KENYA STANDARD       DKS 2848  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Moringa leaf products — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 KEBS 201 8         First Edition 201 8 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 2848          
 
ii                     © KEBS 2018  — All rights reserved   
  
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
 
Ministry of Health  
Agriculture and Food Authority ( AFA) — Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate  
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute  
Government Chemist ʼs Department  
Jomo Kenyatta University  of Agriculture and Technology — Department of Food Science and Technology  
Healthy -U Ltd . 
Gold Crown Beverages  
Consumer Information Network  
Pharmacy and Poisons Board  
Kili Naturals  
Melvin Marsh Internationals  
Moringa f or Life — EPZ Ltd . 
Kenya Bureau of Standards  — Secretariat  
 
 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestions 
for improvements to published standards, addressed to the  Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, 
are welcome.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 201 8 
  
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the C opyright Act, Cap. 130  of 2001 of  the Laws of Kenya, copyright 
subsists in all Kenya S tandards and exce pt as provided under Section 25 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau of 
Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in  writing 
from the Manag ing Director . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 KENYA STANDARD   DKS 2848  
 ICS 67.220.10  
iii                     © KEBS 2018  — All rights reserved   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Moringa leaf products — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020) 604031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org,  Web:http://www.kebs.org   
 
Coast Region     Lake Region          Rift Valley Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa -80100  P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu -40100        P.O. Box 2138, Nakuru -20100  
Tel.: (+254 041) 229563, 230939/40  Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396        Tel.: (+254 051) 210553, 210555  
Fax: (+254 041) 229448    Fax: (+254 057) 21814  
 
 
 
 DKS 2848          
 
iv                     © KEBS 2018  — All rights reserved   
  
Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was developed by the Technical Committee on Herbal Drinks under the guidance of 
the Standards P roject s Committee, and it is in accordance with the proced ures of the Kenya Bureau  of 
Standards . 
 
Moringa Leaf products are  obtained from the dried leaves of Moringa Oleifera and are used as a nutritional 
supplement in various forms including leaf powder, tablets and capsules. The Moringa leaf products are 
widely  used in Kenya necessitating the need to establish guidelines to ensure products meet minimum food 
safety and quality requirements.  
 
This standard aims at prevention of product adulteration and promotion of accurate health and nutritional 
claims.  
  
During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following documents : 
 
WHO guidelines for assessing quality of herbal medicines  
 
South African Standard SANS 1683:2015, Moringa . 
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from thes e sources.  
 
 
 KENYA STANDARD        DKS 2848  
© KEBS 2018  — All rights reserved                      1  
 
 
Moringa leaf products — Specification  
 
 
1 Scope  
 
This Kenya Standard specifies the quality requirements and methods of test for moringa ( Moringa oleifera)  
leaf products suitable for use as a beverage and nutritional supplement.  
 
This standard covers m oringa leaf powder, tablets and capsules.  
 
2 Normative references  
 
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements 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.  
 
KS 137, Methods for sampling food and animal feedstuffs  
 
KS EAS 38, Labelling of pre -packaged foods  — Requirements  
 
KS EAS 39,  Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
 
KS ISO 763, Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid  
 
KS ISO 1576, Tea — Determination of water -soluble ash and water -insoluble ash  
 
KS ISO 1842, Fruit and vegetable products — Determination of pH  
 
KS ISO 6496, Animal feeding stuffs — Determination of moisture and other volatile matter content  
 
KS ISO 6561 -2, Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of cadmium content — Part 2:  
Method using flame atomic absorption spectrometry   
 
KS ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp  
 
KS ISO 6633, Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of lead content — Flameless atomic 
absorption spectrometric method  
 
KS ISO 6637, Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of mercury content — Flameless 
atomic absorption method  
 
KS ISO 6888, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method  for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci (staphylococcus Aureus and other soecies) — Part 1: Technique using 
baird -packer agar medium  
 
KS ISO 7251, Microbiology of food and animal feeding s tuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration o f presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
 
KS ISO 17239, Fruits, vegetables and derived products — Determination of arsenic content — Method using 
hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry  
 
KS ISO 20649, Infant form ula and adult nutritionals — Determination of chromium, selenium and 
molybdenum -- Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP -MS) 
 
KS ISO 21527, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
yeasts and mou lds DKS 2848  
            
                              © KEBS 2018  — All rights reserved  2  
KS ISO 21567, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
shigella spp  
 
KS ISO 21871, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the determination of 
low numbers of presumptive B acillus cereus — Most probable number  technique and detection method  
 
3 Terms and d efinitions  
 
For the purposes of this document , the following definitions apply.  
 
