FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
  FDUS EAS 5
First Edition
2011-mm-dd
 
 Reference numbe r
FDUS EAS 5: 2009
© UNBS 2011
  
Refined white sugar — Specification 
 FDUS EAS 5: 2009 
i i                 ©  U N B S  2011 - 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 2011 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise sp ecified, 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 
UKampala  
Uganda 
Tel: 256 41 505 995 
Fax: 256 41 286 123 
E-mail: HUunbs@infocom.co.ug U 
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 FDUS EAS 5: 2009 
© UNBS  2011 - All rights rese rved                iii National foreword 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a pa rastatal 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 St andards by the National Standards Council. 
This Final Draft Uganda Standard, FDUS EAS 5:2009 , Refined white sugar — Specification,  is identical with  
and has been reproduced from an East African Standard, EAS 5:2009 , Refined white sugar — Specification,  
and is being proposed for adoption as a Uganda Standard.  
This standard was developed by the Food and agricu lture Standards Technical Committee (UNBS/TC 2).  
Wherever the words, “East African Standard" appea r, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard." 
 
  EAS 5:2009
ICS 67.180.10
 
© EAC 2009                                                                                                                             Second Edition 2009
 
EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
Refined white sugar — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY EAS 5:2009 
ii © EAC 2009 – All rights reserved
 Copyright notice 
This EAC document is copyright-protected by EA C. 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 bo dy in the country of the requester: 
© East African Community 2009 — 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  EAS 5:2009 
© EAC 2009 – All rights reserved  iii
 Contents Page  
1 Scope  .............................................................................................................................. ........................ 1  
2 Normative reference  ..............................................................................................................................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ........................................................................................................................... 2  
4 Requirements  ............................................................................................................................... .......... 2  
4.1 General requirements  ........................................................................................................................... 2  
4.2 Compositional requirements ................................................................................................................ 2  
5 Food additives  .............................................................................................................................. ......... 3  
6 Contaminant  .............................................................................................................................. ............. 3  
6.1 Metal contaminants  .............................................................................................................................. . 3 
6.2 Pesticide residues  .............................................................................................................................. ... 3 
7 Hygiene  .............................................................................................................................. ..................... 3  
7.1 General requirements  ........................................................................................................................... 3  
7.2 Specific requirements  ........................................................................................................................... 3  
8 Packaging  .............................................................................................................................. ................. 3  
9 Labelling  .............................................................................................................................. ................... 4  
10 Method of sampling  ...............................................................................................................................  4 
10.1 General requirements for sampling ..................................................................................................... 4  
10.2 Scale of sampling .............................................................................................................................. .... 4 
10.3 Preparation of sample  ........................................................................................................................... 5  
 
 EAS 5:2009 
iv © EAC 2009 – All rights reserved
 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 objectiv e, 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 and other regulatory bodies 
in the Partner States, together with the representati ves from the private sectors and consumer organizations. 
Draft East African Standards are circ ulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received  are discussed and incorporated be fore finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the procedures of the Community. 
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advan ces. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing.  
This draft is the second edition and once approved will cancel and replace the first edition, EAS 5:2000, which 
has being technically revised. EAST AFRICAN STANDARD EAS 5:2009
 
