UGANDA STANDARD  
  US EAS 144 
First  Edition  
2014-10-15 
 
 Reference number  
US EAS  144: 2014 
© UNBS 201 4 
  
Neutral spirit  — Specification  
 US EAS 144: 2014 
ii                © UNBS  2014 - All rights reserved  
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct application  
© UNBS 20 14 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior wr itten 
permission from UNBS.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to  
The Executive Director  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
P.O. Box 6329  
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Uganda  
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E-mail: unbs@infocom.co.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 US EAS 144: 2014 
© UNBS  2014 - All rights reserved                 iii National foreword  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and 
Industry established under Cap 327, of the Laws of Uganda. UNBS is mandat ed to co -ordinate the elaboration 
of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT/SPS Agreeme nts of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of representatives of 
consu mers, traders, academicians, manufacturers, government and other stakeholders.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before re commending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
This Uganda Standard, US EAS 144: 2014, Neutral spirit  — Specification , is identical with  and has been 
reproduced from  an East African  Standard , EAS 144: 2014, Neutral spirit  — Specification , and adopted  as a 
Uganda Standard.  
Wherever the words, “ East African  Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard."  
 
   EAS 144: 2014  
ICS 67.160.10  
© EAC 2014                                                                                                                         Second  Edition 2014   
 
EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Neutral spirit ― Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  EAS 144: 2014  
ii © EAC  2014  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
This EAC document is copyright -protected by EAC. While the reproduction of this document by 
participants in the EAC standards development process is permitted wit hout prior permission from EAC, 
neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form for 
any other purpose without prior written permission from EAC.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document for the p urpose of selling it should be addressed 
as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community  2014  — All rights reserved  
East African Community   
P.O.Box 1096  
Arusha  
Tanzania  
Tel: 255 27 2504253/8  
Fax: 255 27 2504 481/2504255  
E-mail: eac@eachq.org  
       Web: www.eac -quality.net  
Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be persecuted  
 EAS 144: 2014  
© EAC 2014  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessit ated 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 exchanged 
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 National Standard s 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 comments 
receive d 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 .  
EAS 144 was prepared by Technical Committee EASC/TC 007, Alcoholic and non -alcoholic beverages . 
This second edition cancels and replaces the fir st editio n EAS  144:2000 , of which has been technically 
revised.  
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  EAS 144: 2014  
 
© EAC 2014  – All rights reserved  1 
 Neutral spirit ― Specification  
1 Scope  
This final draft East African Standard specifies the requirements and method of sampling and test for neutral 
spirit intended for use in the manufacture or blen ding of alcoholic beverages.  
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 reference d 
document (including any amendments) applies.  
EAS 12, Drinking (potable) water — Specification  
EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods  — Specification  
EAS 39,  Hygiene in food and drink manufacturing industry  — Code of practice  
EAS 100,  Food stuffs — Meth ods of determination of Lead  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply.  
3.1 
alcohol  
as ethyl alcohol (C 2H5OH) 
3.2  
furfural  
aldehyde with the chemical formula C 4H3OCHO, is one of the by prod ucts of alcohol fermentation of 
carbohydrate material by microorganism present  
3.3  
fusel oil  
complex mixture of higher alcohols containing principally amyl alcohols (pentanols), butyl alcohols (butanols), 
propyl alcohols (propanols) and traces of capryl  alcohol (octan -2-ol), hexyl alcohols (hexanols), or heptyl 
alcohols (heptanols), esters, aldehydes and terpenes. It is a product of alcoholic fermentati on obtained during 
distillation   
3.4  
neutral spirit  
distillate obtained from fermented carbohydrate ma terial, purified by fractional distillation with complete 
removal of fusel oil and furfural   EAS 144: 2014  
2 © EAC  2014  – All rights reserved  
 4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
Neutral spirit shall : 
a) be derived from carbohydrate materials of agricultural source ; 
b) be clear, colourless and free from any  suspended matter even when diluted to 20 % by volume with 
distilled water ; 
c) have only the odour of pure ethyl alcohol and no secondary odour ; and  
d) have only the characteristic taste of pure ethyl alcohol.  
4.2 Specific quality requirements  
Neutral spirit sh all comply with the quality requirements specified in Table 1.  
Table 1 ― Quality requirements for neutral spirit  
Sl No  Characteristic  Requirement  Test m ethod  
i) Specific gravity at 20 C, max.  0.80829  
EAS 104  ii) Ethanol content, percent  by volume at 
20 C, min.  96 
iii) Miscibility with water, percent  100 
iv) Alkalinity , To pass the test  
v) Volatile acids  as acetic acid, mg/L 
absolute alcohol, max.  20 
vi) Total solids , % mg/L , max.  30 
vii) Methanol content, mg/L, max.  50 
viii) Higher alcohols  (fusel oils)  as amyl 
alcohol, mg/L of absolute alcohol, max.  30 
ix) Furfural content  To pass the test  
x) Aldehydes (as acetaldehyde), mg/ L, 
max.  5 
xi) Permanganate reaction time , in minutes, 
min. 30 
5 Heavy metal contaminants  
When tested in accordance with EAS 10 0, the level of lead shall not exceed 0.01 mg/L.  
6 Hygiene  
Neutral spirit shall be manufactured and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with EAS 39.  EAS 144: 2014  
© EAC 2014  – All rights reserved  3 
 7 Weight s and measures  
The volume and fill of neutral spirit shall comply with the weights and measures regulations of Partner States 
or equivalent legis lation.  
8 Packaging  
8.1 Neutral spirit shall be packaged in suitable food grade containers.  
8.2 Neutral spirit shall be packaged for bulk delivery and storage in containers that shall prevent 
contamination of the product and preserve its safety and quality.  
9 Labelling  
The containers in which neutral spirit is packaged for storage or transport shall be marked in accordance with 
the provisions of EAS 38. 
Markings indicative of the inflammable nature of the material shall be clearly displayed on such containers.  
10 Sampling and test  
Sampling and test ing of neutral spirit  shall be done in accordance with  EAS 104.  
 EAS 144: 2014    
 
© EAC 2014  – All rights reserved