DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 2027  
First Edition  
2018 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 2027 : 2018 
© UNBS 2018  
  
Edible offal  — Specification  
 DUS 2027 : 2018  
ii © UNBS 2018 – 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 applicatio n 
© UNBS 2018   
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 UNB S. 
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 2027 : 2018 
© UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.2 Requirements for routine inspection of edible offal carcasses of cattle and pig, goats, 
sheep  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  3 
5. Storage  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
6 Food additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
7 Hygiene requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  4 
7.2 Microbiological limits  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  4 
8 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  5 
8.1 Heavy metals  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  5 
9 Residues of Veterinary Drugs  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  5 
10 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 6 
11 Packaging and labelling ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
11.1  Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
11.2  Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  6 
12 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  6 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
 DUS 2027 : 2018  
iv © UNBS 2018 – 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 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 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 committee 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 ], 
Subcommittee SC 12, [meat, poultry and processed products ]. 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 2027 : 2018 
 
© UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved  1 
 Edible o ffal — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft Uganda standard specifies  the requirements, met hod of analysis and sampling for edible offal for 
human consumption  from the cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, deer, horses, pigs, ratites, camelids and poultry  
2 Normati ve references  
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 edi tion of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
US 45 , General standard for food additives  
US 734, Design and operation of abattoirs and slaughterhouses — Requirements  
US 738, General standard for contaminants and toxins in food and fee d (5th Edition)  
US 1659, Materials in contact with food — Requirements for packaging materials  
US CAC/GL 50, General guidelines on sampling  
US CAC/RCP 58 , Code of hygienic practice for meat  
US EAS 12 , Potable water — Specification  
US EAS 38, Labelling of p re-packaged foods — General requirements  
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 6579 –1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp  
US ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staph ylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 1: Technique using 
Baird -Parker agar medium  
US ISO 7251, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable 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 11290 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feed ing stuffs — Horizontal method for the det ection and 
enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes — Part 1: Detection method   
2 © UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definitions   
3.1  
Meat  
all parts of an animal that are intended for, or have been judged as safe and suitable for human consumption  
3.2 
Edible offal   
parts of the car cass that has been passed as fit for human consumption. In the case of food animals other 
than poultry, these include red offal, green offal and white offal. In the case of poultry, these include giblets 
(the heart, gizzard and the liver without the gall bladder , legs)  including exterior parts such as hooves, hides,  
head.  
3.3 
Red edible offal  
include heart, liver, kidney, spleen, tongue, lungs, pancrease  
3.4 
Green edible offal  
include the rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum, small intestines, large intesti nes, colon, and gizzards  
3.5 
White edible offal  
include the brain, spine, bone marrow, testicles and  mammillary gland  
3.6 
Tripe  
refers to the muscle walls(with the interior mucosal lining removed) of the first three chambers of a ruminant 
stomach the rum en, reticulum and omasum.  
3.7 
Condemned  
carcasses, parts or organs so marked unfit for human consumption meant to be destroyed or rendered unfit 
for food purposes  
 
