FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
  FDUS EAS 781
First Edition
2012-mm-dd
 
 Reference numbe r
FDUS EAS 781: 2012
© UNBS 2012
  
Biscuits – Specification 
 FDUS EAS 781: 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 781: 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 781: 2012 , Biscuits – Specification, is identical with  and has 
been reproduced from an East  African Standard, EAS 781: 2012 , Biscuits – Specification,  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 781:2012
ICS 67.060
 
© EAC 2012                First Edition 2012  
 
EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
 
Biscuits — Specification 
 
     
 
               
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY EAS 781:2012 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 781:2012 
© 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 though 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. EAST AFRICAN STANDARD EAS 781:2012
 
1               © EAC 2012 – All rights reserved 
 Biscuits ─ Specification 
1 Scope 
This East African Standard specifies the require ments and methods of sampling and test for biscuits 
intended for human consumption.  
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 38, General standard for the labelling of pre-packaged foods   
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry – Code of practice  
EAS 103, Schedule for permitted food additives 
CODEX STAN 193 , Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed 
ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs  — Horizontal method for the detection 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 21527-2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method  for the 
enumeration of yeasts and moulds — Part 2: Colony count technique in products with  water activity 
less than or equal to 0.95   
3 Terms and definitions 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply  
3.1  
biscuit  
flat baked product characterized by a crispy texture  
3.2  
cream  
homogenous  preparation of hydrogenated fat or ba kery shortening, icing sugar, permitted flavours 
and food colours with or without other ingredients  
3.3 
plain biscuits  biscuits which are not  filled or coated EAS 781:2012 9 
 
3.4  
coated biscuits  biscuits coated with chocolate, caramel or  any other similar materials 
3.5  
filled biscuits  biscuits sandwiched with a filling of either cream, ja m, jelly, caramel, dried fruits and any other with 
similar filling materials 
3.6 
crackers  
biscuits which in general show a typical flaky in ner layers; may be fermented or non-fermented; oil-
dipped or not and may be or may not be sprinkled with salt  
3.7 
wafer 
very thin, light, crisp, sweet co okie or cracker, especially one of a kind eaten with ice cream 
4 Essential quality and compositional requirements 
4.1 Raw materials 
The following raw materials used in the preparation of biscuits shall conform to the relevant East 
African Standards.   
a) flour; 
b) shortening, edible oil or fat; and  
c) potable water.  
4.2 Optional ingredients  
In addition, the following optional ingredients if used shall conform to the relevant East African 
Standards: 
a) cereals and cereal products; 
b) starch;  c) oilseeds and oilseed products;  
d) milk and milk products;  
e) sugars;  
f) fruit, vegetable and related products;  
g) spices and condiments; 
h) cocoa and cocoa products;  i) coffee and coffee products; 
j) tea and tea products;  
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               2 
 EAS 781:2012 
k) eggs;  
l) salt;  
m) enzymes and gluten conditioners;  
n) food additives; and  o) essential nutrients.  
4.3 Finished product  
Biscuits shall: 
a) be properly baked so that they  are crisp, have uniform texture and are free from a burnt taste 
and appearance;  
b)  have an acceptable flavour typical of  well-baked biscuits of the type;  
c)  be free from any soapy or bitter after-taste; and  
d)  be free from fungal and insect infestation, rancid taste and odour.  
The design, if any, on the biscuit shall be clear. 
4.4 Composition requirements for biscuits 
 Biscuits shall conform to the requirements as given in Table 1.  
 Table 1 — Compositional requirements for biscuits 
S/N Parameter Requirement  Method of test  
1 Moisture, % by mass, max. 6.0 Annex A 
2 Acid insoluble ash on dry basis, % by mass, max. 0.05 Annex B 
3 Acidity of extracted fat (as oleic acid), % by mass, max. 1.0 Annex D 
 
5 Food additives 
Food additives may be used in the preparation of biscuits in accordance with EAS 103. 
6  Hygiene  
Biscuits shall be manufactured and handled in accordance with EAS 39. Biscuits shall conform to the 
limits of microorganisms in Table 2.  
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               3 
 EAS 781:2012 9 
 
