201 8 
 Fourth edition  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fortified edible oils – Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Obtainable from the  
Malawi Bureau of Standards  
P O Box 946  
BLANTYRE  
 
 Tel:   +265 1 870 488  
Fax:   +265 1 870 756  
 E-mail:   mbs@mbsmw.org  
                                                                       Website:   www.mbsmw.org  
 
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 i TABLE OF CONTENTS  
 
Contents  Page  
Foreword   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................     i 
Technical committee    ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................     i 
Scop e   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................    1 
Normative reference s   ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................    1 
Terms and d efinitions   ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................    1 
Essential composition and quality factors   ................................ ................................ ................................    2 
Fortification    ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............    3 
Food additives   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........    4 
Contaminants   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........    4 
Food h ygiene   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........    4 
Packaging and labelling    ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................    4 
Methods of sampling and test   ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................    5 
Annex A (Normative): Requirements for edible oils  ................................ ................................ ..................    6 
Annex B (Normative): Sample sizes    ................................ ................................ ................................ ........    7 
 
FOREWORD  
 
This draft Malawi  standard  is the fourth  edition of MS 51,  Fortified e dible oils  – Specif ication . The revision of 
this standard has been done to incorporate contemporary information prevalent now due to technologica l 
and environmental changes .  This standard specifies requirements for fortified refined edible oils without 
considering the crude  oils after consideration  of health hazards that may result from consumption of crude 
edible oils . 
 
In preparing this standard  reference was made to the following standard s: 
 
CODEX STAN 19: 2017,  General standard for edible fats and oils.  
 
South African St andard , SANS 1875: 2007, Edible Oils  – Specification . 
 
Acknowledgement is made for the use of the information.  
 
This draft Malawi standard  once approved will cancel and replace the following Malawi standards which have 
been reviewed and combined in the curr ent draft:  
 
MS 77:1988, Groundnut oil  – Specification ; 
 
MS 78:1988, Refined sunflower oil  – Specification ; 
 
MS 79:1988, Refined cottonseed oil  – Specification ; 
 
MS 80:1988, Rape seed oil  – Specification ; and 
 
MS 157:1988, Refined soya bean oil  – Specifica tion. 
 
 
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE  
 
In preparing this draft Malawi s tandard, the following companies and organisations in the MBS/ TC 14 , Edible 
oils and fats were represented:  
 
Blantyre City Assembly;  
Capital Oil Refining Industries;  
Consumers Association of Mala wi; 
Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR);  
Malawi Bureau of Standards;   
 ii Ministry of Health and population;  
Mount Meru Millers Limited;  
Moti Oil Mill Limited;  
Peoples Trading Centre;  
Rab Processors Limited;  
SAFA Foods Limited;  
Sunseed Oil Limited;  
Universal Industries Limited; and  
University of Malawi – The Malawi Polytechnic.  
 
 
NOTICE  
 
This standard shall be reviewed every five years, or earlier when it is necessary, in order to keep abreast of 
progress. Comments are welcome and s hall be considered when the standard is being reviewed .
  
 1 DMS 51 :2018 
 
DRAFT PROPOSAL  
 
Fortified e dible oils – Specification  
 
 
1 SCOPE  
 
1.1 This draft standard specifies  requirements  for fortified refined edible oils derived from oil seeds and 
oil-beari ng fruits.  These oils are suitable for use as cooking oils and salad oils.   
 
1.2 This standard excludes the use of crude oils i.e . crude oils shall not be sold for human consumption.  
 
 
2 NORMATIVE REFERENCE S 
 
The following standards contain provisions, wh ich through reference in this text, constitute provisions of this 
Malawi standard. All standards are subject to revision and, since any reference to a standard is deemed to 
be a reference to the latest edition of that standard, parties to agreements based on this standard are 
encouraged to take steps to ensure the use of the most recent edition of the standard indicated below. 
Information on current valid national and international standards can be obtained from the Malawi Bureau of 
Standards.  
 
MS 19 : Label ling of prepacked foods – General standard ; 
 
MS 21 : Code of hygienic conditions for food and food processing units;  
 
MS 56 : Edible fats and oils – Methods of test ; 
 
MS 237 : Food additives  – General standard;  
 
MS 302 : Contaminants and toxins in foods   ̶  General standard;  
 
MS 624: Nutrition labelling – Guidelines ; 
 
MS 625: Nutrition claims – Guidelines ; 
 
MS 935: Principles for the establishment and application of microbiological criteria for foods ; and 
 
CAC/GL 23: Guidelines for use of nutrition and hea lth claims.  
 
