FINAL DRAFT UGANDA 
STANDARD  
  FDUS EAS 749
First Edition
2011 -mm-dd
 
Reference number
FDUS EAS 749: 2010
 © UNBS 2011
  
Brown sugars — Specification 
 FDUS EAS 749: 2010  
 
© UNBS  2011 – All rights reserved ii 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 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 749: 2010 
© UNBS  2011 - 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 limentariu s Com mission 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 esta
blished 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 wid ely 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 749:2010, Brow n sugars — Specification, is identical with and 
has been reproduced from an East  African Standard, EAS 749:2010, Brown sugars — Specification,  and is 
being proposed for adoption as a Uganda Standard.  
This standard was developed by the Food and Agricu lture Stand ards Technical Committee (UNBS/TC 2).  
Wherever the words, “East African Standard" appear, they sho u ld be replaced by "Uganda Standard." 
 
 EAS 749:2010
 ICS 67.180.10
 
© EAC 2010 First Edition 2010  
 
      
EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
 
Brown sugars — Specification 
 
 
 
 
  
 
   
 
 
 
               
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
HS 1701.99.9000 EAS 749:2010  
 
 
Foreword 
 
Development of the East African Standards ha s 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 Comm unity will be removed.  
 
In order to meet the above objectives, the EAC Partner States h ave enacted an East African 
Standardization, Quality Assurance, Metrology an d Test Act, 2006 (EAC SQMT Act, 2006) to make 
provisions for ensuring standardization, quality as surance, 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 society and the 
environment in the Community. 
 
East African Standards are formulat ed  in accordance with the proc edures established by the East 
African Standards Committee. The East Afri can Standards Committee is established under the 
provisions of Article 4 of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006. The Committee is composed of representatives of 
the National Standards Bodies in Partner States, t ogether with the representatives from the private 
sectors and consumer organizations. Draft East African Standards are circ ulated to stakeholders 
through the National Standards Bodies in the Pa rtner States. The comments received are discussed 
and incorporated before finalization of standards, in accordance with the procedures of the 
Community.  
 
Article 15(1) of the EAC SQMT Act, 2006 provides t hat “Within six months of  the declaration 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 nationa l standard and withdraw any existing national 
standard with similar scope and purpose”. 
 
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep  pa ce 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.  
 
© East African Community 2010 — 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 
                                                 
* © 2010 EAC — All rights of exploitation in any form and by an y means reserved worldwide for EAC Partner States’ NSBs.  
 
ii © EAC 2010 — All rights reserved EAS 749:2010  
 
 
Contents 
 
1 Scope ............................................................................................................................... .......... 1 
2 Normative ref erences .................................................................................................................1 
3 Term s and definitions .................................................................................................................2 
4 R equirements .............................................................................................................................2 
4.1 Gene ral requirements ................................................................................................................2 
4.2 Comp ositional requirements ......................................................................................................2 
5 Food ad ditives ............................................................................................................................3 
6 Contami nants .............................................................................................................................3 
6.1 Pesticid e residues ......................................................................................................................3 
6.2 H eavy metals .............................................................................................................................3 
6.3 Environme nt............................................................................................................................... 3 
7 Hygien e............................................................................................................................... .......3 
8 Packagin g............................................................................................................................... ...4 
9 Labellin g............................................................................................................................... ......4 
10 Method of sa mpling ....................................................................................................................4 
10.1 Gene ral requirements for sampling ............................................................................................4 
10.2 Scale of sa mpling .......................................................................................................................5 
10.3 Prepa ration of sample ................................................................................................................5 
11 Method s of test — Determination of pesticide residues ............................................................5 
 
© EAC 2010 — All rights reserved iii EAS 749:2010  
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
 
Brown sugars — Specification 
 
 
1 Scope 
 
This East African Standard specifies the requirements, methods of sampling and testing for light 
bro
wn and brown sugar  intended for human consumption. 
 
This standard does not apply to soft brown sugars.   
 
2 Normative references 
 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated 
referen
ces, only the edition cited applies. For undated  references, the latest edition of the referenced 
document (including any amendments) applies. 
 
