,"The East African Community (EAC) has released Draft East African Standard DEAS 1309:2025, under ICS 67.100.10, establishing comprehensive specifications for fortified yoghurt, fortified alternate culture yoghurt, and fortified acidophilus milk intended for human consumption. The draft standard applies exclusively to products derived from animal-source milk and aims to harmonise quality, safety, and nutritional requirements across EAC Partner States to reduce trade barriers and enhance consumer protection. It defines fortified yoghurt as a fermented milk product produced using thermophilic starter cultures with the deliberate addition of essential micronutrients, and it covers multiple product forms including set, stirred/drinking, frozen, Greek, Greek-style, probiotic, heat-treated, fruit, and lactose-free variants.
DEAS 1309:2025 categorises fortified yoghurt products based on fat content, specifying numerical limits for each category: whole milk/full cream yoghurt must contain 3.25–4.5% milk fat, fat-reduced yoghurt 1.51–3.24%, low-fat yoghurt 0.5–1.50%, fat-free yoghurt less than 0.5%, and high-fat yoghurt 4.6–15%, all determined using ISO 23318. Across all categories, the minimum milk solids non-fat content is set at 8.5%, minimum milk protein content at 2.7%, and pH must fall within 4.0–4.6, with titratable acidity not less than 0.6% lactic acid. For microbiological quality, the sum of starter culture microorganisms must be at least 10⁷ CFU/g, while labelled probiotic microorganisms, where claimed, must be present at a minimum of 10⁶ CFU/g, except in heat-treated products where these requirements do not apply. Lactose-free products must not exceed 0.1% lactose by mass.
The standard introduces explicit fortification requirements, mandating that fortified yoghurt products contain at least three micronutrients from a specified list. Mandatory micronutrients include Vitamin A (109–227 µg/100 g), Vitamin B12 (0.3–0.82 µg/100 g), and Vitamin D (1.0–2.6 µg/100 g), while optional micronutrients include Folic acid (31.5–49.2 µg/100 g), Iodine (26.6–66.4 µg/100 g), Selenium (4.3–10.7 µg/100 g), and Zinc (836–2,090 µg/100 g). All fortificants must comply with internationally recognised pharmacopeial or Codex specifications, including BP, USP, Ph Eur, FCC, or FAO/WHO Codex standards.
Strict microbiological safety limits are also prescribed, requiring absence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in 25 g, coliforms not exceeding 10 CFU/g, Staphylococcus aureus below 10 CFU/g, and yeasts and moulds not exceeding 10² CFU/g. Chemical safety provisions cap lead at a maximum of 0.02 mg/kg and aflatoxin M1 at a maximum of 0.5 µg/kg, while pesticide and veterinary drug residues must comply with Codex maximum residue limits. Packaging must use food-grade materials, and labelling must clearly declare the product name, type, fat category, fat content, animal source of milk, probiotic microorganisms where applicable, and lactose content for lactose-free products, alongside mandatory nutrition labelling and regulated nutrition and health claims.
Overall, DEAS 1309:2025 represents a significant regulatory step toward harmonised dairy fortification standards within the East African Community, providing precise numerical benchmarks for composition, fortification, microbiological safety, contaminants, labelling, and sampling, while supporting improved nutritional quality, food safety assurance, and regional trade integration."