TBS/ AFDC 22 (5279) P 3         
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT  TANZANIA STANDARD  
 
Sausages — Specification  Part 2: Chicken  sausages  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TANZANIA BUREAU OF STANDARDS  
                                                                                                                                                                                              
1 
 Sausages — Specification  Part 2: Chicken Sausages  
                         
0 FOREWORD  
 
The demand for chicken sausage  is increasing due to its availability and nutritional 
benefits compared with other meat sausages. Chicken s ausage  is a product obtained 
by stuffing course  or fine ly comminuted  chicken  carcasses with or without  edible offals    
and associated ingredients  into casing. Chicken s ausage may be raw, cooked and /or 
smoked.  
 
This Tanzania standard has been prepared to ensure  safety and quality  of chicken 
sausages  traded in the country.  
 
In the preparation of this Tanzania  standard , considerable assistance was drawn from 
IS 13400:1992, Meat and Meat Products — Chicken Sausages — Specification  
published  by the Indian Bureau of Standards .  
 
In reporting, the results of a test or analysis made in accordance with this standard, if 
the final value observed  or calculated, is to be rounded off, it shall be done in 
accordance with TZS 4 (see clause 2).  
 
1.0 SCOPE  
This Tanzania  standard specifies requirements, methods of sampling and test 
for chicken sausag es intended  for human consumption.  
2.0 REFERENCES  
For the purpose of this Tanzania standard, the following references shall 
apply. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated 
references, the latest edition of the referenced standards  (including any 
amendments) applies:  
 
TZS 4 – Rounding off numerical values . 
TZS 76 – General method for determination of Arsenic silver diethyldithiocarmate 
photometric method.  
TZS 2180  – Ante-mortem and post -mortem inspections of poultry – Code of practi ce. 
TZS 118/ISO 4833 , Microbiology of food and  animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method 
for the enumeration of microorganisms – Colony -count technique at 30oC 
TZS 119 – Microbiology – General guidance for the enumeration  of coliforms – Most 
Probable Numbe r technique (MPN).  
TZS 121, Microbiological ex amination for Clostridium botulinum  and Clostridium 
botulinum  toxins  – Test method.  
TZS 122 – Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the 
detection of Salmonella spp.  
TZS 125 – Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the 
enumeration of coagulase -positive staphylococci ( Staphylococcus aureus  and other                                                                                                                                      
2 
 species) – Part 1: Technique using Baird -parker agar medium – Amendment 1: 
Inclusion of precision data . 
TZS 129 – Meat and meat products – Microbiol ogical examination – Sampling  
TZS 131 – Microbiology - General guidance for enumeration of yeast and moulds – 
Colony count technique at 25 ºC  
TZS 132  - Fortified food grade salt — Specification  
TZS 268 – Genera l atom ic absorption spectrophotometric method for determination of 
Lead in food and food stuffs  
TZS 458  - Code  of hygiene for meat processing plant  
TZS 538 – Packaging and labelling of foods  
TZS 852 -2 – Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for 
detection and enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes  - Enumeration method  
TZS 731 – Microbiology of food and feeding stuffs – Horizontal metho d for detection 
and enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli  – Most Probable Number Technique  
TZS 1760 /ISO 937  Meat and meat products – Determination of nitrogen content 
(Reference method)  
Codex Stan 193 – Codex General Standard for Contaminants and T oxins in Food and 
Feed 
TZS 949 -1 /ISO 21528 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal 
methods for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae – Part 1 – Detection 
and enumeration by MPN technique with pre -enrichment  
TZS 949-2/ISO 21528 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs -- Horizontal 
methods for the detecti on and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae – Part 2 – Colony 
count method  
TZS 1759 – Meat and meat products – Determination of nitrite content (Reference 
method)  
TZS 1761/ISO 1443  Meat and meat products – Determination of to tal fat content  
ISO 1442 Meat and meat products – Determination of moisture content (Reference 
method)  
ISO 936 Meat and meat products – Determination of total ash  
CAC/RCP 58 -2005, Code of hygien ic practice for meat  
ISO 4833, Microbiology of foods and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal  meth od for the 
enumeration of microorganisms – Part 2: Colony count technique at 30 °C  
ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs -- Horizontal metho d for the 
detection of Salmonella spp  
ISO 7251, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the 
detection and enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli  — Most probable number 
technique  
IS0 1841 -1 – Meat and  meat products -- Determination of chloride content -- Part 1: 
Volhard method  
Codex Stan 192, General standard for f ood additives  
  