Table 2 − Limits for microorganisms in biscuits 
S/N Microorganisms Requirement Method of Test 
1 Escherichia coli, cfu/g, max <1  ISO 7251 
2 Salmonella, 25g, max. Absent ISO 6579 
3 Yeast and Moulds, per g, max 103 ISO 21527-2 
 
7 contaminants 
7.1 Pesticide residues  
Biscuits shall conform to those maximum residue limi ts for pesticide residues established by Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity. 
7.2 Other contaminants   
Biscuits shall conform to those maximum levels of  the Codex General Standard for Contaminants and 
Toxins in Food and Feed (CODEX STAN 193). 
8 Packaging  
Biscuits shall be packaged in suitable materials to  safeguard the safety, hygienic, nutritional, 
organoleptic and technological qualities of the product.  
9 Labelling 
8.1  In addition to the requirements of EAS 38, the following specific labelli ng requirements shall apply 
and shall be legibly and indelibly marked:  
a) common name of the product, “Biscuits”; 
b) name and physical address of the manufactur er/ distributor and /or trade name/ brand name; 
c) date of manufacture; 
d) list of ingredients; 
e) lot identification;  
f) expiry date;  g) country of origin; 
h) net weight in metric units; 
i) storage instructions; j) instructions on disposal of used package. 
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               4 
 EAS 781:2012 
9.2 When labelling non-retail packag es, information for non-retail pa ckages shall either be given on 
the packages or in accompanying documents, except that the name of the product, lot identification 
and the name and address of the manufacturer or packer shall appear on the packages. 
 
10 Weights and measures 
Biscuits shall be packaged in accordance with the weights and measures requirements in the 
destination country. 
11 Sampling  
The method of drawing representative samples of bisc uits and the criteria for conformity shall be as 
prescribed in Annex C.  
12 Criteria for conformity  
A lot shall be declared as conforming to this standard if samples inspected or analysed for quality 
requirements conform to the provisions of this standard. 
 
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               5 
 EAS 781:2012 9 
Annex A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of moisture 
A.1 Apparatus  
A.1.1 Electric oven, maintained at 105 °C ± 1 °C  
A.1.2 Moisture dish , made of porcelain, silica, glass or aluminium  
A.1.3 Desiccator 
A.2 Procedure  
Weigh accurately about 5 g of the prepared sample (s ee D.3.3) in the moisture dish, previously dried 
in the oven and weighed.  
Place the dish in the oven maintained at 105 oC ± 1oC for 4 h.  
Cool in the desiccator and weigh.  
Repeat the process of drying, cooling and weighi ng at 30-min intervals until a constant mass, m, is 
obtained.  
A.3 Calculation  
Moisture, percent by  mass, = ()
() 21 100
m Mm M
−− 
where  
M is the mass, in grams, of the dish with the sample before drying; 
m1 is the mass, in grams, of the dish with the sample after drying to constant mass; and  
m2  is the mass, in grams, of the empty dish.  
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               6 
 EAS 781:2012 
Annex B  
(normative) 
 
Determination of acid insoluble ash  
B.1 Apparatus  
B.1.1 Dish , silica or porcelain  
B.1.2 Muffle furnace , maintained at 600 °C ± 20 °C  
B.1.3 Water bath 
B.1.4 Desiccator  
B.2 Reagent  
Dilute hydrochloric acid , approximately 5mol/l, prepared from concentrated hydrochloric acid 
B.3 Procedure  
Weigh accurately about 10 g of biscuit powder (D.3.3.2) and transfer to a furnace at 600 °C +20 °C 
until light grey ash is obtained.  
Remove the dish from the furnace and allow it to co ol to room temperature. Add 25 mL of hydrochloric 
acid to the dish, cover with a watch glass and heat on a water bath for 10 minutes. Mix the contents 
with the tip of a glass rod and filter through Whatman f ilter paper No 42 or its eq uivalent wash the filter 
paper with water until the washings are free from acid when tested with blue litmus paper. Return the washed filter paper to the dish for ashing in the muffle furnace as above.  
Cool the dish in a desiccator and weigh. Again ignite the dish for half an hour in the furnace, cool and 
weigh. Repeat this operation until the dish has a cons tant mass. Filter 25 mL of hydrochloric acid 
through a blank filter paper wash, ash and weigh it as in the case of acid insoluble ash. Subtract its 
mass from the mass of insoluble ash in the sample.  
B.4 Calculation  
B.4.1  Acid insoluble ash, percent by mass (A) 
()
2m1 100 m m− 
where  m is the mass, in grams, of the dish containing acid insoluble ash (see note);  
m
1 is the mass, in grams, of empty dish in which the sample is taken for ashing; and  
m2 is the mass, in grams, of the sample  
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               7 
 EAS 781:2012 9 
NOTE The acid insoluble ash mass should be corre cted for the blank of filter paper, if any.  
B.4.2  Acid insoluble ash, percent by mass (on dry weight basis) 
MA
−×
100100 
where  
A is the  acid insoluble ash, percent by mass (B.4.1), and  
M is the  percent of moisture in the biscuit sample.  
 