© EAC 2009 – All rights reserved 1
 Refined white sugar — Specification 
1 Scope 
This standard specifies requirements,  methods of sampling and testing for refined white sugar intended for 
industrial use or human consumption.  
NOTE This standard does not apply to refined wh ite sugar in the form of cubes and powder. 
2 Normative reference 
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 39,  Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry — Code of practice  
EAS 38,  Labelling of pre-packaged foods — Specification 
EAS 217-2,  Methods for the microbiological examination of foods — Part 2: General Guidance for the 
enumeration of micro-organisms-colony count Technique at 30 °C 
EAS 217-6,  Methods for microbiological examination of f oods — Part 6: Examination for salmonella spp 
EAS 217-8 , Methods for the microbiological examination of f oods — Part 8: Enumeration of yeast and moulds 
in foods 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/1/3-27 (1994) : The Determination of Lead in Sugar Products by a Colorimetric Method  
ICUMSA Method GS 2/1/3/9-15,  The Determination of Sugar Moisture by Loss on Drying  
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-1, The Braunschweig Method for the Polarisation of White Sugar by Polarimetry  
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-10,  The Determination of White Sugar Solution Colour  
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-17,  The Determination of Conductivity Ash in Refined Sugar Products  
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-23,  Arsenic and Lead in White Sugar, Atom. Adsorp. Spectroscopy 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-29 (1994) : The Determination of Copper in Refi ned Sugar Products by a Colorimetric 
Method  
ICUMSA GS 2/3-35, The Determination of Sulphite in Brown Sugars 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-5,  The Determination of Reducing Sugars in Purified Sugars by the Knight and 
Allen EDTA Method  ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-19, The Determination of Insoluble Matter in White Sugar by Membrane Filtration 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-25 (2007) : The Determination of Arsenic in Refined Sugar Products by a 
Colorimetric Method  EAS 5:2009 
2 © EAC 2009 – All rights reserved
 ICUMSA Method GS 2/9-6,  The Determination of Reducing Sugars in White Sugar by Modified Ofner Method 
ISO 7251,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stu ffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique 
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply: 
3.1 
lot collection of packages of the same size, type and style which have been manufactured and packaged under 
essentially the same conditions 
3.2  
refined white sugar 
purified and granulated sugar, manufactured from any raw sugar by the process of purification consisting 
broadly of affination, melting, chemical treatment, filtration, decolourisati on and re-crystallisation 
3.3 
ICUMSA unit 
international unit developed by International Commissi on for Universal Methods of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA) 
for expressing the purity of sugar and is di rectly related to the colour of sugar 
3.4 
polarisation estimate of the sucrose content of suga r expressed as degrees of polarization 
4 Requirements 
4.1 General requirements 
Refined white sugar shall be in the form of uniform, fr ee-flowing crystals. It shall be free from dirt, foreign and 
extraneous matter. Refined white sugar shall be free from fermented, musty or undesirable odours.  
4.2 Compositional requirements 
The essential composition and quality factor s shall be as laid down in Table 1. 
Table 1 — Composition and quality factors for refined sugar 
S No Characteristic Requirement/Limit Method of test 
i. Polarisation, oZ, min. 99.8 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-1  
ii. Invert Sugar content, % m/m, ma x. 0.04 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-5 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/9-6  
iii. Conductivity ash, % m/m, max.   0.04 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-17 
iv. Moisture content (loss of drying for 3 h at 105 
oC± 2 oC), max.  0.1 ICUMSA Method GS 2/1/3/9-15 
v. Colour, in ICUMSA units at 420 nm, max. 60 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-10  
vi Sulphur dioxide, mg/kg, max. 10  ICUMSA GS 2/3-35 
vii Water insoluble matter, mg/kg. max. 60 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-19  EAS 5:2009 
© EAC 2009 – All rights reserved  3
 5 Food additives  
Refined white sugar may contain only those food additives permitted by Codex Alimentarius for this 
commodity. 
6 Contaminant 
6.1 Metal contaminants 
The maximum permitted levels for metals are set out in Table 2. 
Table 2 — Maximum permissible levels of metal contaminants 
S No Parameter Maximum limit Method of test 
i. Arsenic (As), mg/kg, max.  1 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-25 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-23 
ii. Copper (Cu), mg/kg, max. 2 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-29 
iii. Lead (Pb), mg/kg, max. 0.5  ICUMSA Method GS 2/1/3-27 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3-23 
 