EAS 38, Labelling of pre-packaged foods — Specification  
 
EAS 39, Code of pra ctice for hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industries  
 EAS 217-2, Method
 s 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, Method
 s for microbiological examination of foods — Part 6: Examination for Salmonella 
spp 
 EAS 217-8, Method
 s for the microbiological examination of  foods — Part 8: Enumeration of yeast and 
moulds in foods  
 ICUMSA Method GS 1/2/3/9-1, The Determ
 ination of the Polarisation of Raw Sugar by Polarimetry  
 
ICUMSA Method GS 1/3/4/7/8-13, T he Determination of Conductivity Ash in Raw Sugar, Brown 
Sugar, Juice, Syrup and Molasses  
 ICUMSA Method GS 2/1/3-27, The Determ
 ination 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 2/3-24, The Determ ination of Lead in Sugars and Syrups by a GFAAS Method  
 
ICUMSA  Method  GS  2/3-29, T he Determination of Copper in Refined Sugar Products by a 
Colorimetric Method 
 
ICUMSA GS 2/3-35, Th e 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, T he Determination of Insoluble Matter in White Sugar by Membrane 
Filtration 
 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-25, T he Determination of Arsenic in Refined Sugar Products by a 
Colorimetric Method 
 
ICUMSA Method  GS 2/9-6,  The Determination  of Reducing Sugar s in White  Sugar and Plantation  
White Sugar by the Modified Ofner Titrimetric Method  
 
© EAC 2010 — All rights reserved  1 EAS 749:2010  
ICUMSA Method GS 3/4/7/8-11, The Determination of Sulphated As h in Brown Sugar, Juice, Syrup 
and Molasses  
 
ICUMSA Method GS 9/1/2/3-8, The Determination of Sugar Solution Colour at pH 7.0 by the MOPS 
Method 
 
ISO 7251, Mi crobiology of food and animal feeding stuffs  — 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 followin g terms and definitions shall apply. 
 
3.1 
brown sugars 
Shall be the sugar derived from sugar cane or sugar  beet by partial purification of raw sugar or 
spraying of refined sugar with sugar syrup or molasses followed by subsequent drying and intended 
for direct human consumption. 
 
3.2 
ICUMSA unit An international unit  developed by International  
  Commission for Universal  Methods of Sugar 
Analysis (ICUMSA) for expressing the purity of suga r and is directly related to the colour of sugar. 
 
3.3 
polarisation 
An estimate of the sucrose content of su gar exp ressed as degrees of polarization 
 
3.4 
lot 
collection of packages of the same size, ty pe and style whi ch have been manufactured and packaged 
under essentially the same conditions 
 
4 Requirements 
 
4.1 General requirements 
 
Brown sugars shall be:  
a) brownish in colour 
 
b) Free flowing crystals; 
 c) practically free from dirt, foreign and extraneous matter; and 
 
d) Free from fermented, musty or undesirable odours.  
4.2 Compositional requirements 
 Brown sugars shall conform to the composit io
 nal requirements provided in Table 1. 
2 © EAC 2010 — All rights reserved EAS 749:2010  
 
 
Table 1 — Composition requirements for Brown sugars 
 
S No Characteristic Requirement/limits Methods of test 
i.  Light bro wn brown  
ii. Polarisation, °Z, min. 99.2 99.0 ICUMSA Method GS 1/2/3/9-1 
 Invert sugar content, % m/m, 
max. 0.2 0.2 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-5 
ICUMSA Method GS 2/9-6, 
iii. Conductivity ashes, % m/m, max.  0.3 0.3 ICUMSA Method GS 1/3/4/7/8-13
iv. Moisture content (loss on drying 
for 3 h at 105
 °C ± 2 °C), max. 0.15 0.2 ICUMSA Method GS 2/1/3/9-15 
v. Colour, in ICUMSA units, max 700 1300 ICUMSA Method GS 9/1/2/3-8 
vi Sulphur dioxide, mg/kg, max. 20 20 ICUMSA GS 2/3-35 
Vii Water insoluble matter, mg/kg, 
max. 250 250 ICUMSA Method GS 2/3/9-19 
 
5 Food additives 
 
Brown sugars may contain only those food additives permitted by Codex Alimentarius Commission . 
 