3.0 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS  
For the purpose of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply:  
                                                                                                                                      
3 
 3.1 broiler  
it is a young meat typ e chicken, usually 6 to 8 weeks of age , either sex, with tender - 
soft, pliable, smooth textured skin and flexible breast bone  
 
3.2 culled chicken  
chicken of age not below 8 weeks , healthy and well nourished, usually include  spent 
hens, cockerels and cocks  
 
3.3 deboned chicken meat 
hand or mechanically deboned meat free of bones, excessive  fat and thi ck tendons  
 
3.4 chicken  edible offal  
includes skin, gizzard, heart and ova that are clean and wholesome  
3.5 fresh meat  
meat that has not been subjected to any processing  other than chilling, freezing, 
vacuum -packaging  or wrapping  in a controlled atmospher e  
3.6 by-products   
parts of a slaughtered bird which  are not intended for human consumption  
3.7 casing  
natural or artificial materials used to protect and o r hold sausages   
3.8 sausage  
product obtained by stuffing meat  and associated ingredients like nuts, pulses and soya 
protein in casings and which may be fresh, fermented, cooked and/or smoked  
3.9 fresh sausages /raw sausages  
sausages made from meat has not been previously cured and require chilling or 
freezing and thorough cooking before eating  
3.10 cooked sausages  
sausages made from fresh meat and then fully cooked, to be  eaten  either  immediatel y 
after cooking or refrigerated  
 
4.0 REQUIREMENTS   
 
4.1 General re quirements  
4.1.1  Requirements for chicken carcasses and edible offals   
 
4.1.1.1 Carcasses d rawn from h ealthy live chickens  in accordance with TZS 2180.  
4.1.1. 2 Chicken  carcasses  shall be suitably scalded and all pin feathers and body hairs 
removed by picking or singeing.  
4.1.1.3 Chicken carcasses shall  be well dressed and head, legs, vents and oil gland 
removed and eviscerated.                                                                                                                                       
4 
 4.1.1. 4 The carcasses and edible offals shall be properly cleaned, washed , drained  and 
suitably  chilled  at 4 °C for a maximum period of 5 days or frozen at -18 °C for a 
maximum period o f 3 months, as required.  
4.1.1. 5 Meat, skin and  detachable fat  shall be collected separately. Meat shall be free 
from visible bones and thick tendons shall be separated.  
4.1.1. 6 Meat, edible offal’s  and fat shall be chilled to less than 4 °C or frozen ( -18 °C). 
When frozen, they should be tempe red to a  temperature of 2 to 4 °C before sausage  
4.1.1. 7 The dressed carcass or cuts shall be deboned in hot, chilled or frozen and 
tempered condition.  
4.1.1. 8 Deboning process shall be done in a cool room maintained at less than 20 °C. 
The deboned meat s hall be immediately transferred to chill room temperature at 4 °C 
unless used immediately.  
4.1.1. 9 Deboned meat shall be moderately firm (not oily or soft), bright in colour and 
free from foreign odour or  taste , discoloration  and deterioration. Frozen mea t shall b e 
used after proper tempering  and it should be sound and fit for human consumption  
4.1.1. 10 Edible offals  shall be free from extraneous material and taints and shall be 
properly stored before being used.   
 
