Technical Specifications for the manufacture of:

FORTIFIED DATE-BARS
(GAZA-IRAQ specifications)

Specification reference No.: Date-bars

Date of issue: September 2009
Version: 1.0
Updated: 16 September 2010

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Product purpose

Date-bars are provided as a supplement to the diet of school children.

1.2 Product type

Date-bars are biscuits filled with date paste which is fortified with a premix of
minerals and vitamins. Date-bars provide a supplement of energy, proteins, fats and
micronutrients to the daily food ration. Date-bars are culturally well-accepted by
populations living in Middle East, and belong to the category of ready-to-eat food.

1.3 Standards and recommendations

Date-bars shall be manufactured in accordance with:

ƒ “Recommended International Code of Practice: General Principles of Food
Hygiene”
ƒ CAC/RCP 1-1969 Rev 3 1997 Amended (1999) including Annex “Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Point (HACCP) System and Guidelines for its application”

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2. RAW MATERIALS

2.1 Main ingredients

Date-bars shall be manufactured from fresh raw materials of good quality, free from
foreign materials, substances hazardous to health, excessive moisture, insect damage
and fungal contamination and shall comply with all relevant food laws and standards.

Date-bars shall be manufactured from high quality wheat flour, dried skimmed milk,
dates and sugar and other ingredients according to the Recommended International
Code of Practice – General Principles of Food Hygiene CAD/RCP 1-1969, Rev.4,
2003.

Biscuit
¾ Wheat flour should conform to Codex STAN 152-1985.
¾ Shortening: the only shortening agent allowed is palm oil as per codex STAN 074-
1981.
¾ Sugar should conform to Codex STAN 212-1999.
¾ Skimmed milk powder should conform to Codex STAN 207-1999.
- It shall be accompanied by a ‘melamine-free’ certificate.
- Maximum level aflatoxin M1: < 0.5 mcg/kg milk (recommended methods ISO
14501/IDF 171:20071 or ISO 14674/IDF 190:20052).
¾ Additives
- Lecithin shall be in proportion as specified in the Codex STAN 074-1981.
- Raising (SODA) agent as specified in the codex STAN 074-1981, the maximal
value is determined by the GMP principles.
- Shortening: the only shortening agent allowed is palm oil as per codex STAN
074-1981.

Date paste
¾ Date should conform to Codex STAN 143-1985.

¾ Sugar should conform to Codex STAN 212-1999.

¾ Shortening: the only shortening agent allowed is palm oil as per codex STAN 074-
1981.

1
Milk and milk powder: determination of aflatoxin M1 content, clean up by immunoaffinity
chromatography and determination by HPLC.
2
Milk and milk powder: determination of aflatoxin M1 content, clean up by immunoaffinity
chromatography and determination by Thin Layer Chromatography.

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The ingredients must be stored under dry, ventilated and hygienic conditions. Only safe
insecticides (i.e. phosphine gas) may be used for storage. Fumigation SOP
(http://foodquality.wfp.org/Portals/0/Fumigation%20SOP%20WFP.swf).

2.2 Vitamins and minerals

¾ Minerals and vitamins they shall conform to Codex Standard CAC/GL 10-1979 –
Advisory list of nutrient compounds for use in foods for special dietary uses
intended for infant and young children.
¾ The addition of the premix shall conform to Codex Standard CAC/GL 09-1987-
General principles for the addition of essential nutrients to foods.
Complete premixes must be purchased from a WFP approved suppliers: DSM,
Fortitech, Nicholas Piramal and Hexagon Nutrition or their authorized dealer (addresses
of suppliers are in annex).

Micronutrient premixes must be delivered to the processor of Date-bars with a

complete Certificate of Analysis as well as with a Proof of purchase of premixes. The
two documents must be presented with other documents for payment.

Premixes must be stored in a dry, cool and clean place where the temperature does not
exceed 25 oC.

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3. PROCESSING

3.1 Formula
Date-bars are filled biscuits in which the biscuit represents 70% of the bar and the
filling with date paste represents the other 30%. The formula is proposed in table 1.
Table 1: Formula of Date- bars
Part 1: Biscuit (dough) Percentage
1 Wheat flour 37.10
2 Fat (palm oil) 8.75
3 Raising agent 1.40
4 Water 7.00
5 Milk 8.75
6 Sugar (sacharose/fructose/glucose) 7.00
Total dough 70.00
Part 2: Date paste (filling)
1 Fat (palm oil) 1.13
2 Sugar (sacharose/fructose/glucose) 3.00
3 Date 25.63
4 Premix 0.25
Total filling 30.00
Total (p.1+ p.2) 100.00

3.2 Mixing with premix of minerals and vitamins

Dosage: premix quantity to add is 835g of premix /100 kg of total filling which
represents 30% of the finished product.
Mode of mixing: Premix should be added in the date paste filling, as follow:
ƒ To dilute the premix homogeneously in the added sugar.
ƒ To mix the added sugar + premix with the shortening in the Z-shape blender.
ƒ To add 1/3rd of the date paste in the Z-shape blender
ƒ To mix for 5 – 10 minutes
ƒ To add the remaining of date paste in the Z-shape blender
ƒ To mix for an additional 10 – 15 minutes.
Date-bars manufacturers should send their calculations to the Quality control Unit in
Rome for purpose of verification.

