Reference number  
DRS 343: 201 7 
© RBS yyyy 
© RSB 201 7 
 
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS 
343 
 
Second edition  
2017-mm-dd 
 
Banana based alcoholic beverages  — 
Specification  
 
  DRS 343: 201 7 
©RSB 201 7 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  addressed 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 343: 201 7 
iii                 ©RSB 2017 All rights reserved  
 
 Contents  Page 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  2 
4.1 Essential ingredients  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  2 
4.2 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  3 
4.3 Specific quality requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 3 
5 Processing aids  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  4 
6 Additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  4 
7.1 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  4 
7.2 Heavy metals  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
7.3 Aflatoxin limits  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  5 
8 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  5 
8.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  5 
8.2 Microbiological requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 5 
9 Weights and measures  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  5 
10 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 5 
11 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  6 
12 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 6 
 DRS 343: 201 7 
©RSB 201 7 All rights reserved                  iv 
 
 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 was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 001, Beverages . 
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Beverages  (RSB/TC 001) in the 
preparation of this standard.  
MINAGRI/RALIS  
PoA 
ICK BIK Kabgayi  
IMPANO Products Ltd  
SPERANZA gp Ltd  
COPROVIBA  
UNIVERSITYOF RWANDA  
KASESE Distillers Ltd  
Ese URWIBUTSO  
UR/CAVM  
Rwanda  Standards Board  (RSB) – Secretariat  
  DRS 343: 201 7 
1                 ©RSB 2017 All rights reserved  
 
 Banana based alcoholic beverages  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft Rwanda Standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for banana based 
alcoholic beverages  other than Urwagwa . 
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.  
AOAC 972.25, Lead in Food, atomic absorption spectrophotometric method  
AOAC 999.11, Lead, Cadmium, Copper , Iron and Zinc in Food, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry  
RS 164, Honey — Specification   
RS CAC/RCP1, Code of practice — General Principle for Food Hygiene  
RS EAS 104, Alcoholic Beverages  — Method of sampling and testing  
RS EAS 12, Potable Water  — Specification  
RS EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods  — General requirements  
RS EAS 757, Sorghum grains — Specification  
RS ISO 16050, Foodstuffs Determination of aflatoxin B 1, and cereals, nuts and derived products — High-
performance liquid chromatographic method the total content of aflatoxins B 1, B2, G1 and G 2 in  
RS ISO 17240, Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of tin content — Method using flame Atomic 
Absorption Spectrometry  
RS ISO 1842, Fruit and vegetable products — Determina tion of pH  
RS ISO 4833 -2, Microbiology of the food chain -- Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms -- 
Part 2: Colony count at 30 degrees C by the surface plating technique  
RS ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp   
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 RS ISO 6634, Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of arsenic content — Silver 
diethyldithiocarbamate spectrophotometric method  
RS ISO 6888, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stu ffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species)  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply.  
3.1 
based alcoholic beverages alcoholic beverage derived from the fermentation of ripe banana  pulpe or banana 
juice (obtained by any method) and other safe agriculture products  
3.2 
extraneous matter  
includes inorganic matter such as sand, glass, metal, gravel, dirt, pebbles, stones, lumps of earth, clay and mud 
and organic matter such as chaff, straw, weed seeds and grains of crops, insects or insects fragments, rodent 
hairs or any other foreign matter  
3.3 
food grade packaging 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 or flavour to the product  
3.7 
banana juice  
unfermented but fermentable liquid obtained from the edible part of sound, appropriately mature and ripe 
bana na fruit  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Essential ingredients  
The following ingredients shall be used for the production of banana based beverages : 
a) Banana  pulp or banana  juice free from extraneous matter ; shall constitute more of 50 % of the mixture to 
be fermented . 
b) Other safe plants products  DRS 343: 201 7 
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 c) BBAB may be fortified by the addition of spirit complying with RS EAS  (...) to the extent that meet the ethyl 
alcohol maximum limits  
4.2 General requirements  
Banana based alcoholic  beverage shall:  
a) be free from any harmful ingredien ts, substances, and any other contaminants injurious to health or any 
extraneous matter;  
b) have the characteristic taste and aroma of banana  
4.3 Specific quality requirements  
Banana based alcoholic  beverage  shall comply with the quality requirements specified i n Table 1.  
Table 1 — Quality requirements for Banana based alcoholic  
S/No.  Characteristic  limits  Test method  
i.  Ethyl alcohol content, %, v/v , max  17.0 RS EAS 104  
ii.  pH 4.0 - 5.0 ISO 1842  
iii.  Total suspended  solids  %, m/v, max  5  
iv.  Total acidity, g/ L, max.  12.0 
RS EAS 104  
v.  Volatile acidity as acetic acid, g/ L, max.  3  
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 5 Processing aids  
Only food grade processing aids recognized as safe for human consumption shall be used during the 
manufacture of products covered by this standard.  
6 Additives   
Additives complying with RS CODEX STAN 192 may be used  
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Pesticide residues  
Banana based alcoholic  beverages shall comply with the maximum residue limits for pesticides as established 
by th e Codex Alimentarius Commission for the commodity used in the manufacture of alcohols.  
7.2 Heavy metals  
7.2.1 Banana based alcoholic  beverages shall not contain heavy metals in levels exceeding the limits 
indicated in Table 2.  
Table 2 — Limits for heavy metal contaminants in  Banana based alcoholic  
S/No.  Type of impurity  Limit  Test method  
1.  Arsenic (as As), mg/L, max.  0.01 ISO 6634  
2.  Lead (as Pb), mg/L, max.  0.2 AOAC 972.25  
3.  Cadmium (as Cd) mg/L, max  0.1 AOAC 999.11  DRS 343: 201 7 
5                 ©RSB 2017 All rights reserved  
 
