DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS  2996 :2024  
ICS 67.200 
First Edition  
  
 © KEBS 2024  
 Edible macadamia oil  — Specification  
 
  
 
 
DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS  2996 :2024  
ICS 67.200 
First  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2024– All rights reserved  ii 
  TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
University of Nairobi  
Egerton University  
Kapa Oil Refineries Ltd.  
Bidco Africa Ltd.  
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)  
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI)  
Government Chemists Department  
Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) — Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate (NOCD)  
Kakuzi PLC  
Kenya tta National Hospital (KNH)  
Fairoils EPZ Limited  
Sasini PLC  
Jungle Nuts Limited  
Kenya Nut Company Limited  
Wish Kenya Limited  
Fairoils EPZ Limited  
Upfield Kenya Limited  
 
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS  2996 :2024  
ICS 67.200 
First  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2024– All rights reserved  iii 
  REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed.  Suggestions for 
improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, are 
welcome.  
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 2024  
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 130 of 2001 of the Laws of Kenya, copyr ight subsists 
in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 25 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Burea u of Standards 
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing f rom the 
Managing Director.   DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS  2996 :2024  
ICS 67.200 
First  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2024– All rights reserved  iv 
  Edible macadamia oil  — Specification    
 
 
Kenya Bureau of Standards,  Popo Road, Off Mombasa Road,  
P.O. Box 54974 - 00200,  Nairobi, Kenya  
 +254 020 6948000, + 254 722202137, + 254 734600471  
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 @KEBS_ke  
 kenya bureau of standards (kebs)  
  
DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS  2996 :2024  
ICS 67.200 
First  Edition  
 
© KEBS 2024– All rights reserved  v 
  Foreword  
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Edible fats and oils  Technical Committee under the guidance of the 
Standards Projects Committee, and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau of Standards  
This standard addresses the quality and safety requirements necessary to produce a safe product for human 
consumption .  The development of this standard also seeks to promote local production , consumption,  and 
trade  of edible macadamia oil to reduce the overreliance on importation . Additionally, the standard specifies 
requirements for both virgin and refined (non -virgin) macadamia oils giving distinct quality and safety 
requirements for each . 
During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following document (s):  
                   CXS 19: Standard for Edible Fats and Oils not Covered by Individual Standards  
                   Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food  Sciences Vol. 11 No. 2  
                   Chemistry Connection Macadamia Nut Oil Technical Data Sheet  
                   HortScience Vol. 54 (4) Assessing Fatty Acid profiles of Macadamia Nuts  
                   Processes 2022, Chemistry and Functionality of Cold -Pressed Macadamia Oil  
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from these source s  
 
I 
 
 
 
 
 DKS  2996 :2024  
© KEBS 2024– All rights reserved  vi 
  DRAFT KENYA STANDARD  DKS  2996 :2024  
 
© KEBS 2024  – All rights reserved  1 
 Edible macadamia oil  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This draft Kenya standard specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for virgin and refined macadamia 
oil derived from the kernel of the macadamia nuts of varieties grown from Macadamia integrifolia  and 
Macadamia tetraphylla , and their hybrids  intended for human consumption.  
2 Normative 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 edition of the re ferenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
CXG 66, Guidelines for the Use of Flavourings  
CXS 192, General Standard for Food Additives  
KS EAS 38, Labelling of prepackaged foods  — Specification  
KS EAS 3 9, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry  — Code of Practice  
KS EAS 769, Fortified edible fats and oils — Specification  
KS EAS 803, Nutrition Labelling — Requirements  
KS EAS 804,  Claims — General requirements  
KS EAS 805, Use of  nutrition and health claims — Requirement s 
KS ISO 660, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of acid value and acidity  
KS ISO 661, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Preparation of test sample  
KS ISO 662, Animal and Vegetable fats and oils — Determination of moisture and volatile matter content  
KS ISO 663, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of insoluble impurities content  
KS ISO 3657, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of saponification value  
KS ISO 396 0, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of peroxide  value  
KS ISO 396 1, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of iodine  value  
KS ISO 5555, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Sampling  
KS ISO 6320, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of refractive index  
KS ISO 6883, Animal and vegetable fats and oils  — Determination of  conventional mass per volume (litre weight 
in air)  
KS ISO 10539,  Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of alkalinity  
KS ISO 12193, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of  lead by direct graphite furnace atomic 
absorption spectroscopy  DKS  2996 :2024  
© KEBS 2024  – All rights reserved  2 
 KS ISO 13547 -2, Copper, lead, zinc and nickel sulfide concentrates — Determination of  arsenic Part 2 : Acid 
digestion and by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and spectrometric method  
KS ISO 16050, Foodstuffs — Determination of afflatoxin B1, and the total content of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products — High-performance liquid chromatographic method  
ISO 21033, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of trace elements by inductively coupled 
plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP -OES)  
 
