Peas: Grading factors

Chapter 16. Peas (PDF, 639 KB)
Full list of grading factors

Important: Images may vary in appearance due to factors such as monitor settings, viewing distance/angle and surrounding light.

B

Binburnt (BBT)

Binburnt refers to peas that are blackened as a result of severe heating in storage. There is a single tolerance in feed peas for the total of heated and binburnt.

Bleached (BLCH)

Bleached applies to green peas only.

Green peas are considered bleached if one-eighth or more of the surface of the cotyledon is bleached to a distinct yellow colour which is in marked contrast to its natural colour.

Procedures

  1. Examine a representative portion of the cleaned sample for any distinctly bleached or suspect bleached green peas.
  2. Remove the seed coat from suspect seeds to determine the size of the bleached area on the cotyledons.
  • The two peas indicated are considered to be bleached green peas. The pea in the centre has the overall distinct yellow colour, whereas the circled portion on the second pea indicates that 1/8th of the pea is distinct yellow and therefore meets the definition. The balance of the peas in the picture are not bleached. These peas are not distinct yellow and in fact show a bleed of green through the yellow.

    Figure 1. The two peas indicated are considered to be bleached green peas. The pea in the centre has the overall distinct yellow colour, whereas the circled portion on the second pea indicates that 1/8th of the pea is distinct yellow and therefore meets the definition.

    The balance of the peas in the picture are not bleached. These peas are not "distinct yellow" and in fact show a "bleed" of green through the yellow.

Note: It can be difficult to determine if a pea is bleached without removing enough of the seed coat. Figure 1 shows the peas' colour in contrast with the seed coat. Removing the seed coat over the entire bleached area allows the comparison to its natural colour.

C

Colour (CLR)

Colour as a grade determinant is assessed after the removal of damaged peas and peas of other colours.

Colour grade for peas
If peas are: Colour is:
A bright, normal colour, lightly earth tagged or lightly stained Good
Moderately immature, moderately earth tagged or stained Fair
Not meeting the definition of Fair colour Off colour
Grade of yellow peas depending on type of damage
If a sample of yellow peas contains: The sample is:
Green peas Considered damaged only if peas are damaged from another cause
Whole or split peas which are distinctly green throughout as a result of immaturity or variety Peas of other colours
Immature yellow peas Considered damaged only if peas are damaged from another cause
Immature, but not distinctly green, peas Not considered damaged, but taken into account in the general evaluation of the sample

Contaminated grain

Important: Wear gloves and a mask to handle any sample that is suspected of containing contaminated grain.

Grain is contaminated for the purposes of the Canada Grain Act if the grain contains any substance in sufficient quantity that the grain is either

  1. adulterated for the purposes of the Food and Drugs Act; or 
  2. contaminated within the meaning of the regulations made under section 51 of the Safe Foods for Canadians Act.

Procedures

If a sample is suspected of being contaminated, the sample should be submitted to the Canadian Grain Commission. Determination as to whether grain is contaminated will be made by the Grain Research Laboratory in consultation with the Chief Grain Inspector for Canada. Samples deemed to be contaminated are graded: Peas, Sample Condemned.

Cracked seed coats (CSDC)

Cracked seed coats includes

  • Peas with cracked seed coats—if the peas are otherwise damaged, they are included in the tolerance for damage, not cracked seed coats
  • Peas with all or part of the seed coat removed
  • Broken peas with less than one-fourth of the pea broken off—broken peas with more than one-fourth of the pea broken off are considered damaged

D

Damage (DMG)

Damaged peas include

  • Split or broken peas where more than one-fourth of the pea is broken off
  • Whole peas that are sprouted, heated, shrivelled, damaged by insects, badly deteriorated or discoloured by weather or by disease, or that are otherwise damaged in a way that seriously affects their appearance or quality
  • Peas discoloured by weather, assess as damage
    Discoloured by weather, assess as damage
  • Peas not damaged, assess in evaluation of colour
    Not damaged, assess in evaluation of colour

E

Earth pellets (EP)

See Foreign material.

Ergot (ERG)

Ergot is a plant disease producing elongated fungal bodies that have a purplish-black exterior, a purplish-white to off-white interior, and a relatively smooth surface texture.

Excreta (EXCR)

Excrement from any animal including mammals, birds and insects.

Important : Wear gloves and a mask to handle any samples that you suspect may contain excreta.

Extraneous material

Can be defined as glass, metal, wood, plastic or any other material not already defined in the Official Grain Grading Guide.

F

Fertilizer pellets (FERT PLTS)

Fertilizer pellets are a manufactured plant nutrient product used by producers in the production of grain. They are typically small, round or irregular shaped and usually white, grey, brown, pink or reddish in colour.

Procedures

  • Handpick any fertilizer pellets and determine the concentration basis the net working sample.
  • Fertilizer pellets are assessed as stones when the concentration does not exceed 1.0% of the net sample weight.
  • Samples containing fertilizer pellets in excess of 1.0% of the net sample weight are graded Peas, Held IP Suspect Contaminated Grain.

Fireburnt (FBNT)

Fireburnt kernels have been charred or scorched by fire. No fireburnt kernels are allowed in peas, split peas or feed peas.

Foreign material (FM)

Foreign material is any material other than peas, broken peas or pea seed coats. Foreign material is not a grading factor in feed peas.

H

Heated (HTD)

Peas or split peas that have dull seed coats and discoloured cotyledons ranging from light tan to dark brown are considered heated.

Procedures

  1. Pick out heated peas by hand
  2. Cut the kernels to expose the cotyledon
  3. Heated seeds of other grains are included in the tolerance for Heated
If peas are: Grading is:
Lightly damaged, with tan-coloured cotyledons and distinct heated odour Heated
Otherwise Damaged

I

Immature (IM)

See Colour

Inert material (INERT MTL)

Inert material refers to mineral matter such as stones, coal shale and hard and soft earth pellets.