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               8 
 EAS 781:2012 
Annex C 
(normative) 
 
Sampling of biscuits  
C.1 General requirements of sampling  
In drawing, preparing, storing and handling samples the following precautions and directions shall be 
observed:  
a) samples shall be taken in a protected place not exposed to damp air dust or soot;  
b) precautions shall be taken to protect sample s, the lots being sampled, sampling instrument 
and containers for samples from adventitious contamination; 
c) loose biscuit samples or representative small packs, shall be placed in airtight, clean and dry 
glass, tin or aluminium containers of appropriate size;  
d) samples shall be stored at  room temperature; and 
e) each container containing samples shall be sealed airtight and marked with full details of 
sampling, such as batch or code number, name of manufacturer and other relevant 
particulars.  
C.2 Scale of sampling  
C.2.1 Lot  
All biscuit containers in a single consignment dr awn from the same batch of manufacture shall 
constitute a lot. If the consignment is declared to consist of different batches of manufacture, the 
batches shall be marked separately and groups of co ntainers in each batch shall constitute separate 
lots. Samples shall be tested from each lot for ascertaining the conformity of biscuits to the 
requirements of specification.  
C.2.2 Sample size  
The number of containers to be sampled from each lot shall depend on the size of the lot and be in 
accordance with Table 2.  
C.2.3 Drawing of sample 
Containers shall be selected at random from each lo t and for this purpose, random number tables 
shall be used. 
Starting from any container, count them  as 1, 2 up to r and so on in one order, where r is equal to the 
integral part of value N/n. N being the total number of containers in the lot and rth number of container 
thus counted shall be separated until the requir ed number of containers is obtained from the lot.  
 
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               9 
 EAS 781:2012 9 
 
