PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS DEAS 897 
First  Edition  
2016-mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
DUS DEAS 897: 2016 
© UNBS 201 6 
  
Frozen lobster tails  — Specification 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS DEAS 897:2016 
ii                © UNBS  2016  - 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 2016 
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 written 
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 
Kampala 
Uganda 
Tel: 256 417 333 2 50/1/2/3 
Fax: 256 414 286 123 
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS DEAS 897:20 16 
© UNBS  2016 - All rights reserved                iii National foreword 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327, of the Laws of Uganda, as amended.  UNBS is mandated 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 Agreement 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 
consumers, 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 recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
This Draft Uganda Standard, DUS DEAS 897: 2016, Frozen lobster tails  — Specification,  is identical with  and 
has been reproduced from an Draft East African Standard , DEAS 897: 2016, Frozen lobster tails  — 
Specification,  and is being proposed for adoption as a Uganda Standard. 
This standard was developed by the Food and agriculture  Standards Technical Committee (UNBS/TC 2). 
Wherever the words, “ East African Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard." 
 
  PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT DEAS 897: 2016 
ICS 67.120.30  
© EAS 2016                                                                                                                              First Edition 2016  
 
DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
Frozen lobster tails — Specification 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 897: 2016 
ii © EAC  2016  – All rights r eserved  
 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 without 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 purpose of selling it should be addressed 
as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community 2016  — All rights reserved 
East African Community  
P.O.Box 1096 
Arusha 
Tanzania 
Tel: 255 27 2504253/8 
Fax: 255 27 2504481/2504255 
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 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 897: 2016 
© EAC 2016  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword 
Development of the East African Standards has been 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 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 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 comments 
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.  
DEAS 897  was prepared by Technical Committee EAS/TC 003, Fish and fishery products.  
 
 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 897:2016  
 
© EAC 2016  – All rights reserved  1 
 Frozen lobster tails — Specification 
1 Scope 
This standard specifies the requirements and the method of sampling and test for tails of all the species of the 
genera Panulirus , Thunnus  and Peurulus . 
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 952.13, Arsenic in food — Silver diethyldibocarbamate method 
AOAC 972.23, Lead in fish —– Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method  
AOAC 973.34, Cadmium in food — Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 983.20, Mercury (methyl) in fish and shellfish — Gas chromatographic method 
CAC/GL 50, General guidelines on sampling  
CODEX STAN 1 92, General standard for food additives  
EAS 38, Labelling of prepackaged foods — Specification 
EAS 803, Nutrition labelling — Requirements 
EAS 804, Claims on foods — Requirements 
EAS 805, Use of nutritional and health claims — Requirement 
ISO 4832, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms — Colony-count technique  
ISO 4833, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
microorganisms — Colony-count technique at 30 degrees C  
ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of Salmonella 
spp. 
ISO 7937, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of  
Clostridium perfringens — Colony-count technique 
ISO 13720, Meat and meat products — Enumeration of Pseudomonas  spp. 
ISO 21567, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of  
Shigella spp. PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 897: 2016 
2 © EAC  2016  – All rights r eserved  
 ISO/TS 21872- 1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the  detection of 
potentially enteropathogenic Vibrio spp. — Part 1: Detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae 
ISO/TS 21872- 2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the  detection of 
potentially enteropathogenic Vibrio spp. — Part 2: Detection of species other than Vibrio parahaemolyticus 
and Vibrio cholerae 
ISO 11290- 2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection  and 
enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes — Part 2: Enumeration method 
3 Term and definition 
For the purposes of this standard, the following term and definition shall apply   
food grade material  
 
