DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 2135  
First  Edition  
2019 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS  2135 : 201 9 
© UNBS 2019   
  
Chicken feet  — Specification  
 DUS 2135 : 2019  
ii © UNBS 2019  – 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 2019  
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 41 4 333 2 50/1/2/3  
Fax: +256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  DUS 2135 :2019  
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative Reference ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.2 Types of Chicken feet  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
4.3 Grading  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  3 
4.4 Chicken feet defects ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  3 
5 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  4 
5.1 Veterinary Drug Residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  4 
5.2 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 4 
6 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
6.1 Microbiology  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  5 
7 Food Additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 5 
8 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
9 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  5 
10 Nutrition and health claim  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  6 
11 Storage and transportation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  6 
12 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  6 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
 
 DUS 2135 : 2019  
iv © UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  
 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 Enqu iry 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 key stakeholders 
including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committe e reviews the comments before recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS/TC 2, Food and Agriculture, 
Subcommit tee SC 12, Meat, poultry , eggs  and their processed products . 
This the first  edition  (DUS 2135 :2019 ), which has been tec hnically developed .  
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 2135 : 201 9 
 
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  1 
 Chicken feet  — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft Uganda Standard specifies the requirements, test and sampling met hods for Chicken feet  including 
paws fit for food industries and human consumption.  
2 Normative Reference  
The following referenced documents 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.  
US 779 , Requirements for the transportation of meat and meat products  
US 737 , Hygienic requireme nts for the production of packaged meat products (processed or manufactured  
US CAC/MRL 2,  Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) and Risk Management Recommendations (RMRs) for 
residues of veterinary drugs in foods  
US CAC/GL 50 , General guidelines on sampling  
US CAC /RCP 58 , Code of hygiene practice for meat  
US EAS 38 , Labelling of prepackaged foods — Specification  
US 45 , General standards for food additives  
US 1659 , Materials in Contact with Food — Requirements for Packaging materials  
US ISO 6579,  Microbiology of foo d and animal feeds — Horizontal method for detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella, Enumeration by a miniaturized most probable number technique  
US ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeds — Horizontal method for enumeration of Coagula se- 
positive staphylococci. (Staphylococcus aureus and other species), Detection and MPN technique for low 
numbers  
US ISO 7251 , Microbiology of food and animal feeds — Horizontal method for detection, enumeration of 
presumptive Escherichia coli – Most prob able number technique  
US ISO 7937 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs -- Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
Clostridium perfringens -- Colony -count technique  
US ISO 21527 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal meth od for the enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds — Part 1, Colony count technique in products with water activity greater than 0.95  
US ISO 4832 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms — Colony -count t echnique   
2 © UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  
 US 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  
US ISO 4833 -2, Microbiology of the food chain – Horizontal method for the enumerati on of microorganisms – 
Part 2: Colony count at 30 °C by the surface plating technique  
US EAS 12, Potable water — Specification  
US EAS 35 , Fortified food grade salt — Specification  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the following ter ms and definitions apply.  
3.1  
Chicken feet  
is part of the chicken leg that is cut at the joints between the femur  and the tibia , consumed by humans after 
an outer scaly layer of the skin is removed , this may include the paw  
3.2  
Processed chicken feet  
is the chicken feet that nail sheaths and thin epidermal skin covering the feet are removed  
3.3 
Processed chicken paw  
is produced by cutting a carcase leg through the metatarsus approximately at the metatarsal spur. The nail 
sheaths, thin epidermal skin c overing the paw, and carcase are removed. A processed paw consists of a 
portion of the metatarsus and four digits (phalanges) with attached meat and skin.  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Gene ral requirements  
Chicken feet  shall;  
a) be obtained from healthy poultry  slaughte red in licensed premises and subjected to ante -mortem and 
post-mortem inspection according to the proced ure prescribed in US CAC/RCP 58  
b) be clean, safe and suitable for the intended purpose, prepared and handled in a sanitary manner and 
where no contaminati on or exposure to infectious material during handling  
c) be prepared under hygienic conditions and shall be wholesome not have been subjected to any 
bacterial activation or fermentation  
d) be free from any parasitic infestation and from scars of healed -up wounds  
e) Chicken feet pad retained and without damage  
f) For frozen chicken feet shall be frozen at blast Frozen temperatures -18 oC and below  
g) Fresh chicken feet shall be at -4 t oC o 4 oC 
h) Broken Bones Less than 3%  
i) Moisture less than 16%  DUS 2135 : 201 9 
© UNBS 2019  – All righ ts reserved  3 
 j) Be clean and shall have no;  
i. Yellow Skin  
ii. Feathers  
iii. Bad Smell  
iv. Blood  
v. Black Pad  
vi. Bruise   
vii. Chemical Burn  
4.2 Types of Chicken feet  
Chicken feet  may be processed with paws retained or separated, the paws may be processed  
Chicken feet shall be ; 
a) Dried and salted or dried but not salted  chick en feet  Salt used in salted Chicken feet  shall be in 
accordance with US EAS 35  
b) Fresh chicken feet ‘  
c) Frozen chicken feet  
4.3 Grading  
Chicken feet  shall be graded basing on quality as in Table 1.  
Table 1 — Quality grading of Chicken feet  
S/N Grade  Characte ristic  
  Average Weight (g)per piece  Average Length ( cm) Tolerance to any 
defect  
i Prime (A)  35-55 12-18 0% 
ii Standard (B)  25-35 6 -12 Table 2  
 