 
Table 2 — Number of containers to be selected for sampling 
Lot size,  
N Sample size,  
n 
Up to 50 2 
51-150 3 
151-300 4 
301-500 5 
501and above 7 
C.3 Test samples and referee samples  
C.3.1 Drawing samples 
Draw from each selected container, the required nu mber of biscuit packets.  These packets shall be 
opened and mixed. If the container is packed with lo ose biscuits, samples of required quantity shall be 
taken from different parts of the selected container.  
C.3.2 Preparation of individual sample 
From the selected containers, a bout 600 g of biscuits shall be taken from different parts of the 
container. From this about 300 g of biscuits shall be taken for testing general requirements. This 300 
g of biscuits shall be divided into three equal parts, one for the purchaser, another for the vendor and 
the third for the referee. These biscuit samples shal l be packed in airtight dry containers and labelled 
with particulars given in D.1.  
C.3.3 Preparation of composite sample  
C.3.3.1 The composite sample shall be prepared from the remaining 300 g of biscuits from each 
selected container, after the sample for general requirements is taken out as given in D.3.3.1.1 to 
D.3.3.1.3. 
C.3.3.1.1 Plain biscuits  — Grind the sample as quickly as possible.  
C.3.3.1.2 Filled biscuits  — The cream, caramel, chocolate, ma rshmallow, jam, jelly or any other 
filling between biscuits should be removed by gentle scraping, before powdering the sample.  
C.3.3.1.3 Coated and filled biscuits  — As far as possible the coat ing and the fillings should be 
removed before powdering the biscuits.  
NOTE Biscuits are highly hygroscopi c. Therefore preparation samples should be done very quickly, 
preferably in a dry place.  
C.3.3.2  A small but approximately equal quantity of the material (see D.3.3.1) shall be taken 
from the powdered sample of each selected container and mixed thoroughly so as to form a 
composite sample weighing not less than 200 g. This sample shall be divided approximately into three equal parts, one for the purchaser, another for the v endor and the third for the referee. These parts 
shall be transferred to clean, dry and airtight containers, which are then sealed with all the particulars as given in D.1. The sample in each such sealed container shall constitute an individual test sample. These individual samples shall be separated into three identical sets of test samples in such a way 
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               10 
 EAS 781:2012 
that each set has a sample representing each selected container (see Table 2). One of these sets 
shall be marked for the purchaser, another for the vendor and the third for the referee.  
C.3.4 Referee sample 
Referee samples shall consist of a set of indivi dual biscuit samples (see D.3.2) marked for general 
requirements, a composite sample (s ee D.3.3.2) and a set of individual test samples shall bear the 
seals of the purchaser and the vendor. These shall be  kept at a place agreed to between the two.  
C.4 Number of tests  
C.4.1  Biscuits selected according to D.3.2 shall be tested for general requirements.  
C.4.2 The test for moisture shall be conducted individually on each of the samples constituting a set 
of individual test samples (see C.3.3.2).  
C.4.3  Tests for the determination of acid insoluble ash and acidity of extracted fat shall be 
conducted on the composite sample (see C.3.3.2).  
C.5 Criteria for conformity  
A lot shall be declared as conforming to the requ irements of the specificat ion for biscuit when the 
following criteria are satisfied:  
a) in the case of general requirements, biscuits shall satisfy the requirements as given in 4.1; 
b) in the case of moisture, each of the test re sults as obtained from individual dual test samples 
(see C.4.2) shall be less than or equal to 6.0 % (see Table 1).  
c) for acid insoluble ash and acidity of extract ed fat. the test results obtained from the composite 
sample (see C.4.3) shall be less than or equal to 0.05 % and 1.0 % respectively (see Table 
1).  
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               11 
 EAS 781:2012 9 
 
© EAC 2012 – All rights reserved               12 
 Annex D 
(normative) 
Determination of acidi ty of extracted fat 
 
D.1 Apparatus  
Soxhlet apparatus, with a 250 mL flat bottom flask  
D.2 Reagents  
D.2.1  Petroleum ether, boiling point 40 °
C – 80 °
C  
D.2.2  Benzene-alcohol-phenolphthalein stock solution — To 1 L of distilled benzene add 1 L of 
alcohol or rectified spirit and 0.4 g of  phenolphthalein. Mix the contents well.  
D.2.3  Standard potassium hydroxide solution, 0.05 mol/L  
D.3 Procedure  
Weigh accurately about 10 g of biscuit powder (D.3.3.2 ) and transfer it to a thimble and plug it from 
the top with extracted cotton and filter paper. Dry the thimble with contents for 15 min to 30 min at 100 
°
C in an oven. Take the mass of empty Soxhlet flask.  Extract the fat in the Soxhlet apparatus for 3 h to 
4 h and evaporate off the solvent in the flask on a water bath. Remove the traces of the residual 
solvent by keeping the flask in a hot air oven for about half an hour and weigh. Cool the flask and add 
50 mL of mixed benzene-alcohol-ph enolphthalein reagent and titrate hydroxide solution taken in a 10 
mL microburette.  If the contents of the flask become cloudy, duri ng nitration, add another 50 mL of benzene-alcohol-
phenolphthalein reagent and continue titration. Make a blank titration of the 50 mL reagent. Subtract 
from the titre of the fat, the blank titre.  
D.4 Calculation  
Acidity of extracted fat, (as oleic acid) percent by mass = mv−×m411 . 
where  
v is the volume of potassium hydroxide solution used in titration after subtracting the blank;  
m is the mass in grams of Soxhlet flask containing fat; and  m is the mass in grams of empty Soxhlet flask. 
 EAS 781:2012
  
© EAC 2012 — All rights reserved