they shall not impact any toxic substance or off odour or flavour to the product. 
4 Requirements 
4.1 General requirement 
4.1.1  Raw material 
Lobster tails shall be fresh having its characteristic colour, appearance and odour. The meat shall not show 
any discolouration or deterioration and shall not give any off odour. The tails shall be free from eggs, saw 
dust, sand, dirt, and any other extraneous matter 
4.1.2  Frozen lobster tails shall;  
a) be maintained at a temperature of - 18 ºC or lower 
b) have colour, appearance .and odour characteristic of the species.  
c) be free from eggs, saw dust, sand, dirt and any other extraneous matter 
d) be free from defects, such as dehydration, discolouration, deterioration, black spots and off odour. 
e) be of two types, depending upon the colour of the meat, namely: snow-white to white, and light pink to 
pink,  
f) sound, intact and free from freezer burns 
4.2 Specific requirements 
Frozen lobster tails shall be maintained at a temperature of - 18 ºC or lower. 
5 Food additives 
Food additives may be used in the preparation of frozen lobster tails in accordance with CODEX STAN 192. PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 897: 2016 
© EAC 2016  – All rights reserved  3 
 6 Hygienic requirements 
Frozen lobster tails shall be produced and handled in a hygienic manner in accordance with EAS 39 and 
CAC/RCP 52 and shall comply with the microbiological limits given in Table 1. 
 
Table 1 — Microbiological limits 
S/No  Type of  microorganism  Maximum limit  Method of test  
i  Pseudomonas species per gram  Absent  ISO 13720  
ii  Salmonella per 25 g  Absent  ISO 6579  
iii  E. coli **per g  10 ISO 4832  
iv  Shigella per g  Absent  ISO 21567  
v  Staphylococcus aureus per 10 g  2 x 103 ISO 6888  
vi  Total viab le count  105 ISO 4833  
vii  Vibrio spp  Absent  ISO/TS 21872  
viii  Clostridium perfrigens  Absent  ISO 7937  
* NOTE — E. coli strain 0157 : H 7 shall be absent  
7 Contaminants 
7.1 Heavy metals 
Frozen lobster tails shall comply with the heavy metal limits given in Table 2 
Table 2 — Heavy metal limits 
S/N Contaminant  Maximum limit, mg/kg  Method  of test 
i.  Arsenic  0.1 AOAC 952.13  
ii.  Lead  0.3 AOAC 972.23  
iii.  Cadmium  0.3 AOAC 973.34  
iv.  Mehtyl mercury  1.0 AOAC 983.20  
 
7.2 Pesticide residue 
Frozen lobster tails shall comply to limits established by Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
8 Weights and measures 
The weight of the product shall comply with Weights and Measures regulations of the Partner State s. PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 897: 2016 
4 © EAC  2016  – All rights r eserved  
 9 Packaging 
Frozen lobster tails shall be packaged in food grade containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, 
technological and organoleptic qualities of the product. 
 
 
10. Labelling 
10.1 In addition to the requirements in EAS 38, the following specific labelling requirements shall apply and 
shall be legibly and indelibly marked: 
a) the product shall be frozen lobster tails with a common name and a specie name; 
b) form of presentation in close proximity to the name of the product; 
c) batch number; 
d) date of manufacture; 
e) date of expire ;  
f) net weight; 
NOTE: Where the lobster tails has been glazed the declaration of net contents of the food shall be exclusive of the glaze  
g) storage instructions : The label shall include terms to indicate that the product shall be stored at a 
temperature of -18°C o r colder; 
h) name of and address of the manufacturer ; and  
i) country of origin 
10.2 Labelling of non-retail containers 
Information specified above shall be given either on the container or in accompanying documents, except that 
the name of the product, lot identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer or packer as well as 
storage instructions shall always appear on the container. 
However, lot identification, and the name and address may be replaced by an identification mark, provided 
that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanying documents. 
10.3  Nutritional labelling, nutrition and health claims may be made in accordance with EAS 803 , EAS 804 
and EAS 805. 
11 Sampling 
Sampling of the frozen lobster tails shall be done in accordance with CAC/GL 50. 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 897: 2016 
© EAC 2016  – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex A 
(informative)  
 
Grad es 
Grading may be done either before final washing and wrapping or after freezing, that is, before filling into the 
containers. Unless otherwise agreed to between the purchaser and the vendor, the product may fall in any of 
the following grades: 
 
Grade des ignation  Mass per individual piece  
Super Jumbo  Above 340 g  
Jumbo  285 to 340 g  
Large  225 to 284 g  
Medium  170 to 224 g  
Small  115 to 169 g  
Extra Small  50 to 114 g  
Tiny Below 50 g
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bibliography
 IS 3892:1975(R2005), Specification for Frozen Lobster Tails 
  
 
 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 897 2016    
 
© EAC 2016  – All rights reserved