 
3 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS  
 
For the purpose of this draft standard , the following terms and definitions shall apply:  
 
3.1 
defective batch  
batch which  has failed to meet the quality require ments outlined in this draft standard  
 
3.2 
edible oils   
are those oils composed of glycerides of fatty acids of vegetable origin and in which naturally occurring lipids, 
such as phosphatides of unsaponifiable constituents and of free fatty acids may be present   
 
3.3 
fatty acids  
straight -chain  compounds found in oils and ranging f rom two to twenty -four carbons.  They can be either 
saturated, i.e . containing no double bonds, or unsaturated, i.e . containing double bonds  
  
 2 3.4 
food fortification  
practice of deliberately adding essential micronutrients in a food to impr ove the nutritional quality of the food 
and to provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health  
 
3.5  
fortificant   
a compound which contains the specified micronutrient intended to be added to a food vehicle   
 
3.6 
fortified edible oils  
edible oils containing added micronutrients in accordance with this draft standard  
 
3.7  
free fatty acids  
acids which are broken free from a triglyceride molecule  
 
3.8 
glyceride  
compound s consisting of one molecule of glycerol and one to three molecules of fatty ac ids 
 
3.9  
lipids  
are esters of fatty acids with glycerol to form monoglycerides, diglycerides or triglycerides, including esters of 
fatty acids with different alcohols and a variety of substances such as phosphatides, sterols, terpenes, fatty 
alcohols, fat ty acids, fat -soluble vitamins and hydrocarbons, i.e . waxes   
 
3.10 
phosphatides   
are triglycerides with two fatty acid chains and one phosphoric acid residue to which may be attached a base  
 
3.11 
pre-blend  
mixture of premix with edible oil to dilute forti ficant before adding to full amount of oil; prepared to facilitate 
homogenous mixing  
 
3.12 
premix  
blend of fortificants and diluents formulated to provide specified and determinable amounts of micronutrients  
 
3.13 
refined oils  
edible oils obtained by mech anical procedures and/or solvent extraction and subjected to refining processes 
to adopt it especially for use in food products  
 
 
4 ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS  
 
4.1 Raw materials  
 
Raw materials for fortified edible oils shall be obtained from  plant sources of wholesome  quality fit for human 
consumption.  
 
4.2 Colour  
 
The colour of the produc t shall be characteristic of  designated product.  
 
4.3 Odour and taste  
 
The odour and taste of the product shall be characteristic to the designated product and free from foreign 
and rancid odour and taste. The product shall be free from musty or other unpleasant odour characteristic of 
bad quality oils. The oils shall be wholesome, with pleasant odour characteristic of good quality fortified 
edible oils fit f or human consumption.   
 3 4.4 Physical and chemical requirements for fortified edible oils  
 
Fortified edible oils shall conform to the maximum levels for physical and chemical requirements indicated in 
Table A1. 
 
 
5 FORTIFICATION  REQUIREMENTS  
 
5.1 Addition of vita min A  
 
All fortified edible oils  shall contain vitamin A at the levels provided in Table 1. These levels shall be applied 
to fortified edible oil during production and importation.  
 
Table 1 ─ Fortification requirements at production and during importation  
 
Nutrient  Fortification 
compound  Factory 
addition 
level  
(mg/kg ) Tolerable range at factory or site of 
import  (mg/kg)  
Minimum  Average  Maximum  
Vitamin A  Retinyl Palmitate 
(Oily)  35.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 
 
5.2 Fortification requirements during marketing  
 
It is recognized that some losses in vitamin A may occur during marketing and so the levels to be applied at 
retail take into account these loses. The regulatory levels at retail are provided in T able 2. 
 
Table 2 ─ Fortification requirements during marketing  
 
Nutrient  Fortification 
compound  Amount (mg/kg)  Label claim  
(mg per 100g)  Minimum  Maximum  
Vitamin A  Retinyl Palmitate (Oily)  20 40 3.0 
 
5.3 Specification of the Vitamin A premix  addition levels  
 
5.3.1  All vitamin premix  shall be of acceptable standard and conform to the following standards: U nited 
States Pharmacopoeia (USP) , British Pharmacopoeia (BP) , Food Chemical Codex (FCC), Merck Index (MI), 
United States National Formulary (NF), European Pharmacopoei a (Ph Eur) and Codex Alimentarius 
Commission (CAC) .  
 
5.3.2  The premix  shall be label led in accord ance with  MS 19 and CAC/GL 23.  
 
5.3.3  The premix  shall be diluted to provide pre -blends so that the dilution factor at time of adding  
pre-blend to oil is red uced. This dilution facilitates good mixing of the vitamin A with the oil to improve  
homogeneity in the final product . Regardless of the pre -blend formulated, t he premix  should be added at the 
rate of 68.6 g to 1 metric ton of oil or 116.7  g to 1 metric to n (Table 3 ) of oil depending on the concentration 
used.  
 