4.4 Chicken feet defects  
Chicken feet shall have the maximum tolera nce of defects as specified in Table 2.    
 
Table 2 — Chicken feet defects  
S/N Defect  Description  Acceptable 
limit per foot  Reject -
able limit  
per foot  
 Non-Processing Defects  
i Inflammation  sore, wound or other defect associated with an active inflammatory 
process including, but not limited to , sanguineous (hemorrhagic), 
edema, fibrinous, or cheese -like exudate and/or hyperemia.  
Examples include, but are not limited to, bumble foot , laceration, 
infection, or ammonia burn associated with edema, necrosis, 
gangrene, or sanguineous fluid  2 3 
ii Resolving or 
Healing 
Wound s sore, wound, or other tissue condition showing evidence of resolving 
or healing not associated with an active inflammatory process.  
Examples include , thickening of the skin, callus, scab, ammonia 13a 
6b 
3c 14a 
7b 
4c  
4 © UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  
 burn, dermatitis, tendonitis, or  synovitis (not associated with active 
inflammation).   
iii Βruise  tissue damage that resulted from trauma, not associated with signs 
of inflammation.  A bruise associated with an inflammat ory process 
is recorded in the Inflammatory Pro cesses category.  
Examples include , red to black or greenish discoloration of the skin 
and/or underlying tissues associated or not associated with visible 
infiltration of blood or blood clots, and bruising associated with bone 
fractures  6a 
3b 
2c 7a 
4b 
3c 
iv Compound 
Fracture  a bone fracture that has caused an opening in the skin.  A 
compound fracture associated with bruising is not scored in the —
Bruise“ category.  A defect containing a compound fracture and 
bruising is scored only once in the —Compound Fr acture“ category.  5 6 
Processing defects  
v Toenail  the hard keratin dorsal plate of the claw at the end of the digits of 
the foot.  It does not include the softer keratin plate that remains at 
the end of the digit when the hard dorsal plate of the cuticl e that 
covers softer keratin plate is removed.  4 5 
vi Mutilation  post-mortem processing defect due to dressing and/or processing of 
the slaughtered bird or processing of the feet.  Mutilation associated 
with bruising is not scored/recorded as mutilation.  A defect 
containing tissue damage and bruising is scored/counted only once 
in the bruise category. Mutilation defects associated with acute 
inflammation are scored under the —Resolving or Healing Wound“ 
category or under the —Inflammatory Process“ categor y when 
associated with chronic inflammation.  
Examples include, but are not limited to, a cut or laceration of the 
skin and/or underlying tissues, missing more than two digits, broken 
or crushed bone without an associated opening through the skin, 
and join t separation  7 8 
vii Extraneous 
Material  organic or inorganic material or carcass tissue observed on the paw 
that is not attached by natural attachments, also includes attached 
feathers when present.  
Examples include, but are not limited to, ingesta, gre ase, grease 
stains, unidentified material, identifiable material, i.e., plant fiber, 
seeds, dirt, metal, rust, unattached toe nail, unattached cuticle, 
unattached feathers (down, filoplums/hairs, and bristle feathers), 
unattached skin or other carcass tiss ue, and attached feathers  3a 
2b 
1c 4a 
3b 
2c 
 
