DEAS 917: 2017  
ICS 67.220.10  
 
© EAC 2017                                                                                                                               First Edition 2017  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Turmeric  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 917: 2017  
ii © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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 DEAS 917: 2017  
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitate d 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 t he Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner Sta tes, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consume r groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of stan dards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards. XXXXXX.  
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 .  
The committee responsible for this docu ment is Technical Committee EASC /TC 006, Spices culinary herbs 
and condiments . 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some  of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 917: 2017  
 
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  1 
 Turmeric  — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard specifies  the requirements and methods of sampling and test for dried 
turmeric , Curcuma longa  (L). whole, in pieces and ground.  
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.  
CODEX STAN 193 , General standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
EAS 38,  Labelling of pre -packaged foods — Specification  
EAS 39 , Hygiene in the food and drink industry — Code of practice  
EAS 99 , Spices and condiments — Nomenclature  
ISO 927 , Spices and condiments  — Determination of extraneous matter and foreign matter content  
ISO 928 , Spices and condiments  — Determination of total ash  
ISO 930,  Spices and condiments  — Determination of acid insoluble ash  
ISO 939 , Spices and condiments  — Determination of moisture content Entrainment method  
ISO 948 , Spices and condime nts — Sampling  
ISO 483 3-1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of micro -organisms 
— Part 1: Colony -count at 30 degrees C — Pour plate technique  
ISO 6571 , Spices and condiments  — Determination of volatile oil content (hydrodistillation method)  
ISO 6579 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Part 6: Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp.  
ISO 7251 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration o f presumptive Escheri chia coli — Most probable number technique  
ISO 7954 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — General guidance for enumeration of yeasts 
and moulds — Part 8: Colony count technique at 25 degrees C  
ISO 16050 , Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products  DEAS 917: 2017  
2 © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EAS 99 and the following apply.  
3.1 
turmeric whole and in pieces  
Is the primary (bulb) or secondary (fingers) rhizomes of the plants of Curcuma longa  L.; cured by boiling 
in water and drying for whole turmeric, or washing, slicing an d drying for turmeric in pieces  
3.2 
rhizome  
Is underground stem continuously growing hor izontally and puts out lateral shoots and adventitious roots 
at intervals  
3.3 
extraneous matter  
includes dust, dirt, stones, clay particles and pieces of wood, all particles originating from the plant other 
than t urmeric  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General  require ments  
4.1.1  The rhizome shall be well developed and shall have the shape and colour  charac teristic of the 
variety. The cured rhizome may be in natural state or machine polished . 
4.1.2  Turmeric whole, in pieces and ground shall have the taste and aroma or flavour characteristic of 
turmeric and shall be free from musty odour .  
4.1.3  Turmeric powder shall be free from any  added colouring matter such as lead chromate, 
preservatives and extraneous matter like cereal or pulse flour or any added starch . 
4.1.4  Turmeric, whole, in pieces and ground shall be free from fu ngi, in sect infestation, dead insects, 
insect fragments and rodent contamination .  
4.1.5  Defective rhizomes  shall include shrivelled fingers and/or bulbs internally damaged, hollow or 
porous rhizomes,  scorched rhizomes due to boiling and other types of damaged rhizomes. The proportion 
of defective rhizomes in whole turmeric shall be not more than five per cent by mass when tested in 
accordance with the methods prescribed under ISO 927 .  
4.1.6  Pieces  shall include rhizomes less than 15 mm in length. In whole turmeric the proportion of 
pieces shall be not more than seven per cent by mass when tested in accordance with the methods 
prescribed under ISO 927 . 
4.2 Specific quality requirements  
4.2.1  Turmeric , whole, in pieces and ground shall comply with the specific quality requirements 
specified in Table 1.  DEAS 917: 2017  
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  3 
 Table  1 — Quality requirements for turmeric  
S/No.  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
Whole or pieces  Ground  
i)  Moisture % m/m, max . 12 10 ISO 939  
ii)  Volatile oil ml/100 g %m/m, min . 1.5 1 ISO 6571  
iii)  Total ash % m/m, max . 7 7 ISO 928 
iv)  Acid insoluble ash % m/m, max . 1 1 ISO 930 
v)  Chromate test  Negative  Negative  Annex A  
vi)  Colouring power, expressed as 
curcuminoids content, % (m/m) on 
dry basis, min.  Not specified  2 Annex  B 
vii)  Extraneous matter , % m/m, max.  2  ISO 927  
 