3.1 
nutritional supplements  
intended to provide nutrients that may otherwise not be consumed  in sufficient quantities for ex ample, 
vitamins and minerals  
 
3.2 
acceptable  
satisfactory  to the authority administering this standard, or to the parties concluding the  purchase contract, 
as relevant  
 
3.3 
adulteration  
deliberate addition of any substance o r any part of the moringa oleifera plant other than the leaves  
 
3.4 
clean moringa leaf 
moringa oleifera leaf or leaf product free from dirt and other foreign matter  
 
3.5 
conformity check  
inspection carried out by an inspector to check that moringa  leaf pro ducts conform to the requirements laid 
down in this standard  
 
3.6 
foreign matter  
all matter (organic and inorganic) such as soil and other vegetative materials other than moringa  leaf 
 
3.7 
lot 
quantity of moringa  leaf products produced from the same raw ma terials under similar conditions by the 
same producer  
 
3.8 
milled moringa leaf  
milled dry moringa  leaf or leaves excluding the main stalk  
 
3.9 
sampling  
collective sample taken randomly  from a lot durin g a conformity check inspection   
  
4  Product requireme nts 
 
4.1 General requirements  
 
The adulteration of moringa  leaf products shall not be permitted. moringa  leaf products shall be free from 
foreign matter. When visually inspected, moringa  products shall be uniform green in appearance. moringa  
leaf products shall also comply with the requirements given in T able 1.  
 
 
                        DKS 2848  
 
 
© KEBS 2018  — All rights reserved          
     3 
  
Table 1 — Requirements  for moringa  leaf products  
 
S/N  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i) Acid-insoluble ash, max.  0.5 (% by mass)  KS ISO 763  
ii) Moisture content, max.  10.0 (% by mass ) KS ISO 6496  
iii) Water soluble solids, min.  0.2 (% by mass)  KS ISO 1576  
iv) pH of aqueous extract  5.5 – 6.5 at 25°C  KS ISO 1842  
  
5 Hygiene  
 
Moringa leaf products  shall be processed in premises that comply with the requirements of KS EAS 39, t he 
Publi c Health Act, Cap. 242 of the Laws of Kenya, the Food , Drugs and Chemical Substances Act, Cap. 254 
of the Laws of Kenya and the Bio S afety Act, No.  2 of 2009 of the Laws of Kenya.  
 
5.1 Microbiology  
 
Moringa leaf products  shall comply with the microbiologic al limits given in Table 2  when tested in accordance 
with the test methods specified therein . 
 
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for moringa leaf products  
 
S/N Characteristic   Max.  limit Test method  
ii) Yeast and mould counts, cfu/g  ≤5.0 × 102 cfu/g  KS ISO 21527  
iii) Escherichia  Coli counts   Absent  KS ISO 7251  
iv) B. Cereus  Absent  KS ISO 21871  
v) Staphylococcus aureas , per 25  g Not detec ted KS ISO 6888  
vi) Shigella  per 25  g Not detect ed KS ISO 21567  
vii) Salmonella , per 25  g Not detect ed KS ISO 6579  
 
6 Contaminants  
 
Heavy metal  limits in moringa  leaf products shall not exceed the limits given in T able 3  when tested in 
accordance with the test methods specified therein . 
 
Table 3 — Heavy metal contaminant limits for moringa leaf pr oducts  
 
S/N Contaminant  Limit, max (mg/kg)  
 Test method  
i) Lead  10 KS ISO 6633  
ii) Mercury  0.5 KS ISO 6637  
iii) Arsenic  5 KS ISO 17239  
iv) Cadmium  0.3 KS ISO 6561 -2 
v) Chromium  2 KS ISO 20649  DKS 2848  
            
                              © KEBS 2018  — All rights reserved  4  
7 Packaging  
 
Moringa leaf product s shall be pre -packaged in clean, dry and opaque containers made of materials which 
do not affect the quality of the product. The packaging shall be done in such a manner as to allow the 
Moringa leaf p roducts  to retain its freshness over the shelf life period. Each unit package s hall be properly 
sealed to prevent the leakage of the content and the absorption of the moisture . 
 
8  Labelling  
 
Labels for moringa  leaf products shall in clude the following information:  
 
a) the label shall indicate the name of the product as “Moringa ”; 
 
b) name of manufacturer/vendor /importer;  
 
c) date of manufacture;  
 
d) expiry date;  
 
e) net weight in metric units;  
 
f) storage instructions;  
 
g) Dosing recommendation daily use should be stated, e.g. 1 teaspoon ful/5 g ; 
 
h) GMO status;  and 
 
i)       Where irradiation has been used it shall be declared on the label and depicted by using the 
irradiation symbol  (Radura mark) . 
 
9 Nutritional i nformation  
 
Typical nutritional information should be listed in descending order and the following nutrients should be 
available on the label with the values for each indicated proteins value, minerals, vitamin  A, B-vitamins and 
vitamin E.  
 
10 Sampling  
 
10.1 Sampling for moringa leaf products shall be done according to  KS 137.   
 
10.2 Any package or container of moringa  leaf products randomly sampled shall constitute a 
representative sample of the whole batch.