Insect damage (I DMG)

Insect damage in peas or split peas refers to damage caused by insects such as weevils.

Insect parts (I PARTS)

Insect parts refers to whole or pieces of insects such as grasshoppers, lady bugs and other insects that remain in the sample after cleaning or processing.

If pulse crops come into contact with insects during the harvesting process, it may result in seed staining and earth adhering to the seed and may result in samples having an objectionable odour. Samples containing staining of this nature will be considered to be earth tagged and graded according to colour definitions. Samples having a distinct objectionable odour not associated with the quality of the grain will be graded Type of Grain Sample Account Odour.

M

Marsh spot

This nutritional disorder, caused by manganese deficiency in the soil, results in dark reddish brown spots or cavities on the inner surface of the cotyledons. Marsh spot is considered Other damage in peas.

Procedures

Pearl the representative portion to split and expose the inner surface of the cotyledon.

O

Odour (ODOR)

There is no numeric tolerance for odour. Consider

  • The basic quality of the sample
  • The type and degree of the odour
  • The presence of visible residue causing the odour
Heated, fireburnt and odour for peas
If odour is the grade determinant and there is: Then the grade is:
An excessive objectionable odour not associated with the quality of the grain, but not heated or fireburnt Peas, Sample Canada (colour and size) Account Odour
An excessive heated odour Peas, Sample Canada (colour and size) Account Heated
An excessive fireburnt odour Peas, Sample Canada (colour and size) Account Fireburnt

Other classes (OCL)

Peas are designated into two classes, Peas, Green and Peas, other than Green. The method of determining the class of a pea is by cotyledon colour and, in the case of Maple, Austrian, Vienna and Dun peas, seed coat and cotyledon colour.

Peas of other classes are assessed in Green peas only. For Peas, other than Green, see Peas of other colours.

Other damage (ODMG)

Other damage is

  • Any damage other than splits, insect damage, heated or shrivelled
  • Any discolouration or physical damage on the face of the cotyledon

P

Pink peas

Pink peas refers to staining caused by the bacteria Erwinia Rhapontici

Food peas

  • Surface discolouration is to be considered in the overall colour assessment of the sample
  • Discolouration that extends into the cotyledon is to be considered damaged

Feed peas

  • Colour is not a factor

Care must be taken in assessing these pink peas as there are pink seed treatments for peas being used. Questionable samples are to be handled as per the ISO national procedure for handling suspect contaminated seeds.

Peas of other colours (POOCLR)

Colour is determined by the cotyledon colour and, in the case of Maple, Austrian and Dun peas, seed coat and cotyledon colour. Peas of other colours includes any whole and split peas that are obviously of another colour.

Pulses other than green, yellow or orange peas (PULSESOTGRYELORORGPEA)

In feed peas, pulses other than green, yellow or orange peas refers specifically to maple and marrowfat peas. These are not considered as part of foreign material. Other pulses such as beans, chickpeas and lentils are included in foreign material.

S

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (SCL)

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a fungus producing hard masses of fungal tissue, called sclerotia. The sclerotia vary in size and shape, have a course surface texture, vary in exterior color from dark black to gray to white and have a pure white interior. See Foreign material.

Shrivelled (SHV)

Shrivelled peas are distinctly distorted and shrunken, or have a severely dimpled surface.

  • Sound
    Sound
  • Shrivelled
    Shrivelled

Splits (SPLTS)

Splits include split peas, pea hulls, split peas of other colours, broken pieces that are less than three-quarters of the whole seed, and cotyledons that are loosely held together by the seed coat.

Stones (STNS)

See Foreign Material

T

Treated seed and other chemical substances

Treated seed

Treated seed is grain that has been adulterated with an agricultural chemical for agronomic purposes. The types of agricultural chemicals used to treat seed include pesticides, fungicides and inoculants. These seed dressings contain a dye to render the treated seed visually conspicuous. The colour of the dye varies depending upon the type of treatment and the type of grain. The current Canadian colour standard for pesticide and fungicide seed treatments for cereal (including corn) is red or pink. The colour standard for pesticide and fungicide seed treatments for canola is blue; however, green has also been used. Pulse crop (including soybeans) pesticide and fungicide seed treatments are typically blue or green. The coatings or stains may appear greasy or powdery and the surface area covered may range from tiny flecks to complete coverage.

Other chemical substances

Other chemical substances refers to any chemical residues either adhering to the kernel or remaining in the sample and to samples having a chemical odour of any kind.

Important: Wear gloves and a mask to handle any samples that you suspect may contain contaminated grain

Procedures

If a sample is suspected of being coated with a pesticide, desiccant, inoculant or if the sample contains evidence of any foreign chemical substance other than fertilizer pellets, the sample shall be graded Peas, Held IP Suspect Contaminated Grain.

V

Variety (VAR)

Peas are designated into two classes: Peas, Canada Green and Peas, Canada other than Green. The method of determining the class of a pea is by cotyledon colour and, in the case of Maple, Austrian, Vienna and Dun peas, seed coat and cotyledon colour.

Note: Marrowfat peas are considered as Peas, Canada other than Green.

Procedures

Samples of peas are graded according to the grade determination tables for Peas, Canada Green or Peas, Canada other than Green unless designated by the shipper as feed peas, and then the feed pea grade determination table is used.

Note: On written request, the variety is shown as part of the grade name, for example, Peas, No. 2 Canada, Trapper.

Important: State “Varietal purity not guaranteed” in the remarks section of grading certificates issued using a varietal name.