6 Contaminants 
 
6.1 Pesticide residues 
 
Brown sugar shall conform to with those maximum pesticid e residue limits established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission. 
 
6.2 Heavy metals 
 
Brown sugar shall conform to with those maximum he avy metal contaminant limits established by the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
 
6.3 Environment 
 
Brown sugar shall be produced, processed and handled under conditions complying with the 
stipulatio
ns of relevant envir onmental regulations and therefor e conform to cleaner production 
technological practices. 
 
7 Hygiene 
 
7.1 Produc tion of Brown sugar shall be done in ac cordance with the provisions of EAS 39 Code 
of practice for food and drink manufacturing industries 
 
7.2 Whe n tested using appropriate methods of sampling and examination listed in Clause 2, the 
products: 
 
⎯ shall be free from microorganisms in amounts which may represent a hazard to health and 
shall n
ot exceed the limits stipulated in Table 2; 
 
⎯ shall be free from parasites which may represent a hazard to health; and 
 
⎯ shall not contain any substance originati ng from microorganisms in amounts which may 
represent a hazard to health. 
 
© EAC 2010 — All rights reserved  3 EAS 749:2010  
Table 2 — Microbiological limits for brown sugars 
 
Microbiological parameter Limits Method of test 
Total Plate Count (mesophylic), cfu/10g ,
max103 EAS 217-2: 
Yeast and moulds, cfu/10 g, max 50 EAS 217-8 
Escherichia coli, cfu,/g <1 ISO 7251 
Salmonella, per 25 g Absent EAS 217-6 
 
8 Packaging 
 
8.1 Brown sugars shall be packaged in food grade materials that ensure product safety and 
integrity.  
 
NOTE Packaging materials may be required to meet different  regulations in the differ ent destination countries.  
 
8.2 The p ackage fill shall conform to the requirements of the legal metrology of the Partner 
States. 
 
9 Labelling 
 
In addition to the requirements of EAS 38, the following specific pr ovisions shall apply: 
 
a) The name of the product as light brown su g ar, brown sugar and any other name from country 
of origin reflecting nature of the product. 
 b) The net contents shall be declared by weight in the metric unit
 s ('Systeme International'); 
 c) The name, address and physical location of the
  manufacturer and/or the packer, distributor, 
importer, exporter or vendor of the product shall be declared; and 
 d) The country of origin of the prod
 uct shall be declared. 
 
e) Batch or Lot number 
 f) Date of manufacture, in the form ‘month and year’ 
 
g) Expiry date in the form ‘month and year’ 
 
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 ob
served. 
 
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 °C for 1 h before use. 
 d) Precautions shall be taken to protect the sa mple
 s, 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 moistu
 re-proof containers. 
 
4 © EAC 2010 — All rights reserved EAS 749:2010  
 
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 package
 s of the same size, ty pe 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 fo r ascertaining the conformity of the sugar. 
 
10.2.2 The numb er 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 lo t; to ensure the randomness of selection a random 
number table, as agreed to between the purchaser and the supplier shall be used. In case such a 
table is not available, the following procedure shall be used: 
 
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 rth bag thus counted shall be separated until t he requisite number of bags is obtained 
from the lot to give samples for test. 
 
In case of bags stacked in a pyramidal shape, approximately equal number of bags shall be selected 
from all expo
sed 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 t he 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 s pecifi cation, when the test results on various 
characteristics obtained on the composite sample satisfy the corresponding requirements. 
 
11 Methods of test — Determination of pesticide residues 
 
The pesticide residues shall be determined according to AOAC methods of analysis for pesticides. 
(970.5
2, 985.22, and 970.53 of 1990).  
 
© EAC 2010 — All rights reserved  5 EAS 749:2010  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
© EAC 2010 — All rights reserved