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
All animals shall be slaughtered in a hygienicall y managed slaughter -house  in accordance  with US 734 . The 
slaughter shall be supervised by a competen t authority.  The offal thereof shall be subjected to post mortem 
veterinary inspection as prescribed  in the standard US 734. T hey shall be certified as bein g sound and free 
from contagious and infectious diseases and fit for human consumption.     
The edible offal  shall be;   
a) obtained from carcasses that have been slaughtered in a licenced premise.   
b) obtained from food producing animals which have been slaught ered according  to US 734.    
c) prepared under hygienic conditions a s stipulated in US CAC/RCP 58.     
d) free from  signs of spo ilage  
e) from animals whose post -mortem examination has been  conducted under conditions simulating 
natural light.   DUS 2027 : 2018 
© UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved  3 
 f) inspected and analysed using appropri ate methods,  
g) free from infectious parasites   
h) from  a specified animal specie  
i) Intact, taking  into account the presentation  
j)  free from vis ible blood clots, or bone dust  
k)  free from any visible foreign matter (e.g. dirt, wo od, plastic, metal particles1)  
l)  free of offensive odours   
m) free o f unspecified bones fragments  
n) free of contusions having a material impact on the product  
o)  free from freezer -burn 
Note 1:   Organs and the associated lymph -nodes shall be examined.  When any abnormal condition  is observed,  the 
organ or gland shall be incised and the incision made in such a manner as to avoid soiling or contaminating or  
unnecessarily depreciating the  value of any part of the carcass or other organs that may be passed as fit for human 
consumption  
4.2 Requirements for routine inspection of edible offal carcasses of cattle and pig, goats, 
sheep  
The Edible offal shall comply with the inspection  requirements as given in Table 1  
 Table 1 — Inspection requirements   
SN Organ  Requirements  
i Stomach, inte stines 
and splee n The outer, and when necessary the inner, surfaces of  the stomach and intestines.  
The surface and substance of the spleen shall be inspected, together with the lymph 
nodes  of the stomach and bowel,  gastro -splenic and mesenteric) and web 
(omentum). The spleen shall be put where necessary, for the inspection of the 
substance (pulp). They shall be free from haemorrhage, cysts and swellings, free 
from worms  
ii Liver  The surfaces and substance of the liver shall be inspected. The associated lymph 
nodes  (hepatic) shall also be inspected and the bile ducts incised where necessary. 
They shall be free from haemorrhage, cysts and swellings, free from worms.  
iii Kidneys  The lymph -nodes of the kidneys (renal) and the adrenal glands shall be inspected 
before the removal of the kidneys. Thereafter the kidneys shall be exposed, and the 
surface inspected and, If necessary, the kidneys shall be split by incision and the 
substance inspected. They shall be free from swellings, free from kidney stones, free 
from haemorrhage, free from cysts and any discolouration s. 
iv Lungs  The lungs shall be inspected and, if obviously diseased, they shall be incised at the 
base. The associated lymph -nodes (bronchial and mediastinal) shall also be 
inspected and, unless. Obvi ously diseased, shall be incised. They shall be free from 
haemorrhage, cysts and swellings, free from worms.  
v Heart  The heart sac (pericardium ) shall be opened, and the heart inspected and, if 
necessary, incised. It shall be free of abnormal swelling, ha emorrhage, free of worms 
and cysts.   
vi Poultry offal(liver, heart 
and gizzard)  Heart shall be free of abnormal swelling, haemorrhage, free of worms and cysts. Liver 
shall be free from gal, discolouration, contaminants and ulcerations, and worms. 
Gizzard  shall be clean, shall be free of abnormal swelling, haemorrhage, free of  
4 © UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved  
 worms and cysts  
vii Testicles and Penis  The outer surface and the substance of the testicles and penis and the superficial 
inguinal lymph -nodes shall be inspected routinely if meant  for the consumption. They 
shall be free of abnormal swelling, haemorrhage, free of worms and cysts  
 
Note 2 : All the other unmentioned internal and extern al offal shall be inspected to be of good quality and safety as guided 
by table 1 above.  
5. Storage  
1. Edible offal  are relatively perishable and shall be chilled at 4 ⁰C before leaving the premises.  
2. Edible offal may be presented chilled, frozen or deep -frozen. Ambient temperatures throughout the supply 
chain s hall be such as to ensure uniform interna l product temperatures as follows;  
a) Chilled - Internal product temperature should be maintained at not less than –1.5° C or more than + 4° at 
any time following the post -slaughter chilling process.  
b) Frozen - Internal product temperature should be mainta ined at not exceeding –12° C at any time after 
freezing.   
c) Deep -frozen - Internal product temperature maintained at not exceeding –18° C at any time after freezing  
6 Food additives  
The food additives used in the Edible offal  shall be in accordance with  the US 45.  
7 Hygiene requirements  
Edible offal  shall be prepared, handled and stored in accordance US CAC/RCP 58 . 
Edible o ffal preparation shall be done in an area separate from the meat carcass and cuts prepara tion area  
7.1 Edible offal  shall be  cleaned  with potable water which is  in accordance with US EAS 12 . 
7.2. Green edible offal may be incised to enable proper/sufficient  cleaning  
7.3 Edible o ffal shall be free from fur, blood and visible contamination and trimmed where necessary   
7.4 Edible offal  shall be handled, stored and transported in a manner which will protect them from 
contamination and deterioration  
7.2 Microbiological limits   
Edible offal  shall not contain any pathogenic organisms and shall comply with microbiolo gical limits given in 
Table 2.  
 