Table 3 ─ Specification of the Vitamin A premix  addition levels  
 
Nutrient  Premix  Factory  addition level  
(mg/kg ) Amount of premix to 
be added  (g/MT)  
 
Vitamin A  Retinyl Palmitate 1.7 million IU/g  35.0 68.6 
Retinyl Palmitate 1.0 million IU/g  35.0 116.7  
 
 
 
  
 4 6 FOOD  ADDITIVES  
 
Only those food additives permitted for use in fortified edible oils and as per set maximum  levels in MS 237, 
shall be used . 
 
 
7 CONTAMINANTS  
 
7.1 Heavy metals  
 
The products covered by this standard shall comply with the maximum levels for cont aminants that are 
specified for the product in MS 302 . 
 
7.2 Pesticide  residues  
 
Fortified e dible oils shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits as laid down by the current 
Codex Alimentarius Commission . 
 
 
8 FOOD HYGIENE  
 
Fortified e dible oil s shall be prepared and handled under hygienic cond itions as prescr ibed in MS 21. The 
products should comply with any microbiological criteria established in accordance with MS 935.  
 
 
9 PACKAGING AND LABELING  
 
9.1 Packaging  
 
9.1.1  Fortified edible oil shall be packed in clear sachets or clear bottles or opaque containers that shall 
not impart any foreign odour or taste to the product or contaminate the product, or be affected by the 
product . 
 
9.1.1.1 Clear sachets shall be of food grade plastics  and each sa chet shall contain net volume  of  
25 ml to 1000 ml  of the fortified edible oil . 
 
9.1.1 .2 Clear bottles shall be of food  grade materials and each bottles  shall contain net volume of  
250 ml to 5 000 ml  of the fortified edible oil . The bottles  shall be provi ded with tamper proof seals or cl osures . 
 
9.1.1 .3 Opaque containers shall be  of plastic or metallic food grade materials and each co ntainer shall 
contain net volume  of 2 500 ml to 200,000 ml  of the fortified edible oil . The containers shall be provided wit h 
tamper proof seals or closures.  
 
9.2 Labelling  
 
9.2.1 Retail containers  
 
In addition  to the provisions  of MS 19 , the following provisions shall apply  on packages of fortified edible oil : 
 
9.2.1.1  Name of the product . The name o f the product  shall be edible ‘X’ oil or blended ‘X’ oil where X is 
the word vegetable or name of such vegetable . The words “fortified with Vitamin A ” shall be declared in close 
proximi ty to the name of the oil.  The word “refined ” shall be declared on the label to indicate the type of oil.  
 
9.2.1.2  Date marking and storage instructions.  The “date of minimum durability”  preceded by the words 
“best before”  shall be declared.  Storage instructions of the product shall be indicated in close proximity to 
the date marking if the validity o f the date depends thereon.  
 
9.2.1.3  Net content.  The net contents of the product shall be declared by volume in metric units.  
 
9.2.1.4  Name and address . The name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor, or vendor of 
the product shall be decla red. 
  
 5 9.2.1.5  Country of origin . The country of origin of the product shall be declared and shall not be 
obscured by any outer wrapper.  
 
9.2.1.6  Lot identification . Each packaging material shall be permanently marked clear ly to identify the 
producing facto ry and lot.  
 
9.2.1.7  List of ingredients.  All ingredients used shall be declared on the label.  
 
9.2.1.8  Nutrition labelling . In addition to provisions prescribed in MS 624 the amount of vitamin A  in the 
oil shall be declared on the label  in mg per 100 g.  
 
9.2.1.9     Nutrition and health claims. Fortified edible oil may have claims on the importance of vitamin A 
in nutrition and health.  Such claims when declared shall be in accordance with MS 625 and CAC/GL 23 . 
 
9.2.2 Non-retail containers  
 
The above labell ing requirements shall be either on the  container or in accompanying documents, except 
that the name of the product, lot identification and the name and address of the manufacturer or packer shall 
appear on the container.  However, lot identification and t he name and address of the manufacturer or 
packer may be replaced by an identification mark, provided that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the 
accompanying documents.  
 
 
10 METHODS OF SAMPLING AND TEST  
 
10.1 Sampling  
 
10.1.1 Sampling for food forti fication. Sampling shall be i n accordance with provision in  AOAC and the 
ECSA manual for monitoring of oil fortified with vitamin A.  
 
10.1.2  Sample for incubation at 37  ºC 
 
From the lot take at random the number of containers relative to the lot size in accordanc e with requirements 
in column 2 of Table B1. 
 
10.1.3  Sampl ing for physical, chemical and microbiological requirements.  
 
For physical, chemical and microbiological examination f rom the lot take at random the number of containers 
shown in column 3 of Table B1. 
 
