FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
  FDUS EAS 777
First Edition
2012-mm-dd
 
 Reference numbe r
FDUS EAS 777: 2012
© UNBS 2012
  
Reduction of acrylamide in potato products – Code of practice 
 FDUS EAS 777: 2012 
i i                 ©  U N B S  2012 - 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 2012 
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, in cluding 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 41 505 995 
Fax: 256 41 286 123 
E-mail: unbs@infocom.co.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 FDUS EAS 777: 2012 
© UNBS  2012 - All rights rese rved                iii National foreword 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry  of Tourism, Trade and 
Industry established under Cap 327, of the Laws of U ganda. 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 A limentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT/SPS Agr eements 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 gi ven field or area and consists of representatives of 
consumers, traders, academician s, manufacturers, governme nt and other stakeholders. 
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committ ee 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 Final Draft Uganda Standard, FDUS EAS 777: 2012 , Reduction of acrylamide in potato products – Code 
of practice, is identical with  and has been reproduced from an Ea st African Standard, EAS 777: 2012 , 
Reduction of acrylamide in potato products – Code of practice, and is being proposed for adoption as a 
Uganda Standard.  
This standard was developed by Food and agriculture Standards Technical Committee (UNBS/TC 2).  
Wherever the words, “East African Standard" appea r, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard." 
     EAS 777:2012
 
© EAC 2012                First Edition 2012  
 
EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
 
Reduction of acrylamide in potato products – Code of practice 
 
 
                   
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY EAS 777:2012 9 
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               ii 
 Foreword 
 
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in East Africa. It is envisaged that through harmonized 
standardization, trade barriers which are encountered when goods and services are exchanged within the 
Community will be removed.   
In order to meet the above objectives, the EAC Partner  States have enacted an East African Standardization, 
Quality Assurance, Metrology and Test Act, 2006 (EAC SQMT Act, 2006) to make provisions for ensuring 
standardization, quality assurance, metrology and testing of  products produced or originating in a third country 
and traded in the Community in order to facilitate industrial development and trade as well as helping to 
protect the health and safety of societ y and the environment in the Community. 
 
East African Standards are formulated  in accordance with the procedures established by the East African 
Standards Committee. The East African Standards Committe e is established under the provisions of Article 4 
of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006. The Committee is compos ed of representatives of the National Standards 
Bodies in Partner States, together with the repr esentatives from the priv ate sectors and consumer 
organizations. Draft East African Standards are circul ated 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 t he procedures of the Community.  
 
Article 15(1) of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006 provides that “Wit hin six months of the declar ation of an East African 
Standard, the Partner States shall adopt, without deviation from the approved text of the standard, the East 
African Standard as a national standard and withdraw any existing national standard with similar scope and 
purpose”.  East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefor e expected to ensure that they always hav e the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing.   
© East African Community 2012 — 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.each.int 
                                                      
* © 2012 EAC — All rights of exploitation in any form and by an y means reserved worldwide for EAC Partner States’ NSBs.  
 EAS 777:2012 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved                 iii 
 Acknowledgement 
This standard was devel oped with support from the Policy Analysi s and Advocacy Programme (PAAP) of the 
Association for Strengthening Agricult ural Research in Eastern and Cent ral Africa (ASARECA). This was 
possible through a grant by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This support 
was used in the process of formulation and mobilization of stakeholders to review the standard in national and 
regional fora. This support is hereby acknowledged. 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  EAS 777:2012 9 
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               iv 
 Introduction 
Acrylamide (also called acrylic amide derived from acrylic acid) is a chemical compound mainly formed in food 
by the reaction of asparagine (an amino acid) with reduc ing sugars (particularly glucose and fructose) as part 
of the Maillard Reaction. Acrylamide  formation primarily takes place un der conditions of high temperature 
(usually in excess of 120°C) and low moisture. It is a suspected human carcinogen and a neuro-toxicant.   
This code addresses issues that are specific to ac rylamide presence and control in order to guarantee 
production of safe and wholesome potato products. It focuses on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and 
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) that will help control acrylamide levels associated with all stages of production, handling and processing of potato products.  
The objective of this code of practice is to provide consumers and processors with the recommended 
practices that can be undertaken to reduce the level of  formation of acrylamide in potato products. Specific 
emphasis is placed on the quality of raw materials and proc essing condition, control of other ingredients and 
food processing.  
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD EAS 777:2012
 
1               © EAC 2012 – All rights reserved 
 Reduction of acrylamide in potato products – Code of 
practice 
1 Scope 
This East African Code provides recommended prac tices for reducing the formation of acrylamide in 
potato products.  
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. 
EAS 12, Drinking (potable) water — Specification  
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry – Code of practice  
EAS 103, Schedule for permitted food additives  
EAS 748 , Fresh potato tuber (ware potato tuber) — Specification 
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply. 
3.1 
acrylamide 
white odourless crystalline solid chemical compound with chemical formula C 3H5NO which is soluble 
in water, ethanol, ether and chloroform 
3.2  
package 
any form of packaging material, which completely or  partially encloses the food (including wrappers).   
3.3 
on-pack label 
includes any tag, brand, mark, pictorial, or other descriptive script, written, printed, marked, embossed 
or impressed on, or attached to the package. 
3.4 
lot food produced during a period of time and under more or less the same manufacturing condition 
identified by a unique code. EAS 777:2012 9 
3.5 
par-cooking 
technique of partially cooking foods so  that they can be finished later.  
4 General considerations in developing preventative measures 
 