 DUS 2027 : 2018 
© UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved  5 
 Table 2 — Microbiological limits for Edible offal   
SN Micro -organisms   Test method  
  Heart, liver kidney, 
spleen, lungs, 
trachea, testicles, 
tongue  Stomach, 
oesophagus , 
gizzard  Small 
intestines  Large 
intestines  
i Aerobic colony count – 
cfu/g Max. 106 106 106 108 US ISO 4833  
ii E. coli per MPN/ g Max.  102 103 103 104 US ISO 7251  
iii Coagulase positive 
Staphylococcus aureus,  
cfu/ g Max.  103 103 103 104 US ISO 6888 -
1 
iv Clostridium perfringens / 25 
g Absent  Absent  Absent  Absent  US ISO 7937  
v Salmonella ssp  / 25 g Absent  Absent  Absent  Absent  US ISO 6579  
vi Listeria monocytogenes / 25 
g Absent  Absent  Absent  Absent  US ISO 
11290 -1 
vii Pseudomonas  aeruginosa  
cfu/g  < 10 < 10 < 10 < 10 US ISO 13720  
 
Note 3: All the other unmentioned internal and exter nal offal shall comply with the microbiological limits in table 2 above  
8 Contaminants  
Edible offal shall comply with the US 738 . 
8.1 Heavy metals  
Edible offal  shall not contain heavy metal contaminants in excess of the limits given in Table 3 
Table 3 — Heavy metal contaminants limits for offal  
SN Contaminants limits  Maximum 
limits Ppm  Test method  
i Arsenic (Ar)  0.1 AOAC 986.15 EN14332, 14627  
ii Lead (Pb)  0.5 AOAC 999.10, 999.11, 986.15 
EN14082, 14083,14084  
iii Cadmium  0.05 AOAC 986.15, 999.11,973.34 
EN 14082,18083,1408  
iv Mercury  0.03 AOAC 971.21  
9 Residues of Ve terinary Drugs  
Edible offal shall comply with the maximum residue limits specified in  Codex Alimentarius Commission   
6 © UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved  
 10 Pesticide residues  
Edible offal  shall comply with the maximum residue l imits specified in Codex Alimentarius Commission  
11 Packaging and labelling  
11.1 Packaging   
Packaging of edible offal  shall be done in food grade packaging mate rials that protect the product from any 
physical, microbiological, chemical or any other type o f contamination during storage and dist ribution. This 
shall be in accordance with US 1659.  
11.2 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of US EAS 38 , the following labelling requirements shall apply and shall be 
legibly and indelibly marked ; 
a) name of the  product (Edible offal)   
b)  name of the animal from which the edible offal is derived   
c)  name, location and address of manufacturer /processor ;   
d) net weight, in g or kg;   
e) date of production/packaging;   
f) expiry date;  
g) batch number;   
h)  storage conditions;   
i) country of origin   
j) veterinary  approval mark  
k) Declaration of preservatives used;  
12 Sampling  
Samples shall be taken in accordance to the provisions of  US CAC/GL 50 . DUS 2027 : 2018 
© UNBS 2018 – All rights reserved  7 
 Bibliography  
[1] KS 2762: 2017,  Offal  - Specification   
[2] UNECE STANDARD FOR EDIBLE MEAT CO -PRODUCTS , 2008 EDITION  
 
 DUS 2027 : 2018 
© UNBS 2018 – 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 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 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 National Burea u 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 2027 : 2018   
 
ICS 67.120.10  
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