4.2.2  Turmeric powder shall be of such fineness that all of it passes through  300 - 500 micron sieve 
(0.300 - 0.500 mm) based on grades identified in 5.2.  
5 Types and grades of turmeric  
5.1 Turmeric whole and in pieces  
Turmeric, whole shall be graded in accordance with column 2 of Table 2  
Table 2  — Characteristics  of various grades of turmeric whole  
Type Grade  Flexibility  Surface  Pieces, 
percent 
by mass 
max Extraneous 
matter percent 
by m ass max . Defective 
rhizomes 
percent by 
mass max . Percent of 
bulks, 
percent by 
mass max . 
Fingers  Special  Hard to touch to 
break with a 
metallic twang  Free from 
wrinkles   
2  
0.5  
0.5  
1.0 
Good Hard to touch to 
break with a 
metallic twang  Free from 
wrinkle s 3 1.0 1.0 1.0 
Fair Hard Hard 5 1.5 1.5 5.0 
Fingerlets   Hard to touch  - 6 4.0 4.0 5.0 
Bulbs/rounds  Special  - - 0.5 1.0 1.0 - 
Goods  - - 1.0 3.0 3.0 - 
Fair - - 2.0 5.0 5.0 - 
 
5.2 Ground  turmeric  
Ground (powdered) turmeric is graded according to its  particle size into two types, as follows:  
a) Coarse powder: 98 % of the product shall pass through a sieve of aperture size 500 microns;  DEAS 917: 2017  
4 © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 b) Fine powder: 98 % of the product shall pass through a sieve of aperture size 300 microns.  
6 Food additives  
Turmeric , whol e, in pieces and ground shall be free from added colouring matter , flavour  and 
preservatives.  
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Pesticide residues  
Pesticide residues in turmeric , whole, in pieces and ground  shall not exceed maximum residue limit as 
established by the Cod ex Online Guideline for pesticide residues in food.  
7.2 Heavy metal  
Heavy metals in turmeric , whole, in pieces and ground shall not exceed maximum residue limit as 
stipulated in Codex Stan 193.  
7.3 Aflatoxin limits . 
Total aflatoxin shall not exceed 10 µg/L and aflatoxin B 1 shall not exceed 5 µg/L when tested with ISO 
16050  
8 Hygiene  
Turmeric , whole, in pieces and ground  shall be manufactured and handled in a hygienic manner in 
accordance with EAS 39 and shall conform to the microbiological limits stipulate d in Table 3.  
Table 3 — Microbiological  limits for turmeric , whole, in pieces and ground  
S/No.  Organism  Limit  Test method  
i) Total plate count, cfu/mL, max.  1*105 ISO 4833 -1 
ii) Yeast and mould cfu/g, max . 1*103 ISO 7954  
iii) Salmonella spp. per 25 g, m ax. Absent  ISO 6579  
v) Escherichia coli  MPN/g, max . Absent  ISO 7251  
9 Weight s and measures  
The weight and fill of g inger, whole, in pieces and ground shall comply with the weights and measures 
regulations of Partner States or equivalent legislation.  
10 Packaging  
10.1 Turmeric shall be packed in clean and sound container made of food grade material and sealed 
with temper -proof seal. The container shall be made of a material which does not impart any smell, does 
not react with turmeric and protects it from  ultra-violet radiation, ingress of moisture and loss of volatile 
matter  DEAS 917: 2017  
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  5 
 10.2 The packaging shall be easy to sterilize, shall not be a source of contamination, and shall protect 
the product safety and quality during transportation and storage.   
10 Labellin g 
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and 
shall be legibly and indelibly marked:  
a) Common name of the product  
b) brand name or trade name if any;  
c) name, physical location and address of manufactur er; 
d) ingredients;  
e) net weight;  
f) date of manufacture/packing;  
g) year of harvest for turmeric in whole and piece  
h)  batch identification number/code;  