6.2 Pesticide residues 
Refined white sugar shall conform to the maximum re sidue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission for this commodity. 
7 Hygiene 
7.1 General requirements 
Refined white sugar shall be pr epared and handled in accordance with the requirements of EAS 39.  
7.2 Specific requirements 
The product shall conform to the microbiological limits in Table 3. 
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for refined white sugar  
Microbiological parameter Limit Method of test 
Total Plate Count (mesophylic), CFU/10 g , 
max 103 EAS 217-2: 
Yeast and moulds, CFU/10 g, max 50 EAS 217-8  
E.coli, CFU,/g  <1 ISO 7251 
Salmonella, per 25 g absent EAS 217-6 
8 Packaging  
Plantation white sugar shall be packaged in food grade materials that ensure product safety and integrity. EAS 5:2009 
4 © EAC 2009 – All rights reserved
 The material used shall be new, clean and shall pr otect the sugar from contamination and wetting.  
9 Labelling  
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38; the following specific pr ovisions shall apply:- 
a) The name of the product shall be declared as ‘ refined white sugar’ ;   
b) The net contents shall be declared by weight  in metric units ('Systeme international'); 
c) The name and address of the manuf acturer, packer, distributor, importer, exporter or vendor of the 
product shall be declared;  
d) The country of origin of the product shall be declared. When the product undergoes processing in a 
second country which changes its nature, the countr y in which the processing is performed shall be 
considered to be the country of origin for the purposes of labelling. 
10 Method of sampling  
10.1 General requirements for sampling 
In drawing, preparing, storing and handling of 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) The sampling instruments shall be clean and dry when used. 
c) When sampling for microbiological purposes, the sampling instruments and containers for samples 
shall be sterilized preferably by dry heat at 170 oC for 1 h before use. 
d) Precautions shall be taken to protect the sa mples, the material being sampled, the sampling 
instruments and the containers for sample s from adventitious contamination. 
e) The samples shall be placed in clea n, dry, and moisture-proof containers. 
f) The sample containers shall be sealed air-tight after filling and marked with name of material, date of 
sampling, name of the manufacturer, name of the person sampling and such other particulars of the 
consignments. 
g) Samples shall be protected from light as far as practicable and shall be stored in a cool, dry place. 
10.2 Scale of sampling 
10.2.1  All the packages of the same size, type and style which have been manufactured and packaged 
under essentially the same conditions in a single consignment shall constitute a lot. Samples shall be tested 
separately for each lot for ascertaining the conformity of the sugar. 
10.2.2  The number of bags to be selected (n) from the lot shall depend on the size ( N) of the lot and shall be 
in accordance with the formula: 
N n 
These bags shall be selected at random from the lot; to ensure the randomness of selection a random number 
table, as agreed to between the purchaser and the suppl ier shall be used.  In case such a table is not 
available, the following procedure shall be used: EAS 5:2009 
© EAC 2009 – All rights reserved  5
 Starting from any bag, count them as 1, 2, 3, … up to r and so on in one order, where r  is equal to the integral 
part of N/n, N being the total number of bags in the lot and n the number of bags to be selected.  Every r th bag 
thus counted shall be separated until the requisite number  of bags is obtained from the lot to give samples for 
test. 
In case of bags stacked in a pyramidal shape, approximat ely equal number of bags shall be selected from all 
exposed sides of the lot, so as to give the required number of sample bags. 
10.3 Preparation of sample 
10.3.1 Procedure 
From the top, middle and bottom portions of each of the selected bags (see 10.2), approximately equal 
quantity of sugar shall be taken with the help of a suitable sampling instrument.  The sample collected from 
each of the bags shall be thoroughly mixed so as to give a composite sample of 600 g.  The composite 
sample thus prepared shall be divided approximately into three equal parts; one for the purchaser, one for the 
supplier, and the third for the referee and sealed air tight with particulars as given in 10.1.(f). 
10.3.2 Number of tests 
The composite sample prepared as under 10.3.1 shall be tested for the characteristics as prescribed in Table 
1. 
10.3.3 Criteria for conformity 
The lot shall be declared as conforming to this specific ation, when the test results on various characteristics 
obtained on the composite sample sati sfy the corresponding requirements. 
 EAS 5:2009
 
© EAC 2009 — All rights reserved