Reference number  
DRS 362: 2017  
 
© RSB 2017  
 
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS 
362 
 
First edition  
2017 -mm-dd 
 
Fish flour — Specification   
  DRS 362: 2017  
©RSB 2017 All rights reserved                  ii 
 
 In order to match with technological development and to keep continuous progress in industries, 
Standards are subject to periodic review. Users shall ascertain that they are in possession of the latest 
edition  
 
© RSB 2017 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part  of this publication may be reproduced or utilized 
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without 
prior written permission from R SB. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addresse d to 
Rwanda Standards  Board  
P.O Box 7099 Kigali -Rwanda  
Tel. +250 252 586103/ 582945  
E-mail: info@rsb.gov.rw  
Website: www.rsb.gov.rw   DRS 362: 2017  
iii                 ©RSB 2017 All rights  reserved  
 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  1 
4 Requ irements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  2 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
4.1.1  Raw materials  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  2 
4.1.2  Dried silver cyprinid shall:  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  3 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  3 
5 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  4 
6 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  4 
6.1 Heavy metals  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
6.2 Aflatoxi ns ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 4 
6.3 Veterinary drug residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  4 
6.4 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  5 
7 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 5 
8 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  5 
9 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 5 
 DRS 362: 2017  
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 Foreword  
Rwanda Standard s are prepared  by Technical Committees and approved by R wanda Standards Board (RSB) 
Board  of Directors in  accordance with the procedures of RSB, in compliance with Annex 3 of the WTO/TBT 
agreement on the preparation, adoption and application of standards.  
The main task of technical committees is to prepare national standards.  Final Draft Rwanda S tandards adopted 
by Technical committ ees are ratifie d by me mbers of RSB Board of Director s for publication and gazettment as 
Rwanda Standards.  
DRS 362 was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 017, Pre-packaged foods . 
In the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following standard:  
1) XYZ: Title 
2) XYZ:  Title 
The assistance de rived from the above source is hereby acknowledged with thanks.  
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Fish flour (RSB/TC 017) in the  
preparation of this standard.  
Institut d’enseignements sup érieur de Ruhengeli (I NES) 
University of Rwanda – College of Agriculture and veterinary Medicine (UR -CAVM)  
COOPPAVI  
KIBUYE fishing cooperative  
Association des Consomateurs au Rwanda ( ADECOR ) 
CIAT/Harvestplus  
SHEKINA Enterprise  
SOSOMA Industries  
MINIMEX  
National Industrial R esearch and Development Agency ( NIRDA ) DRS 362: 2017  
©RSB 2017 All rights reserved                  ii 
 
 Rwanda  Standards Board  (RSB) – Secretariat  
 DRS 362: 2017  
1                 ©RSB 2017 All rights  reserved  
 
 Fish flour  — specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft Rwanda Standards specifies the requirements  and methods of test and sampling for  fish flour,  
obtained from all types of fish 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. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document 
(including any amendments) app lies. 
RS ISO 21527 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds — Part 1: Colony count technique in products with water activity greater than 0,95  
RS ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of the food cha in — Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms — 
Part 1: Colony count at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique  
RS ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp  
RS ISO 6888, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci ( Staphylococcus aureus and other species)  
RS ISO 7251, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method f or the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
RS ISO/TS 21872 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
potentially enteropathogenic Vibrio spp.  
RS EAS 12, Potable water — Specification  
AOAC 937.09 ,  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the follow ing terms and definitions apply.  
3.1 
Fish flour  
Flour obtained from drying and grinding of fish   
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 3.2 
split fish with entire backbone  
fish split with the whole of the backbone intact  
3.3 
split fish  
fish split and with approximately the anterior two -thirds of the backbone removed  
3.4 
fillets  
fish split and divided longitudinally into two parts and with fins, fin bones, tail and the whole of the backbone 
removed  
3.5 
food grade material  
packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use and which will not 
impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour, colour or flavour to the product  
3.6 
sound  
free from physiological deterioration or adulteration/contamination, that appreciably affects their appearance, 
edibility and the keeping quality of the fish  flour 
3.7 
foreign matter  
any material which is not of fish origin  such as sand, stones,  metallic chips  and plant parts  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  Raw materials  
4.1.1.1  Dried silver cyprinid shall be prepared from fresh, sound Rastrineobola argentea  which is of an 
acceptable quality and fit for human consumption.  
4.1.1.2  Water used during fish processing shall be potable complying with RS EAS 12.  DRS 362: 2017  
3                 ©RSB 2017 All rights  reserved  
 