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.   
3.1  
virgin macadamia oil  
edible macadamia  oil obtained without altering its nature that may be obtained by use of mechanical procedures 
such as expelling or pressing, with or without the application of heat and without the use of solvents. It may 
have been purified by washing with water, settling , filtering and /or centrifuging only.  
3.2 
refined (non -virgin) macadamia oil  
edible macadamia  oil obtained by mechanical procedures and/or solvent extraction and subjected to refining 
processes.  
3.3   
foreign matter  
any undesirable material visible with naked eye in a packaged macadamia oil.  
3.4   
food grade packaging material  
packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for the intended use and which will not 
impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product . 
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
Edible macadamia oil shall:  
a) be free from foreign matter  
b) be free from rancid or undesirable odour and/or taste.  
c) have colour characteristic of macadamia oil.  
4.2 Specific requirements  
Edible macadamia oil shall comply with the specific requirements given in Table 1, when tested in accordance 
with the methods specified therein.  DKS  2996 :2024  
© KEBS 2024  – All rights reserved  3 
  
Table 1 — Specific compositional and quality requirements for edible macadamia oil  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i) Moisture and Volatile matter at 105 °C, 
%, m/m, max.  0.2 
 KS ISO 662  
ii) Insoluble impurities, %, m/m, max.  0.05 
 KS ISO 663  
iii) Soap Content, %, m/m, max.  0.005  KS ISO 10539  
iv) Acid value, (mg/KOH/g (max).  
Virgin  
Refined   
4.0 
0.6 KS ISO 660  
v) Peroxide value, (mEq oxygen/kg 
(max.))  
Virgin  
Refined   
15 
10 KS ISO 3960  
vi) Iron (Fe) mg/kg, max. \ 
Virgin  
Refined   
5.0 
2.5 ISO 21033  
 
vii) Copper, mg/kg, max.  
Virgin  
Refined   
0.4 
0.1 
viii) Iodine Value  gI2 per 100g  65-85 KS ISO 3961  
ix) Saponification value, mg KOH/g oil  190-200 KS ISO 3657  
x) Refractive index, at 20ºC 1.460 - 1.470 KS ISO 6320  
xi) Relative density at 20  ºC 0.905 -0.920 KS ISO 6883  
 
5 Fortification  
Edible refined macadamia oil may be fortified . Where fort ification of edible macadamia oil is done, it  shall be in 
accordance with KS EAS 769  DKS  2996 :2024  
© KEBS 2024  – All rights reserved  4 
 6  Food additives  
6.1 Edible virgin macadamia oil shall not contain food additives.  
6.2 Food additives when used in edible refined macadamia oil shall comply with CXS 192  
7  Flavouring agents  
7.1 Edible virgin macadamia oil shall not contain flavouring agents  
7.2 Flavouring agents when used in edible refined macadamia oil shall comply with CXG 66.  
8 Contaminants  
8.1 Pesticide residues  
Edible macadamia  oil shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex  
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity .  
8.2 Heavy metal contaminants  
Edible macadamia  oil shall comply with the maximum limits of heavy metals as specified in Table 2 when tested 
in accordance with the test methods therein.  
                            Table 2  Heavy metal contaminants limits in Edible macadamia oil  
S/N Contaminant (mg/kg)  Max. limit  Test method  
i) Lead (Pb)  0.08 KS ISO 12193  
ii) Arsenic (As  0.1 KS ISO 13547 -2 
 
8.3 Aflatoxins  
Aflatoxin levels in edible macadamia oil shall not exceed the limits given in Table 3 when tested in accordance 
with the test method specified therein.  
Table 3 — Aflatoxin limits for edible macadamia oil  
S/No.  Characteristic  Maximum limit  
µg/kg  Test method  
i.  Total aflatoxin  10 
KS ISO 16050  
ii.  Aflatoxin B1  5 
 DKS  2996 :2024  
© KEBS 2024  – All rights reserved  5 
 9  Hygiene  
Edible macadamia oil shall be produced, processed, handled,  and stored in accordance with KS EAS 39.  
10  Packaging  
Edible macadamia  oil shall be packaged in food grade packaging material and  sealed in a manner that will 
safeguard the hygienic, nutritional,  and organoleptic properties of the product . 
11  Labelling  
In addition to the labelling requirements specified in KS EAS 38, the following information shall be legibly and 
indelibly labelled;  
a) name of the product as Macadamia oil  
b) type of the oil as  
        i). Virgin  
        ii). Refined (Non -virgin)  
12  Nutrition and health claims  
Edible macadamia oil may have claims on nutrition and health. Such claims when declared shall comply with 
KS EAS 803, KS EAS 804 and KS EAS 805  
13 Sampling  
Sampling and sample preparation for test shall be done in accordance with KS 1SO 5555 and KS ISO 661 
respectively.  
 
 DKS  2996 :2024  
© KEBS 2024  – All rights reserved  6 
 Annex  A 
(informative ) 
 
Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC) fatty acid composition  
When required the fatty acid profile should be determined by Gas Liquid Chromatography. Ranges of fatty acids 
are as given in Table A.1 . 
Table  A.1 — GLC  fatty acid  composition  for edible  macadamia  oil 
 
Carbon configuration  Composition,  % 
C12:0 ˂ 0.1 
C14:0 ˂ 1.5 
C16:0  7.0 – 12.0 
C16:1  14.0-25.0 
C17:0  ˂ 0.2 
C17: 1 ˂ 0.1 
C18:0  2.0 – 6.0 
C18:1  50.0 – 70.0 
C18:2  1.0 – 5.0 
C18:3   ˂ 1.0 
C20:0  1.5 – 3.0 
C20:1  1.5 - 3.0   
C22:0  ˂ 1.0 
C22:1  ˂ 1.0 
C24:0  ˂ 0.5 
 
 DKS 2996 :2024    
 
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