DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 1603  
First Edition  
2016 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS1603 : 2016 
© UNBS 2016  
  
Chia seed — Specification  
 DUS1603 : 2015  
ii © UNBS 2015 – 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 16  
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 4 505 995  
Fax: 256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: unbs@infocom.co.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 DUS1603 :2015  
© UNBS 2015  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and 
corperatives established under Cap 327 , of the Laws of Uganda.  UNBS is mandated to co -ordinate the 
elaborati on 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 Agreements of the World Trade Organisa tion (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, ma nufacturers, 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.  
 
.  DUS1603 : 2015  
v  
 Chia seed — Specification  
1 Scope  
This draft Uganda standard specifies the requirements , sampling and test methods  for chia seed ( Salvia 
hispanica. L) for human consumption .  
This st andard does not apply to seed as a planting material.  
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.  
CAC/GL 1, General guidelines on claims  
CAC/GL 2 , Guidelines on nutrition labelling  
CAC/GL 23, Guidelines for use of nutrition and health claims ISO 605, Pulses — Determination of impur ities, 
size, foreign odour, insects, and species and variety — Test methods  
US EAS 39, Code of Practice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry   
EAS 39 , Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
ISO 2171 , Cere als, pulses and by -products — Determination of ash yield by incineration  
ISO 5498 , Agricultural food products — Determination of crude fibre content — General method  
ISO 6579 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the dete ction of Salmonella 
spp  
ISO 7251 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
ISO 11085 , Cereals, cereals -based products and animal feeding stuffs — Determination of crude fat and total 
fat content by the Randall extraction method  
ISO 16050 , Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 
in cereals, nuts and derived products — High-performance liquid chromatographic method  
ISO 20483 , Cereals and pulses — Determination of the nitrogen content and calculation of the crude protein 
content — Kjeldahl method  
ISO 21527 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feedstuffs — Horizontal method for t he enumeration of yeasts 
and moulds — Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water activity less than or equal to 0.95  
ISO 24333, Cereals, and cereal products — Sampling US 738,  General standard for contaminants and toxins 
in food and feed   
vi © UNBS 2015 – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definition  
For the purposes of this standard  the following terms and definition shall apply:  
3.1 
Chia  seed  
small oval seeds of the  species Salvia hispanica. L.. 
3.2 
Filth  
impurities of animal origin, including dead insects  
3.4  
foreign extraneous ma tter  
all organic and inorganic material(such as sand, soil, glass) other than sesame, broken sesame and other 
grains  
3.4.1  
inorganic  matter  
stones, glass, pieces of soil and other mineral matter  
3.4.2  
organic  matter  
any animal or plant matter (seed coa ts, straws, weeds)  other than chia seed, damaged chia seed, other grains 
and seeds.  
3.5  
food grade materials  
any material which when it comes in contact with food or is the area near food is unlikely to contaminate food 
with harmful materials  
3.6  
noxious seeds  
are seeds which, if present in quantities above a certain limit, can have a damaging or dangerous effect on 
health, sensory properties or technological performance  
  
 
4 Requirements  
4.1 General quality factors  
Chia seed shall  
a) be practically free  from filth  in amounts that may represent a hazard to human health,  
b) be free of off flavours and odours,  
c) be practically  free from any foreign matter, sand, stalks, plant debris and 
d) have a colour characteristic of the variety    
© UNBS 2015  – All rights reserved  vii 
 e) be free from toxic or noxiou s seeds that are commonly recognized as harmful to health  
 4.2 Specific quality factors  
Chia seed shall comply with the compositional requirements specified in Table 1.  
Table 1 — Composition requirements for chia seed  
Characteristic  Level  Method of test  
Moisture content, % by mass, max  8.0 US ISO 24557  
Filth, %, m/m,  max 0.1 US ISO 605  
Total Ash, % , m/m 4 - 6 US ISO 2171  
Crude fibre, % , m/m, min 18  US ISO 5498 , 
Crude Fat,  %, m/m, min 30 US ISO 659  
extraneous matter,%, max  0.2 US ISO 605  
5 Contamin ants 
5.1 Pesticide residues  
Chia seed  shall conform to those maximum residue limits for pesticides established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission for this commodity.  
5.2 Other contaminants  
Chia seed shall conform to those maximum levels stated in tabl e 2 below. . 
Table 2 — Heavy metal contaminants in chia seed  
S/N Heavy metal  Limits, max.  
mg/kg  Test method  
i.  Cadmium  0.1 US ISO 6869  
ii.  Lead  0.2 
iii.  Arsenic  0.1 
iv.  Mercury  0.5 
5.2 Aflatoxin  
The maximum content of aflatoxins in Chia seed when determined  in accordance with the method described 
in ISO 16050 shall not exceed 5 μg/kg (ppb) for aflatoxin B 1 and 10 μg/kg for total aflatoxins  
6 Hygiene  
6.1 Chia seed shall be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with US EAS 39 .  
6.2 chia seed shall be f ree from microorganisms in amounts which may represent a hazard to health and 
shall not exceed the limits specified in Table 3.  
  
viii © UNBS 2015 – All rights reserved  
  
 
Table 3 — Microbiological limits in chia grain  
S/No  Type of micro -organism  Limits  Test method  
i) Yeasts and moulds, per g, m ax. 104 ISO 21527 -2 
ii) S. aureus /g, max,  103  
iii) E. coli , per g, max  Not detectable  ISO 7251  
iv) Salmonella , per gram, max  absent   
NOTE : E.coli; this is an indicator of faecal contamination  
 
7 Packaging  
Chia seed shall be packaged in food grade m aterials that will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional and 
organoleptic qualities of the product. The packaging materials shall comply with the legislation  requirements of 
the destination country.  
8  Weights and measures  
Chia seed shall be packaged in acc ordance with the Weights and Measures requirements of the destination 
country. It is recommended by International Labour Organization (ILO) to package in the 50 kg bag or 
container.  
9  Labelling  
9.1 In addition to the requirements of  EAS 38 , the following  labeling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked:  
a) common name of the food to be declared on the label shall be 'chia grain';  
b) net contents by weight in metric (`System International') units;  
c) name and physical address of the manuf acturer / distributor;  
d) country of origin;  
e) lot /batch identification;  
f) shelf life: best before/use by date  
g) statement ‘ Food for Human Consumption’’ shall appear on the package;  
h) storage conditions as ‘Store in a cool dry place away from contaminants’:  
i) instruct ions on disposal of used package;  
ii) crop year; and   
© UNBS 2015  – All rights reserved  ix 
 iii) packing date.  
9.2 Nutrition labelling  
The names and the amount of the nutrients added in the chia seed shall be declared on the label in 
accordance with CAC/GL 2.  
9.3 Nutrition and health claims  
Chia seed  may have claims on the importance of the added nutrients in nutrition and health. Such claims 
when declared shall be consistent with CAC/GL 1 and CAC/GL 23.  
10 Methods of sampling  
Sampling shall be carried out in accordance with ISO 24333   
x © UNBS 2015 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1] CBI Product fact sheet: chia seeds in the EU and EFTA ,  
EU REGULATIONS  
  
© UNBS 2015  – All rights reserved  xi 
 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 o f the UNBS Certification Mark is governed 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 wit h 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 
certif ication mark scheme of the Uganda National 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.  
 
 DUS1603 : 2015    
 
ICS nn.nnn.nn  
Price based on nn pages  
© UNBS 2015 – All rights reserved