4.1 Measures aimed at reducing levels of acryla mide should not be taken in isolation from other 
considerations. Precautions need to be taken in accordance to EAS 39 to avoid compromising the 
existing physical, chemical and microbiological safety of the food. The nutritional qualities of products 
also need to remain unimpaired, together with th eir organoleptic properties and associated consumer 
acceptability. The following precautionary measures need to be taken into account: 
 
a) When preventative measures for acryla mide are considered, checks should be made to 
ensure that they will not result in an increase in other process contaminants. These include N-
nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , chloropropanols, ethyl carbamate, furan, 
heterocyclic aromatic amines and amino acid pyrolysates; 
b) Preventative measures devi sed for acrylamide shall not compromise the microbiological 
stability of the final product. In particular, regard needs to be pai d to the moisture content of 
the final product; and 
c) Precautions should be taken to avoid detrime ntal changes to the organoleptic properties of 
the final product. The formation of acrylamide is  intimately associated with the generation of 
the characteristic colour, flavour and aroma of cooked foods. Proposed changes to cooking 
conditions, or indeed raw materials and other ingredients, shall be assessed from the 
perspective of the acceptability of the final product to the consumer. 
 
4.2 Processing aids such as asparaginase for prev ention of acrylamide formation may only be used 
after regulatory approval based on formal safety assessments and efficacy-in-use.  
NOTE 1: The extent of acrylamide formation can be qu ite variable e.g. within a production batch made at the 
same manufacturing plant, or between plants using the same process, ingredients and formulations. 
NOTE 2: Variability in composition   incoming raw materials and poor temperature cont rol of heating devices can 
complicate trials of mitigation strategies, by obscuring changes in acrylamide levels. 
5  Recommended practices for the reduction of acrylamide formation 
5.1 Raw materials 
Potatoes intended for processing shall comply wi th the requirements specified in EAS 748 and the 
factors that influence reduction of sugar levels in potato as described under 5.1.1 – 5.1.7 shall be 
taken into consideration. 
5.1.1 Fertilizer application rate  
This factor is known to influence levels of r educing sugars. Thus producers are advised to adopt 
appropriate fertilizer application regimes that  yield suitable potatoes for processing.  
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               2 
 EAS 777:2012 
5.1.2 Cultivar 
Cultivars with levels of reducing sugars as low as reasonably achievable should be selected taking 
into account regional and seasonal variability for high temperature cooking pr ocesses such as frying 
and baking. 
5.1.3 Storage temperature and time  
Control storage conditions from farm to factor y; > 6 °C has been identified as a current good 
manufacturing practice for long storage for proces sing. Avoid using potatoes that have been subject 
to excessive low-temperature sweetening during storage (at or below 6 °C) for frying, roasting and 
oven-baking. In cold weather protect potatoes from  cold air. Avoid leaving deliveries of potatoes 
standing outside (unprotected) over night in freezing conditions. 
NOTE: Some cultivars are less prone than others to low temperature sweetening. 
5.1.4 Reconditioning temperature and time  
Potatoes that have been stored at low temperatures should be reconditioned over a period of a few 
weeks at higher temperatures (e.g. 12 °C – 15 °C). The decision to recondition stored potatoes, as 
well as decisions on the length of time needed for reconditioning, should be made on the basis of the 
results of fry testing. 
5.1.5 Immature tubers  
These tubers have higher reducing sugar levels an d produce darker fried products with potentially 
higher levels of acrylamide. The presence of immatu re tubers should be avoided by selecting, sorting 
or grading of potatoe s before processing. 
5.1.6 Sprout suppressants  
These shall not be allowed for use.  
5.1.7 Screening incoming lots  
Manufacturers of fried potato chips and potato crisps  should where feasible screen incoming lots by 
measuring reducing sugar content or assessing the co lour of a fried sample. In particular, fry test 
potatoes that have been stored at lo w temperatures for long periods of time. When using cultivars 
with not sufficiently low reducing sugar content s, reconditioning and blanching before high 
temperature cooking processes, and vacuum frying for heating may lower the level of acrylamide. 
5.2 Control and/ or addition of other ingredients 
5.2.1  Food additives used shall be applied in accordance with EAS 103. Formal safety 
assessments, efficacy-in-use demonstration and re gulatory approval shall be needed for potential 
new additives and processing aids. 
5.2.2  For reconstituted or formed potato-based snacks produced from potato doughs, other 
ingredients with lower reducing sugar/asparagine content may be used in some products to partially 
replace the potato e.g. rice flour. 
5.2.3   Asparaginase enzyme may be added to reduce acrylamide in prefabricated potato crisps. 
However, the amount of asparagines in the raw pota to product is generally so high that in order to 
achieve a meaningful reduction in acrylamide a large amount of asparaginase should be added. This 
may preclude the use of the enzyme for some potato  products. Treatment with various other reagents 
e.g. sodium pyrophosphate and calcium salts prior to the frying stage may also be applied to reduce 
acrylamide formation. 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               3 
 EAS 777:2012 9 
5.2.4  The use of reducing sugars as a browning a gent, spice carrier or coating shall be avoided 
where possible because they can cause the form ation of significant levels of acrylamide. 
5.3 Food processing 
5.3.1  Decreasing of the surface area by cutting potat oes into thicker slices may be employed to 
reduce acrylamide in potato products. Removal of fines  (fine pieces of potato) before or after frying 
has been shown to reduce levels of acrylamide in fried or roasted potatoes. 
5.3.2  Washing, soaking, blanch ing or par-boiling treatments may be used to leach the 
asparagine/reducing sugar reactants from the potat o before the cooking step. However, the water 
used shall meet the requirements of EAS 12. Va rious reagents for loweri ng pH may also be added 
during the latter stages of blanching to further reduce  levels of acrylamide, for example by treatment 
of potato chips with sodium acid pyrophosphate, calc ium salts and the salts of a number of other di- 
and trivalent cations.  
NOTE 1- This process has been shown to reduce acry lamide formation in potato chips made from potato dough 
and blanching in sodium chloride solution (though this  method may increase dietary exposure to sodium). 
NOTE 2- Blanching or soaking potatoes reduce acrylamide levels but can also have an adverse effect on the 
flavour and texture of the final produc t. Blanching can also lead to leaching of vitamin C and minerals from 
potatoes. A blanching step before frying/ roasting may lower the fat content of the final product, but there is 
contradictory information on this subject.  
NOTE 3 - Blanching may also be unsuitable for some produc ts e.g. potato crisps, as it may cause unacceptable 
moisture uptake, leading to loss of consistency, crispness or possible microbiological spoilage. 
 
