DEAS 26:2019  
                                                                                                                   ICS 67.120.10  
HS 0201.30.3000   
HS 0202.30.3000  
© EAS 2019                                                                                                                           Second Edition 2019  
DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Canned corned beef  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 26: 2019  
ii © EAC  2019  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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participants in the EAC standards development process is per mitted without prior permission from EAC, 
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© East African Community  2019  — All rights reserved  
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be persecuted  DEAS 26: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has bee n necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are excha nged 
within the Community will be removed.  
In order to achieve this objective, the Community established an East African Standards Committee mandated 
to develop and issue East African Standards.   
The Committee is composed of representatives of the Nationa l Standards Bodies in Partner States, together 
with the representatives from the private sectors and consumer organizations. Draft East African Standards 
are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the Partner States. The commen ts 
received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in accordance with the procedures 
of the Community.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are  therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 26: 2019  
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  1 
 Canned corned beef — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Standard specifies requirements, methods of tests and sampling for canned corned 
beef products.  
2 Normative reference  
CAC/GL 50, General guidelines on sampling  
CAC/RCP 58 , Code of hygienic  practice for meat  
EAS 39 , Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
ISO 7937 , Microbiology of food and animal f eeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
Clostridium perfringens — Colony -count technique  
ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of  the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms — 
Part 1: Colony count at 30 ˚C by the pour plate  technique  
AOAC 950.46,  Method for analysis of moisture in meat  
AOAC 960.39, Method for analysis of fat in meat  
AOAC 992.15, Method for analysis of crude protein in meat and meat products  
AOAC 920.153, Method for analysis of ash in meat and meat products   
AOAC 985.16, Method for analysis for tin in canned foods  
ISO 17294 -2, Method for  analysis of water quality (elements)  
CODEX STAN 192, General standard for food additives  
CODEX STAN 193, General standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods — Specification  
ISO 17294 -2, Water quality — Application of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP -MS) — Part 
2: Determination of 62 elements  
ISO 6633 , Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of le ad content — Flameless atomic 
absorption spectrometric method  
ISO 5961 , Water quality — Determination of cadmium by atomic absorption spectrometry  
ISO 6637 , Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of mercury content — Flameless atomic 
absor ption method  DEAS 26: 2019  
2 © EAC  2019  – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definitions   
For the purpose of this standard the following definitions apply:  
3.1 
‘canned’  
in relation to the type of food concerned in this standard, means packaged in a tin or other hermetically sealed 
container and sterilized a fter sealing in a vacuumed state  
3.2 
premium cut ‘canned corned beef’  
meat prepared from chopped, cured, boneless carcass meat from animals of bovine species  
3.3  
corned beef  
salt-cured beef product  
3.4 
canned corned beef  
meat prepared from chopped, cured,  boneless carcass meat from animals of bovine species and may include 
head meat, from which the overlying glandular and connective tissues have been removed, heart meat 
exclusive of heart cap and thick skirt meat excluding thin skirt.  
3.5 
Hermetically seal ed container  
Means a container which is completely sealed, rigid and impermeable and which is made of any appropriate 
material, which is suitable for the product, specified in the standard.  
4 Description  
The product shall be prepared from coarsely cut beef  which has been pre -cooked or a mixture of such pre -
cooked beef to which some raw beef has been added and in either case, the meat shall be cured. The heat 
treatment shall be applied after the container is sealed and shall be sufficient to ensure that the finished 
product is shelf -stable and presents no hazard to public health.  
5 Requirements  
5.1 Raw material  
The meat shall be inspected and approved as fit for human consumption and shall mee t the requirements of 
EAS 84 -1. 
5.2 Essential ingredients  
Canned co rned beef shall comply with the following requirements:  
i) Fresh  beef; 
ii) Curing ingredients consisting of salt (sodium chloride, Sodium or potassium nitrite) ; and  
iii) Ascorbic acid . 
5.3 Optional ingredients  
Colourants, emulsifiers, sweeteners and binders may be use d as optional ingredients. When used they shall 
conform to CODEX STAN 192.  DEAS 26: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  3 
 5.4 General requirements  
5.4.1  The product shall be clean and substantially free from staining from container.  
5.4.2  The meat shall be uniformly and thoroughly cured with fat evenly di stributed throughout the content of 
the can.  
5.4.3  The product shall be a uniform texture and capable of being sliced at 18 °C.  
5.4.4  The product shall be free from foreign matter, and non -muscular tissues like bones, glands, blood clots, 
skins, hides and cartilage.  
5.4.5  The product shall satisfy sterility tests.  
5.5 Specific requirements  
The canned corned beef shall comply with the compositional requirements as specified in table 1 when tested 
with the methods provided therein.  
Table 1 — composition of canned corned beef  
S/No.  Parameter  Requirement  Test method  
i) Moisture content, % by mass, Max.  63 AOAC 950.46  
ii) Total Fat % by mass, Max.  15 AOAC 960.39  
iii) Total Protein content % by mass, Min.  21 AOAC 992.15  
iv) Total ash content% by mass, Max.  2.5 AOAC 920.153  
6 Heavy metal contaminants  
The maximum level of heavy metal contaminants in canned corned beef shall comply with levels 
recommended by CODEX STAN 193 as specified in Table 2  
Table 2 — Maximum Limits of heavy metals contaminants  
S/No.  Conta minants  Maximum limits  
ppm  Test method  
i) Arsenic (Ar)  0.1 ISO 17294 -2 
ii) Lead (Pb)  0.1 ISO 6633  
iii) Cadmium  0.03 ISO 5961  
iv) Mercury  0.01 ISO 6637  
v) Tin 50 AOAC 985.16  
7 Food additives  
Food additives used in canned corned beef shall comply with CODEX STAN 192.  
8 Hygiene  
8.1 In addition to CAC/RCP 58  the product shall be produced, processed, handled and stored in accordance 
with EAS 39.  DEAS 26: 2019  
4 © EAC  2019  – All rights reserved  
 8.2 Microbiological limits  
The product shall comply with microbiological limits specified in Table 3 below;  
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for canned corned beef  
S. No  Micro -organism  Max. limits  Test method  
i) Clostridium botulinum , cfu/g Absent  ISO 7937  
ii) Total plate count, cfu/g  <10 ISO 4833 -1 
9 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38, the foll owing labelling requirements shall apply and shall be legibly 
and indelibly labelled;  
a) Name of the product  
b) List of ingredients  
c) Name of the manufacturer  and physical address;  
d) Country of origin;  
e) Batch or code number;  
f) Net weight and gross weight;  
g) Date of prod uction / packaging;  
h) Storage condition; and  
i) Date of expiry.  
10 Methods of sampling  
Shall be in accordance w ith the provisions of CAC/GL 50.  
                                                                                                                                        DEAS 26:2000  
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved