DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS DEAS 896 
First  Edition  
2016-mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
DUS DEAS 896: 2016 
© UNBS 201 6 
  
Fried fish — Specification 
 
PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS DEAS 896:2016 
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 896:20 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 D EAS 896: 2016, Fried fish — Specification,  is identical with  and has been 
reproduced from an Draft East African Standard , DEAS 896: 2016, Fried fish — 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 896: 2016 
ICS 67.120.30  
© EAS 2016                                                                                                                              First Edition 2016 
 
DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
Fried fish — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY 
PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 896: 2016 
ii © EAC  2016  – All rights reserved  
 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 896: 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 896  was prepared by Technical Committee EAS/TC 003, Fish and fishery products.  
 
 
 
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© EAC 2016  – All rights reserved  1 
 Fried fish — Specification  
1 Scope 
This Draft East African Standard specifies requirements, methods of sampling and test for fried fish which may 
be whole or portions intended for human consumption. The standard covers all fish species. ” 
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 972.23 , Lead in fish —– Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 973.34 , Cadmium in food — Atomic absorption spectrophotometric method 
AOAC 977.13 , Histamine in sea food — Fluorometric method 
AOAC 983.20 , Mercury (methyl) in fish and shellfish — Gas chromatographic method 
CAC/GL 50 , General guidelines on sampling 
CAC/RCP 52 , Code of practice for fish and fishery products  
CODEX STAN 192 , General standard for food additives 
EAS 35 , Edible salt — Specification 
EAS 321 , Edible fats and oils (general) — Specification 
EAS 38 , Labelling of pre-packaged foods — Requirements 
EAS 39 , Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry ― Code of practice  
EAS 803, Nutrition labelling — Requirements  
EAS 804, Claims on foods — Requirements  
EAS 805, Use of nutritional and health claims — Requirements  
ISO 660, Animal and vegetable fats and oils -- Determination of acid value and acidity  
ISO 4833-1 , Microbiology of food chain — Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms — Part 
1: Colony-count at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique 
ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of Salmonella 
spp. 
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2 © EAC  2016  – All rights reserved  
 ISO 6888 (all parts) , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration 
of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species)  
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 7937 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs -- Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
Clostridium perfringens -- Colony-count technique  
ISO 21527-1 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds — Part 1: Colony count technique in products with water activity greater than 0,95 
ISO/TS 21872 (all parts), Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the 
detection of potentially enteropathogenic Vibrio spp.  
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply  
3.1  
fried fish 
fish or shellfish that has been prepared by frying 
3.2 
“whole fish”  
fish as captured, ungutted 
 3.3 
“fish portion”  
product including the coating and may be of any shape, weight or size 
 3.4 
“frying”  
cooking of fish or portion in oil or fat at temperatures between 177 0C and 191 0C 
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements 
4.1.1  Raw materials 
4.1.1.1 Fish  
Fish used shall be obtained or prepared from any fish species which is sound and wholesome, fresh, chilled o r 
frozen, fit for human consumption. 
4.1.1.2  Fat/ oil 
Fat /oil used shall conform to EAS 321. 
NOTE — Using fat/oil several times may affect quality and safety of the product. 
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© EAC 2016  – All rights reserved  3 
 4.1.2  Optional ingredients  
All other ingredients used shall be of food grade quality and conforms to all applicable standards, which may 
include but not limited to the following; 
a) seasoning and condiments; 
b) herbs and spices 
c) salt: Salt used shall conform to EAS 35 
4.1.2  Finished product 
Fried fish shall: 
a) have characteristics colour of the fried fish  
b) not show any evidence of visible fungal, mould growth 
c) be free from insect or mite infestation; 
d) be presented, with or without the belly lining, scaled or unscaled or whole or in portion; and 
e) have the characteristic odour of the fried fish;  
4.2 Specific requirements 
4.2.1   Fried fish shall comply to the specific requirements in table 1. 
Table 1 — Specific requirements for fried fish 
S/No Parameter  Limits, max  Test methods  
i Moisture content, % m/m,  25 Annex A.  
ii Free fatty acid, moisture f ree base 
% m/m  0.5 ISO 660  
 