5.3.3 . Acrylamide levels in potato crisps may be re duced by controlling the frying temperature. 
Vacuum frying may offer the opportunity to reduce  acrylamide levels in crisps made from potatoes 
with high reducing sugar content. Rapid cooling of potato crisps that are cooked by flash frying may 
also reduce levels of acrylamide in the final produc t. The use of in-line optical sorting to remove dark 
coloured crisps has been proved to be an effective measure to reduce acryla mide. Par-cooking, far-
infrared heating and dry steam treatments used to make  low fat crisps may also reduce acrylamide. 
5.3.4   In order to achieve significant reductions in the acrylamide content of fried potato chips, when 
cooking the product immediately prior to consumption, set the initial oil temperature to no more than 
170-175 oC and cook to a golden-yellow rather than a golden-brown colour. Depending on the heating 
power of the fryer, the amount of potato immersed in the oil should aim to give an actual frying 
temperature starting from about 140 oC and ending at about 160 oC. A bigger long-lasting temperature 
drop after addition of the potato w ill increase the fat uptak e, and a higher end te mperature will result 
in excessive acrylamide formation. The oil used for frying shall meet the requi rements of the relevant 
East African Standards. 
5.3.5  Manufacturers of prefabricated par fried potato chips should ensure that their on-pack cooking 
instructions are consistent with the need to minimise  acrylamide formation. Where frying is one of the 
on-pack label for “Prefabricated” potato chips, the recommended frying temperature should not be 
greater than 175 °C. The cooking instructions should also mention that consumers should reduce the 
cooking time when cooking small amounts and that they should cook potato chips to a golden-yellow 
colour. 
5.3.6  Some fried potato chips or prefabricated potato products are manufactured with a view for 
storage under refrigeration rather than frozen conditions. Storage at these conditions may be 
conducive to low-temperature sweetening due to residual amylase activity which leads to reducing sugar formation from starch. In order to fully inac tivate the amylase activity, blanching shall be done.  
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               4 
 EAS 777:2012 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               5 
 6  Consumer practices 
6.1  Consumers should be advised to avoid over -heating potato and potato-based foodstuffs when 
using high temperature cooking processes. Such advice could include recommendations that potato 
chips and roast potatoes be cooked to a golden-yello w rather than golden-brown colour, whilst still 
ensuring that the food is fully cooked.  
6.2  Consumers should avoid storing potatoes inte nded for high-temperature cooking under cold 
and/or refrigerated conditions. 6.3. Where relevant, industry should endeavour to provide advice to co nsumers on appropriate 
cooking and handling instructions that can help to mitigate acrylamide formation in the product. 
7  Criteria for conformity  
A lot shall be declared as acceptable if the reduct ion of acrylamide in potat o products conform to the 
provisions of this Code of practice.   
 EAS 777:2012
  
© EAC 2012 — All rights reserved