i) best before;  
j) country of origin; and  
k) storage condition.  
11 Sampling   
Sampling of turmeric , whole, in pieces and gro und shall be done in accordance with ISO 948. DEAS 917: 2017  
6 © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Chromate test  
A.1 Reagents  
A.1.1  Dilute sulphuric acid  (1:7 by volume)  
A.1.2  Diphenyl Carbozide Solution - 0.2% (W/v) in ethyl alcohol (95%v/v)  
A.2 Procedure  
Ash about 2 g of the material. Dissolve the ash in 4 to 5 ml of dilute sulphuric acid in a test tube and add 
one millilitre of diphenyl carbozide solution. The presence of chromate is indicated by the production of 
violet colour.  DEAS 917: 2017  
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved  7 
 Annex  B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of colouring power of turmeric by spectrophotometric 
method  
B.1 Definition  
Colouring power of turmeric: The curcuminoids content of turmeric, expressed as curcumin as a 
percentage by mass.  
B.2 Principle  
Extraction of the Pigment s of turmeric with hot ethanol, dilution of the extract and spectrophotometric 
measurement at the wavelength of maximum absorption (i.e. 425 nm).  
B.3 Reagent  
B.3.1 Ethanol, 96 % (V/V).  
B.4 Apparatus  
Usual laboratory apparatus, and in particular  
B.4.1  Round -bottomed extraction flask, of capacity 100 ml, fitted with a reflux condenser.  
B.4.2  Pipette, of capacity 5 ml.  
B.4.3  One-mark volumetric flasks, of capacities 100 and 250 ml.  
B.4.4  Spectrophotometer, suitable for making measurements of absorbance at 425 nm. 
B.4.5  Matched spectrophotometric cells (of silica), of optical path length 1 cm.  
B.4.6  Analytical balance.  
B.5 Test Portion  
Weigh, to the nearest 0.001 g, about 0.5 g of the ground sample.  
B.6 Determination  
Place the test portion in the extraction flas k (B.4.1), add 36 ml of the ethanol (B.3.1) and boil under reflux 
for 2.5 h. Allow the extract to cool and filter quantitatively into the 100 ml volumetric flask (B.4.3). Wash 
the residue on the filter thoroughly, collecting the washings in the volumetric flask. Dilute the contents of 
the flask to the mark with the ethanol (B.3.1). Transfer, by means of the pipette (B.4.1), 5 ml of the filtered 
extract to the 250 ml volumetric flask (B.4.3). Dilute to the mark with the ethanol. Fill one of the DEAS 917: 2017  
8 © EAC  2017  – All rights reserved  
 spectrophotom etric cells (B.4.5) with this solution and fill the other with the ethanol. Measure the 
absorbance (R) at 425 nm using the ethanol as the reference liquid.  
B.7 Expression of results  
The colouring power of turmeric, expressed as curcumin as a percentage by mass, is equal to  
A x D x 100  
   1 % 
E1 cm  X m 
 
=  A x D x 100  
    1607 X m  
where  
A - is the measured absorbance;  
D - is the dilution of the extract, i.e.  
100 x 250  
  5      100  
   1 % 
E1 cm -   is the specific absorbance of a 1 % solution of curcumin me asured at 425 nm in cells of Optical 
path length 1 cm, i.e. 1 607;  
m - is the mass, in grams, of the test portion  
NOTE   The result may also be expressed on the dry basis by means of the formula  
        
= A x D x 100 x 100  
    1607 X m x  (100-H) 
where H is the moisture content of the Sample, expressed as a percentage by mass.  
B.8 Test report  
The test report shall show the method used and the results obtained.  
It shall also mention all operating conditions not specified in this standard, or regarded as option al, as well 
as any circumstances likely to have influenced the results.  
The test report shall include all the information necessary for the complete identification of the sample  
. DEAS 917: 2017    
 
© EAC 2017  – All rights reserved