 4.1.1.3  After washing, the fish shall be dried either in the sun or in artificial dryers until a satisfactory product 
is obtained . 
4.1.1.4  The fish, while drying, shall be protect ed against contamination such as dirt, sand, birds, vermin 
and insects.  
4.1.2  Dried silver cyprinid shall:  
a) have the characteristic silvery skin colour and dried fish odour;  
b) be free from any indication of spoilage such as mouldiness, colour change; and  
c) be free from foreign matter.  
4.2 Specific requirements  
4.2.1 Fish flour shall comply with the requirements specified in Table 1.  
Table 1  — Specific requirements for fish  flour  
S/N Parameter  Requirements  Test method  
i) Moisture, %, max.  14 Annex A  
ii) Sodium chloride, % by weight on moisture 
free basis, max.  5 AOAC 937.09  
ii) Total ash, % max  15 RS ISO 5985  
iii) Acid insoluble ash, %, max.  0.5 
 
4.2.2 When tested in accordance with AOAC 977.13 , the level of histamine in fish such as scromboids species 
shall not exceed 20  ppm.  
Table 2 — Chemical composition of fish flour  
S/N Substance  Content , % 
i.  Raw protein  60 - 62 
ii.  Fat  7.0 – 9.0 
iii.  Humidity  6.0 – 8.0 
iv.  Ash  14.7 
v.  Calcium  5.7 
vi.  Phosphorous  2.85 
vii.  Salt 1.6  
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 5 Hygiene  
Dried fish shall be produced and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with EAS 39 and CAC/RCP 52 
and shall comply with the microbiological limits given in Table 3. 
 
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for fish flour ( Rastrineobola argen tea) 
S/N Type of microorganism  Maximum limit Test method  
i) Salmonella  in 25 g  Absent  ISO 6579  
ii) Escherichia coli , MPN/g  Absent  ISO 7251  
iii) Staphylococcus aureus , CFU/g  2 × 103 ISO 6888  
iv) Total viable count , CFU/g  105 ISO 4833 -1 
v) Vibrio spp . Absent  ISO/TS 21872  
vi) Yeast and mould s, CFU/g  103 ISO 21527 -1 
6 Contaminants  
6.1 Heavy metals  
Fish flour shall comply with the heavy metal limits given in Table 3.  
Table 4 — Heavy metal  limits for fish  flour  
S/N Heavy metal  Maximum limit , 
mg/kg  Test method  
i) Arsenic  0.1 AOAC 952.13  
ii) Lead  0.3 AOAC 972.23  
iii) Cadmium  0.3 AOAC 973.34  
iv) Methyl mercury  0.5 AOAC 983.20  
6.2 Aflatoxins  
When tested in accordance with ISO 16050 , the level of total aflatoxin in  fish flour shall not exceed  10 µg/kg . 
6.3 Veterinary drug residues  
Fish flour shall comply with those maximum veterinary drug residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission.  DRS 362: 2017  
5                 ©RSB 2017 All rights  reserved  
 
 6.4 Pesticide residues  
Fish flour shall comply with those maximum pesticides residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission.  
7 Packaging  
Fish flour shall be packaged in food grade containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, and 
organoleptic qualities of the p roduct . 
8 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements in EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked:  
a) name of the product shall be “fish  flour”; 
b) name and physical address of processor/packer ; 
c) net weight in grams or kilograms ; 
d) date of packaging ; 
e) batch numbe r; 
f) expiry date ; 
g) storage conditions ; 
h) instruction for use ; and  
i) country of origin.  
9 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance wit h CAC/GL 50 . 
 DRS 362: 2017  
ICS 67.120.30  
 
 
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