1. Overview 

In today’s competitive beverage market, ensuring the quality and safety of your products is more important than ever. Whether you're producing alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, or spirits, or non-alcoholic drinks like juices, sodas, or water, adhering to international and national standards is essential for consumer trust and regulatory compliance.

RSB, through Zamukana Ubuziranenge Program offer a comprehensive support services at no cost for SMEs through conducting gap assessment, technical assistance, capacity building, quality testing and equipment calibration that validate the safety, quality, and compliance of both alcoholic (Beer, Wine, Spirits) and non-alcoholic (fruit based, water based, read to drink coffee and tea) beverages and drinking water. Our goal is to help manufacturers meet stringent safety and hygiene requirements while maintaining the highest levels of product quality. 

We provide comprehensive technical support services that encompass:

• Gap Assessments: Identifying areas in your production process that need improvement to meet national and international standards.
• Tailored Training Programs: Offering specialized training to your teams on industry best practices, regulatory compliance, and product safety.
• Process Optimization: Working closely with your production teams to enhance operational efficiency while maintaining product quality.
• Calibration and Testing Services: Ensuring your equipment and processes meet the highest standards through regular testing and calibration.
• SME Support: Special assistance programs designed to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) meet certification requirements and grow sustainably in the competitive beverage market.

Through coaching, SMEs are accompanied in the journey of establishing, maintaining and continually improve food safety systems that guarantee the production of beverage products responding to safety and quality requirements of customers and applicable standards, taking also into account compliance to statutory and regulatory requirements. 

Since its establishment in 2017 up to June 2024, Zamukana Ubuzirange program has assisted different SMEs that led to the certification of more than 120 products.
Currently (2024/2025) 20 SMEs in beverage production, are being facilitated to acquire certification on different food safety scheme namely HACCP and S-Mark; and some of these SMEs have reached the upper level of compliance.

2. Key applicable standards

Almost all the beverages found on the market have been standardized. Moreover, I order to assist producers and manufacturer to ensure their products meet the applicable specification and technical regulations, different code of practice, pre-requisite programs (PRP) and management systems standards were developed. 

The list below provides standards on the most common products and applicable cross cutting standards identified as key for quality and safety improvement in agro-processing and used when providing technical assistance to SMEs. 

Cross cutting standards 

• RS ISO 22000 Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain
• RS 184, Food safety system management system based on HACCP — Requirements
• RS CAC/RCP1-1969, Code of practice — General Principles for Food Hygiene
• RS ISO 22002-1: Prerequisite programmes on food safety—Part 1: Food Manufacturing
• ISO 22005: 2007 Traceability in the feed and food chain—General principles and basic    requirements for system design and implementation
• RS EAS 38:2013 Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods — Specification
• RS 340: 2017 Food processing machinery — Specification

Product standards (Specification)

a) Fruit and water based soft drinks

• RS 121-1    Energy Drinks — Specification
• RS 14    Carbonated soft drinks — Specification
• RS 358    Banana juice — Specification
• RS 381    Plant flavored soft drink — Specification
• RS 414    Sugarcane juice — Specification
• RS 79    Flavored soft drinks — Specification
• RS 496-2    Malted sorghum drinks — Specification — Part 2: Soft Drink (Ubushera)
• RS EAS 77    Fruits drinks — Specification
• RS EAS 948    Fruit juices, puree, pulp and nectars — Specification

b) Alcoholic beverages

• RS 224    Urwagwa — Specification
• RS 343    Banana based alcoholic beverages — Specification
• RS 344    Plant flavoured alcoholic drinks — Specification
• RS 346    Liqueur — Specification
• RS 496-1 Malted sorghum drinks — Specification — Part 1: Alcoholic drink (Ikigage)
• RS EAS 104    Alcoholic Beverages — Method of sampling and test
• RS EAS 109    Potable spirit — Specification 
• RS EAS 138    Still table wine — Specification
• RS EAS 139    Fortified Wine — Specification
• RS EAS 140    Sparkling Wine — Specification
• RS EAS 141    Whisky — Specification
• RS EAS 142    Vodka — Specification
• RS EAS 143    Brandy — Specification
• RS EAS 144    Neutral Spirit — Specification
• RS EAS 145    Gin — Specification
• RS EAS 146    Rum — Specification
• RS EAS 63    Beer — Specification

Do you want to purchase any of the above standards or any other relevant standard including product standards (Specifications), codes of practice or guidelines applicable to your product(s) or process(es)? Please click on: portal.rsb.gov.rw

3. Objectives of technical assistance to SMEs operating in value chains under the scope of agricultural products 

The prime goal for Zamukana Ubuziranenge (ZU) Program is to support SMEs in his journey toward S-Mark or System (HACCP and FSMS) certification. The certification requirements are found on the link below:

• S-Mark certification: www.rsb.gov.rw/certifications/product-certification
• System Certification (HACCP based on RS184 and FSMS based on RSISO22000) www.rsb.gov.rw/certifications/system-certification/introduction

4. The list of certified clients, products and systems is accessible through:

• S-Mark certified alcoholic beverages,  https://www.rsb.gov.rw/certifications/directories/liquors-banana-and-plant-based-alcoholic 
• S-Mark certified clients for other fruit and water based nonalcoholic beverages: https://www.rsb.gov.rw/certifications/directories/products-with-s-marks
• FSMS certified clients: https://www.rsb.gov.rw/certifications/directories/fsms-certified-company
• HACCP certified clients: https://www.rsb.gov.rw/certifications/directories/haccp-certified-companies 
• QMS certified clients: https://www.rsb.gov.rw/certifications/directories/qms-certified-companies

5. How to reach out Zamukana Ubuziranenge Program for more information or application for Technical Assistance? 

• For more information on technical assistance provided under ZU program, send us an email to zamukana.ubuziranenge@rsb.gov.rw  or call 3250,
• Do you have a complaint, an enquiry, please click on:  https://portal.rsb.gov.rw/contacts.php
• Do you want to apply for Technical Assistance, fill in this form: https://forms.gle/6WwEhdBSxT2HF2Sj7