4.1.2  Ingredients requirements  
4.1.3  Chick en carcases and/or e dible offals  
4.1.3.1  Chicken fat  
Abdominal fat , subcutaneous fat and other separable fat shall be used. The fat should 
be wholesome and  free from extraneous material.  
 
4.1.3.2   Fillers/binders  
Wholesome cereal  husk, whole egg liquid, cracker meal, whea t flour, potato  flour, soya 
flour, textured soya and dried milk solids shall be used.  
 
4.1.2.3  Spices and condiments  
Spices and condiments used shall be clean, wholesome and fit for human consumption.  
 
4.1.2.4 Sweetening agents  
Sweetening agents, if used , shall be only refine d cane sugar or dextrose.  
 
4.1.2.5 Salt 
Salt used in the preparation of chicken sausages shall conform to  TZS 132.  
 
4.1.2.8 Casings  
Casings used shall conform to requirements for food grade materials.  
 
4.1.7  Food additives  
Food additive s may be used in sausages  and shall  be in accordance with the Codex 
Standard 192.   
 
 
                                                                                                                                      
5 
 4.1.8  Chicken sausages ; 
4.1.8.1  Shall not show any defects o n casing or colour change and must have no  
foreign or any other objectionable odour .  
4.1.8.2  Shall be of a good uniform tex ture characteristic of the product . 
4.1.8.3  Shall be free from dirt, insect and rodent contamination. Poisonous or 
deleterious substances shall not be present.  
4.1.8.4  No artificial colouring matter shall be used.  
 
4.2 Specific requirements  
Chicken  sausages shall comply with the requirements specified in Tabl e 1 
 
Table 1:  Composition requirements for chicken sausages  
S/N Characteristic  Requirements  Test methods  
(See clause 2)  
1.  Total meat, %, min  62              Annex A  
2.  Fat, %, max.  20 TZS 1761  
3.  Moisture, %, max.  62 ISO 1 442 
4.  Total ash, %, max  3.2 ISO 93 6 
5.  Sodium nitrite , Max 0.02 TZS 1759  
6.  Phosphate, Max  0.5 ISO 5553  
7.  Salt, % Max 2.5 IS0 1841 -1 
 
5.0 CONTAMINANTS  
 
5.1 Chicken sausages  shall comply with the requirements on maximum limits for heavy 
metals as prescribed  in Table 2. 
 
Table 3: Heavy metals  requirements  
S/N Characteristic  Requirements  Test Method  
1.  Mercury (Hg) , mg/kg, max.  0.03 ICP/AAS  
2.  Lead (Pb) , mg/kg, ma x. 0.1 TZS 268  
3.  Arsenic (As) , mg/kg, max.  0.1 TZS 76                                                                                                                                       
6 
 4.  Cadmium (Cd) , mg/kg, max.  0.05 ICP/AAS  
5.2 Veterinary drug residues  
Chicken sausag es shall comply with the requirements on maximum allowable veterinary 
drug residue limits as prescribed in the CAC/MR L 2. 
 
6.0 HYGIENE  
6.1 Chicken  sausages shall be prepared under strict  hygienic conditions according to 
TZS 458 (See clause 2).  
 
6.2 On test ing, the sausages  shall not contain microbiological count exceeding the 
requirements prescribed  in Ta ble 3. 
Table 3: Microbiological requirements for  chicken  sausage  
S/N Characteristics  Requirements  Method of test (see clause 2)  
1. Total plate count, cf u/g, max.  104  TZS 118  
2. Enterobacteriaceae , max.  102 TZS 949 (Part 1 or 2)  
3. Salmonella spp  /25 g Absent  TZS 122  
4. Escherichia coli, MPN/g  Absent  TZS 731  
5. Listeria monocytogenes  Absent  TZS 852 (Part  2) 
6. Clostridium botuli num Absent  TZS 121  
7. Staphylococcus aureus, cfu/g  Absent  TZS 125 -1 
8. Yeast/moulds, cfu/ml , max.  102 TZS 131  
 
7.0 SAM PLING AND TESTS  
 
7.1 Sampling  
Sampling of chicken sausages shall be done according to TZS 129 ( See clause 2).  
7.2 Tests  
Testing of this product shall be done ac cording to test methods prescribed in Table 1, 2, 
and 3. 
 