4.2.2  When tested in accordance with AOAC 977.13, the level of histamine in histamine sensitive fish such 
as scromboids species shall not exceed 20 ppm. 
5 Food additives  
Food additives may be used in the preparation and processing of fried fish in accordance with CODEX STAN 
192. 
6 Hygiene 
Fried fish 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 2.  
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 Table 2 — Microbiological limits for fried fish  
S/No.  Type of microorganism  Maximum limit  Test method  
i) Salmonella  in 25 g  Absent  ISO 6579  
ii) Escherichia coli ,  MPN/g  Absent  ISO 7251  
iii) Staphylococcus aureus, CFU/g  2 × 103 ISO 6888 -1  
iv) Total viable count, CFU/g  106 ISO 4833 -1 
v) Vibrio spp.  Absent  ISO/TS 21872  
vi) Yeast and moulds,  CFU/g  103 ISO 21527 -1 
vii) Clostridium perfringes 5g Absent  ISO 7937  
* NOTE: E. coli strain 0157 : H 7 shall be absent.  
 
7 Contaminants 
7.1 Heavy metals 
Fried fish shall comply with the heavy metal limits given in Table 3. 
Table 3 — Heavy metal limits for fried fish 
S/No.  Heavy metal  Maximum limit,  
mg/kg  Test method  
i) Arsenic  0.1 AOAC 952.13  
ii) Lead  0.3 AOAC 972.23  
iii) Cadmium  0.3 AOAC 973.34  
iv) Methyl mercury  0.5 AOAC 983.20  
 
7.2 Aflatoxins 
When tested in accordance with ISO 16050, the level of total aflatoxin in fried fish shall not exceed 10 µg/kg. 
7.3 Veterinary drug residues 
The product shall comply with those maximum veterinary drug residue limits established by the Code x 
Alimentarius Commission. 
7.4 Pesticide residues  
The product shall comply with those maximum pesticides residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission. 
8 Weights and measures 
The weight of the product shall comply with Weights and Measur es regulations of the  Partner State.  
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© EAC 2016  – All rights reserved  5 
 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) name of the product shall be “fried fish”; and in addition the common name or name of the fish specie 
may appear on the label  
b) name and physical address of processor/packer; 
c) net weight in grams or kilograms; 
d) date of packaging; 
e) batch number; 
f) expiry date; 
g) storage conditions; 
h) instruction for use; and 
i) country of origin. 
10.2 Nutritional labelling, nutrition and health claims may be made in accordance with EAS 803, EAS 804 
and EAS 805.  
11 Sampling 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with CAC/GL 50. 
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6 © EAC  2016  – All rights reserved  
 Annex A 
(normative) 
 
Determination of moisture content 
A.1 Principle  
The sample is dried to constant weight in an oven. 
A.2 Apparatus  
A.2.1 Moisture dishes , made of nickel, stainless steel, aluminium or porcelain, with well-fitting lids 
A.2.2 Oven 
A.2.3 Desiccator 
A.3 Procedure  
Weigh accurately about 10 g of the sample in a suitable moisture dish, previously dried in an oven and 
weighed. Place the dish in an oven maintained at 105 °C ± 2 °C for five hours.  Cool the dish in a desiccator 
and weigh with the lid on.  Repeat the process of heating, cooling and weighing at half-hour intervals until the 
loss in mass between two successive weightings is less than 1 mL. Record the lowest mass obtained.  
Preserve the dish containing this dried material in a desiccator for the determination of total ash (see A.2.3). 
A.4 Calculation  
The moisture content shall be expressed as follows: 
Moisture, % by mass = 
100
12 1

m mm m  
where 
m1 is the mass, in grams, of the moisture dish with material before drying;  
m2 is the  mass, in grams, of the moisture dish with the material after drying; and   
m is the  mass, in grams, of the empty moisture dish.  
 
 
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