Note 1:  where superscripts a, b and c mean Dimension s; 
Small (≤ 2 inch)  – a  
Medium (> 2 inch to 1 inch)  – b  
Large (>1 inch)  – c  
5 Contaminants  
5.1 Veterinary Drug Residues  
Chicken feet shall have a maximum res idual limit for veterinary drugs in accordance with US CAC/MRL 2  
5.2 Pesticide residues  
Chicken feet shall have a maximum residual limit for veterinary drugs in accordance with Codex standards.  
6 Hygiene  
Chicken fe et shall be handled, stored and transport ed following hygienic practices in accordance with US 
CAC/RCP 58, the person nel handling chicken feet  shall also be clean and health y. DUS 2135 : 201 9 
© UNBS 2019  – All righ ts reserved  5 
 6.1 Microbiology  
Chicken feet shall be free from mic roorganisms as stated in Table 3  below;  
Table 3  — Microbiological req uirements for Chicken feet   
S/No  Microorganism  Limit  Test method  
i) Salmonella spp  Absent  US ISO 6579  
ii) Total plate count, cfu per 
gram, Max.  105 US ISO 4833  
iii) Coliform count, MPN/g , Max.  103 US ISO 4832  
vi) E.coli MPN/g, , Max  102 US ISO 7251  
v) Staphylococcus aureus  102 US ISO 6888 -1 
vi) Pseudomonas aeruginosa  Absent  ISO 13720  
vii) Pseudomonas  perfrigens  Absent  US ISO 7937  
 
7 Food Additives   
Chicken feet shall be preserved prior to storage as in accordance with US 45 . 
8 Packaging  
Chicken fee t shall be packaged  in food grade material and in accordance with US 1659 . 
9 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of US EAS 38, the following labelling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked.  
a) Common name of the product to b e declared on the label as ‘ Chicken feet’  
b) Type of Chicken feet  eg ‘Frozen, dried and salted or fresh chicken feet’  
c) The grade and the length  
d) Net contents by weight (‘ System International') units;  
e) Name and physical address of the manufacturer/distributor;  
f) Country of origin;  
g) Lot /batch identification;  
h) Shelf life: best before/use by date;  
i) Statement ‘Food for Human Consumption’ shall appear on the package;  
j) Storage conditions as per required storage conditions  
k) Instructions on disposal of used package;   
6 © UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  
 l) Each cont ainer shall be marked with a Certification Mark  
m) Pack aging date.  
10 Nutrition and health claim  
Chicken feet may have health claims associated with nutritional composition and health. Such claims when 
declared shall be consistent with US EAS 805 . 
11 Storage and transportation  
11.1 Chicken feet shall be stored  and transported as in accordance with US 737 and US 779.  
12 Sampling  
Sampling shall be carried out in accordance with US CAC/GL 50  
 DUS 2135 : 201 9 
© UNBS 2019  – All righ ts reserved  7 
 Bibliography  
[1] UNECE Standard  chicken meat  carcases and parts , 2012 e dition , New York and G eneva, 2013  
 
 DUS 2135 : 201 9 
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  9 
 Certification marking  
Products that conform to Uganda standards may be marked with Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
(UNBS) Certification Mark shown in the figure below.  
The use of the UNBS Certification Mark is gove rned by the Standards Act, and the Regulations made 
thereunder. This mark can be used only by those licensed under the certification mark scheme operated by 
the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and in conjunction with the relevant Uganda Standard. The 
presence of this mark on a product or in relation to a product is an assurance that the goods comply with the 
requirements of that standard under a system of supervision, control and testing in accordance with the 
certification mark scheme of the Uganda Nat ional Bureau of Standards. UNBS marked products are 
continually checked by UNBS for conformity to that standard.  
Further particulars of the terms and conditions of licensing may be obtained from the Director, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 DUS 2135 : 201 9   
 
ICS 67.120.10  
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