3.3 Food safety and risk assessment at manufacturing premises

For compliance with Codex standards the processor must be able to demonstrate by
principle and practice the adoption, implementation and recording of:
ƒ Good Manufacturing Practice
ƒ Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point program

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In this context an appointed WFP Inspector / Quality Surveyor is entitled to visit the
factory without prior notice during any period when WFP product is being
manufactured to check that the GMP and HACCP systems are in place. The Inspector /
Quality Surveyor may request to see:
ƒ Records (i.e. names of people in charge of the process and quality control,
temperatures of the process, mixing times / quantity, cleaning schedules, etc).
ƒ Procedures (e.g. cleaning, personnel hygiene, HACCP, sampling and analysis).
ƒ Instructions (e.g. process instructions, cleaning instructions).
ƒ The quality manual for the process or factory.

The manufacturer must be registered under national food law as a processor of foods
for human consumption.

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4. PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
4.1 Moisture content 12% maximum

4.2 Nutritional value: it shall contain the following nutritional value per 100 g dry
matter:
ƒ Energy 430 kcal
ƒ Protein 8.0 % (N x 6.25)
ƒ Fat 12.0 %
ƒ Added sugar 10.0 %

4.3 Micronutrient
Date-bars must be fortified with a premix in order to provide the following micro
nutrient supplement per 100g dry matter of finished product:

Table 2: Micronutrient rate and chemical form

Micronutrients Per 100g Chemical form
Vitamins
Vitamin A IU DRY V ITAMIN A PALMITATE
947 250 S/N
Vitamin D 114 IU DRY VITAMIN D3 100 SD/S
Tocopherol Equivalent (Vitamin mg DRY VITAMIN E 50% CWS/S
E) 4.0
Vitamin K1 0.03 mg Dry Vitamin K1 5% SD
Thiamine (Vitamin B1) 0.51 mg THIAMINE MONONITRATE
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) 0.51 mg B2 UNIVERSAL FINE POWDER
Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) 0.57 mg PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE
Vitamin C 17.0 mg ASCORBIC ACID
Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) 0.17 mg Folic Acid 10% on Potato Malt
Niacinamide 6.8 mg NIACINAMIDE
Vitamin B12 1.02 µg Vitamin B12 0.1% WS N
Minerals
Copper 0.34 mg Copper Gluconate
Iron 7.10 mg Ferric Pyrophosphate
Zinc 3.18 mg Zinc Oxide

The permitted variation in premix content is -10 to +15% for added vitamins and +/-
10% for added minerals.
Note: Variable levels of micronutrients naturally present in raw materials lead to
variable amount of micronutrients in finished product.

4.4 Microbiology
ƒ not to exceed the following levels of microbiological contamination in the finished
product:

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 Table 3: Limit of microorganisms in Date-bars
Microorganisms Maximum levels
Mesophyllic aerobic bacteria 10,000 cfu per g
Coliforms < 10 cfu per g
Salmonella 0 per 25g
Escherichia Coli < 3 cfu per g
Staphylococcus < 3 cfu per g
Yeasts and moulds 100 per g

4.5 Additional Requirements

Date-bars shall meet the following additional requirements:

Taste: it shall have a pleasant smell and palatable taste which children will like and
enjoy.

Shelf life: it shall retain above qualities for at least six months from date of
manufacture when stored dry at ambient temperatures prevalent in the country of
destination

Safety: it shall be free from objectionable matter; not contain any substances
originating from micro-organisms or any other poisonous or deleterious substances
such as anti-nutritional factors, heavy metals or pesticide residues, in amounts which
may represent a hazard to health:

- Toxins
¾ permitted level of aflatoxin M1: < 0.5 ppb

- Heavy Metals
¾ Arsenic (As) < 0.10 ppm
¾ Cadmium (Cd) < 0.10 ppm
¾ Lead (Pb) < 0.02 ppm
¾ Mercury (Hg) < 0.20 ppm

- Pesticide residues
¾ Carbamate < 10 ppb
¾ Organochlorine < 10 ppb
¾ Organophosphorus < 10 ppb
¾ Pyrethroid < 10 ppb

- Melamine max 2.5 mg/kg

Other requirements
¾ Free from radioactivity.
¾ Free from Genetically Modified Organisms (if required by the contract).

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5. PACKAGING

The Date-bars shall be individually packed in containers which will ensure the hygiene
and the quality of the product.
Any packaging material shall be made of safe substances, suitable for Date-bars
conservation, ideally a laminated plastic foil. For long preservation an aluminium layer will
be required.

6. MARKING
On packs
ƒ Name of the product: Date-bars.
ƒ Net content: 80 g.
ƒ Nutrition information.
- Energy (in kcal/100g dry matter).
- Protein (in g/100g dry matter).
- Fat (in g/100g dry matter).
- Enriched with 11 vitamins and 3 minerals.
ƒ Best before date.
ƒ Additional marking as per contractual agreement.

On cartons
ƒ Name of the product: Date-bars.
ƒ Net content: ....packs x 80g
ƒ Name and address of the supplier (including country of origin).
ƒ Batch number (or SI).
ƒ Best before date.
ƒ Additional marking as per contractual agreement.

7. STORING

Date-bars must be stored under dry, ventilated and hygienic conditions.

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