8.0 PACKAGING , MARKING  AND LABELLING  
 
8.1 Packaging  
8.1.1  In addition to the packaging and labelling  requirements prescribed in TZS 538 
(see clause 2) , sausages shall not be exposed to direct sun or r ain.                                                                                                                                      
7 
 8.2 Marking and l abelling  
8.2.1  Chicken s ausages  shall be marked and labell ed in accordance with TZS 538 (see 
clause 2). In addition, each container shall be legibly and indelibly marked with the 
following information:  
 
a) Name of the product as appropriate ;  
b) Country of origin ; 
c) Declaration as either “raw”,” cooked ”; 
d) Declaration of m ethod of drying  (if dried) ; 
e) Declaration of preservatives used;  
f) Name and physical address of the manufacturer;  
g) Net Weight content ;  
h) List of ingredients;  
i) Batch or code number;  
j) Date of manufacture  shall be clearly shown on the container;   
k) Expiry date shall b e clearly shown on the container;  
l) Instructions for use and storage;  
  
 
The container may also be marked with TBS Certification Mark.  
 
NOTE  – The TBS Standards Mark of Quality may b e used by the manufacturers only 
under license  from TBS. Particulars of conditions under which the licen ses are 
granted may be obtained from TBS.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                      
8 
 Annex  A 
(Informative Appendix)  
 
DETERMINATION OF MEAT CONTENT  
A.1 Introduction – The met hod is based on an estimation of lean meat from total 
nitrogen content, corrections being applied for the contribution from any cereal filler o r 
other nitrogenous material present.  
A.2 Definition – For the purpose of this method of test, the following defi nition shall 
apply:  
A.3 Meat content  – is the total amount of lean meat tissue and meat fat.  
A.4 Procedure  – The typical general calculation us ing the Stubbs and more procedure 
depends on the determination of water, protein, fat and ash content of the samp le. 
Carbohydrates content may be determined directly or by difference.  
A.5 Carbohydrates – C = 100 – (% water + 96 fat +% protein +% ash).  
The nature of the filler can be detected by identifying the starch by microscopically 
examination.  
Appropriate valve s of nitrogen content of cereal fillers have been recommended as 
follows: 2.0 per cent for wheat rusk (SAC* 1965), and 1.8 per cent for pearl b arley 
(SAC* 1968), potato starch and corn flour have been negligible nitrogen content.  
Assuming the filler is whe at rusk: percent filler nitrogen =N c = 0.02C  
If N T   = % total nitrogen in sample:  
% defatted lean meat = 
  
Where,  
 NF is the appro priate nitrogen factor for the meat present. See Table 1 below.  
% total meat = Defatted lean meat + fat.  
A.6 Mean  Nitrogen Factor (N F used to convert “Meat Nitrogen” into Fat Free Raw 
Meat  
TABLE 1. MEAN NITROGEN FACTOR  
S/No  VARIETY OF MEAT  NF 
1 Kidney  2.7 
2 Tongue, ox or pig  3.0 
3 Blood  3.2 
4 Veal 3.35 
5 Ox, Liver, Pork  3.45                                                                                                                                      
9 
 6 Turkey, dark meat  3.5 
7 Beef 3.55 
8 Chicken, dark meat  3.6 
9 Pig liver, turkey, whole  3.65 
10 Chicken whole  3.7 
11 Chicken breast, turkey breast  3.9 
12 Lamb  3.9 
 
Analytic al chemistry has recommended factors (N F) for conversion of the nitrogen 
content of various species into the equi valent fat -free raw meat content. The value of N F   
are the mean nitrogen content of the lean tissue expressed on the fat -free basis.