10.2 Methods of analysis  
 
10.2.1 Methods of analysis for vitamin A. Determination of the quantity of vitamin A in fortified edible oils 
shall be undertaken in accordance with the ECSA manual of laboratory methods for fortified foods, Part II 
Determinati on of vitamin A in oil . 
 
10.2.2 Methods of analysis for physical and chemical requirem ents shall be done i n accordance with  
MS 56.  
 
  
 6   Annex A  
(Normative)  
 
Table A1 ─ Requirements for fortified edible oils  
 
Common 
name  Botanical 
name  Colour, units 
in 5.25 inch  
Lovibond 
cell, max.  Refractive  
Index  Saponification 
value  
 
mg KOH/g  Unsaponi  
fiable  
matter, max.  
% by mass  Iodine value  
g/100g  Free fatty 
acids , max  
% by mass  Moisture and 
volatile matter, 
max. % by 
mass  Peroxide value milli -
equivalents of active  
oxygen/kg oil,  
Max.  
Coconut  Cocos 
nucifera 
Linnaeus  5 yellow units  
2 red units  1.4485  – 1.4500     
at 40 oC 248 – 264 8 7 - 11  0.15 as 
lauric acid  0.1 2 
Cotton seed  Gossypium 
spp. Dependent on 
gossypol 
content  1.4580  – 1.4660 
at 40 oC 189 – 198 15 100 - 115  0.15 as 
oleic acid  0.1 2 
Groundnut 
(arachis)  Arachis 
hypogaea 
Linnaeus  35 yellow 
units  
4 red units  1.4680  – 1.4720 
at 20 oC 188 – 196 10 80 - 106  0.15 as 
oleic acid  0.1 2 
Maize (corn)  Zea mays 
Linnaeus  40 yellow 
units  
4 red units  1.4720  – 1.4740 
at 20 oC 187 – 195 28 103 - 128  0.15 as 
oleic acid  0.1 2 
Palm  
olein  Elaeis 
guineensis 
Linnaeus  3-6 red units  1.4490  – 1.4550 
at 50 oC 190 – 209 12 56  0.1 as 
palmitic acid  0.1 2 
Palm stearin  Eliaeis 
guineensis  3-6 red units  1.4460  – 1.4520 
at 40 oC 188 – 193 12 48  0.15 as 
palmitic acid  0.1 2 
Rape (colza) 
low erucic 
acid Brassica 
napus 
Linnaeus  40 yellow 
units 3 red 
units  1.4650  – 1.4670 
at 40 ºC  188 – 193 20 110 - 126 < 0.15 as 
oleic acid  0.1 2 
Sunflower  Helianthus 
annuus  
Linnaeus  25 yellow 
units 3 red 
units  1.4670  – 1.4690 
at 40 oC 188 – 194 15 126 - 135  0.15 as 
oleic acid  0.1 2 
Soya  Glycine max  Not specified  1.4660  – 1.4700 
at 40 oC 189 – 195 15 120 - 143  0.15 as 
oleic acid  0.1 2  
 7 Annex B  
(Normative)  
 
Table B1 ─ Sample sizes  
 
1 2 3 4 5 
Lot size, 
containers  Sample size for 
incubation at 37 
ºC Sample size  
for physical  
examination  Sample size for  
chemical analysis  Sample size for  
microbiological  
examination  
0 – 5 000  2 % of the lot size  3 1 3 
5 001 – 12 500  2 % of the lot size 
with a maximum 
of 200  6 1 3 
12 501 – 25 000  2 % of the lot size 
with a maximum 
of 200  9 1 3 
25 001 – 50 000  2 % of the lot size 
with a maximum 
of 200  16 2 3 
50 001 upwards  2 % of the lot size 
with a maximum 
of 200  30 3 3 
 
 
 
 ICS 67.20 0.10             DMS 51:201 8
             Fourth edition  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE MALAWI BUREAU OF STANDARDS              CERTIFICATION MARK SCHEME  
The Malawi Bureau of Standards is the 
standardizing body in Malawi under the aegis 
of the Ministry of Industry  and Trade .  Set up 
in 1972 by the Malawi Bureau of Standards 
Act (Cap: 51:02), the Bureau is a parastatal 
body whose activities aim at formulating and 
promoting the general adoption of standards 
relating to structures, commodities, materials, 
practices, operations and from time to time 
revise, alter and amend the same to 
incorporate advanced technology.  To bring the advantages of standardization 
within the reach of the common consumer, the 
Bureau operates a Certification Mark Scheme. 
Under this scheme, manufacturers  who 
produce goods that conform to national 
standards are granted permits to use the 
Bureau’s “Mark of Quality” depicted below on 
their products.  This Mark gives confidence to 
the consumer of the commodity’s reliability.