 7.3 Aflatoxin limits  
Total aflatoxin in Banana based alcoholic  shall not exceed 10 µg/kg and aflatoxin B1 shall not exceed 5 µg/kg , 
when tested in accordance with ISO 16050.  
8 Hygiene  
8.1 General  
Banana based alcoholic  shall be manufactured and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with RS 
CAC/RCP 1.  
8.2 Microbiological requirements  
8.1 When tested in accordance with  the appropriate method,  Lactic Acid Bacteria shall be absent in Banana 
based alcoholic  
8.2 When the alcohol is  less than 10%, Banana based alcoholic  shall comply with limits for micro -organisms 
specified in T able 3.  
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for  Banana based alcoholic  
S/No.  Organism  Maximum limit  Test method  
1 Staphylococcus aureus , cfu/ml,  100 ISO 6888 -1 
2 Salmonella spp , cfu/25 ml  Absent  ISO 6579  
3 E. Coli , cfu/ml  Absent  ISO 11866 -2 
4 Total viable count, cfu/ml  100 ISO 4833 -2 
 Moulds cfu/ml  100  
9 Weights and measures  
The volume and fill of Banana based alcoholic  shall comply with national We ights and measures regulations  
10 Packaging  
10.2  Banana based alcoholic  shall be packaged suitable packaging materials that will maintain the quality 
and not impart toxic substances to the products . 
10.3  The contents of the products shall occupy not less than 90 % of the total volume capacity of the 
container.   
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 11 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of RS EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and shall 
be legibly and indelibly marked:  
a) name of the product as banana based alcoholic beverages   
b) name and physical and postal address of manufacturer;  
c) net contents in millilitres o r litres;  
d) ethyl alcohol content;  
e) date of manufacture;  
f) Expiry date, if alcohol content is less than 10%;  
g) storage instruction;  
h) statutory warnings; and 
i) list of ingredients in descending order  
12 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with RS EAS 104.  DRS 343: 2017  
ICS 67.000 
 
 
©RSB 2016  All right s reserved