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Beans: Grading factors

Chapter 19. Beans (PDF, 812 KB)
Full list of grading factors

A

Adhered soil (ADHS)

Adhered soil is soil which clings to beans.

Procedures

  • Completely covered beans are called mudball beans. See Mudball beans.
  • Otherwise, assess the amount of adhered soil against the standard print.

B

Broken (BKN)

See Splits.

C

Classes

There are numerous classes of beans; for example, cranberry beans, blackeye beans, turtle beans. The class of beans forms part of the grade name; for example, Beans, number 1 Canada Cranberry.

Colour (CLR)

Colour is evaluated on the cleaned sample after the removal of splits and damaged beans. There is no numeric tolerance for colour. It is included in the evaluation of the standard of quality of the sample.

Standard of quality Description (for grading)
Good natural colour Beans may be slightly dull, slightly immature or have very lightly adhered soil.
Reasonably good colour Beans are moderately immature, with lightly adhered soil, or are lightly stained, or are lightly discoloured from storage.
Fairly good colour Beans have moderately adhered soil or are stained, or moderately discoloured from storage.
Off colour Beans cannot be considered of fairly good colour.

Sunburned or oxidized

In assessing colour which does not meet grade standards, you may also use the term Sunburned or oxidized, which is a normal discolouration of the seed coat occurring during storage. The colour may vary from light tan to brown or very dark brown, depending on the duration and conditions of storage.

Procedures

Colour is assessed against the standard print for the grade.

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: Beans, Sample Condemned.

Contrasting classes (CON CL)

Beans of another class that contrast in colour, size or shape to the predominant beans in a sample are considered to be of a contrasting class.

D

Damage (DMG)

Damaged beans include

  • Whole, split, or broken beans that are sprouted, very immature, perforated, distinctly deteriorated or discoloured by weather or disease.
  • Beans that are otherwise damaged in a way that seriously affects appearance or quality. This includes mudball beans in commercially clean and processed samples.

Procedures

Beans showing some indication of possible internal damage are to be cut for confirmation of damage.

Important: Damage is the most detrimental grading factor. Refer to the Order of Precedence.
See glossary

E

Earth pellets

  • Hard earth pellets are pellets that do not crumble under light pressure. See Stones.
  • Soft earth pellets are pellets that crumble under light pressure. See Soft earth pellets.

Ergot (ERG)

Ergot is a plant disease producing elongated fungal bodies with 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 Beans, Held IP Suspect Contaminated Grain.

Fireburnt (FBNT)

Fireburnt beans are beans charred or scorched by fire. A cross-section of a fireburnt bean resembles charcoal with numerous air holes. The air holes result in a low weight bean which crumbles easily under pressure.

Procedures

Samples of beans containing any fireburnt seeds are graded Beans, Sample Canada (class) Account Fireburnt.

Foreign material (FM)

This includes any material other than beans or split beans not removed in cleaning.

H

Heated (HTD)

Heated, rotted, and mouldy are included in the same tolerance.

Pea beans

Heating is indicated by a dull seed coat varying from cream to mahogany in colour. The colour is more intense in the hilum area. When viewed in cross-section, the cotyledons vary in colour from tan to dark brown. Very light tan cotyledons are considered damaged rather than heated.

Red kidney beans

Heating is indicated by a dull seed coat, dark red to black in colour.

Procedure
  • To determine the degree of damage, split the bean. Do not cut it crosswise.
  • Heated seeds of other grains are included in the tolerance for Heated.

I

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

Magnesium spot

Magnesium spot is a black spot penetrating the cotyledon, most commonly found in cranberry beans. Affected beans are considered damaged.

Procedures

Initially separate all beans where there is a "suspicion" of internal damage. This "suspicion" will be based on external characteristics or discolouration on the surface of the beans which indicates that the cotyledons may be damaged. Only suspect beans are to be cut and assessed for damage.

Mouldy (MLDY)

Mouldy beans are characterized by the presence of dark blue exterior moulds that develop in machine-damaged crevices. Light and dark red kidney beans may develop yellow to black interior moulds in the concave centre area. Heated, rotted, and mouldy are included in the same tolerance.

Mudball beans

Mudball beans are beans that are completely covered with caked-on mud.

  • In processed or commercially clean samples, mudball beans are considered Damage.
  • In not commercially clean samples, mudball beans are considered dockage.

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 beans
If odour is the grade determinant and there is: Then the grade is:
An objectionable odour, not heated or fireburnt Beans, Sample Canada Account Odour
A heated odour Beans, Sample Canada Account Heated
A fireburnt odour Beans, Sample Canada Account Fireburnt

Other classes of beans that blend (OCLBB)

Classes of beans that blend are sound beans of other classes which are similar in colour, size and shape to the predominant beans in a sample.

R

Rotted (ROT)

Rotted beans are whole beans or pieces of beans that are visibly in advanced stages of decomposition and that feel spongy under pressure. Heated, rotted, and mouldy are included in the same tolerance.

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 coarse surface texture, vary in exterior color from dark black to gray to white and have a pure white interior.

Soft earth pellets (SEP)

Soft earth pellets are pellets that crumble under light pressure—if they do not crumble, they are considered Stones. These pellets can be

  • Earth and fertilizer pellets
  • Any non-toxic material of similar consistency

Earth pellets are classed as foreign material.

Splits (SPLTS)

Splits include split beans, broken pieces of beans that are less than three-quarters of whole kernels, and halves of beans that are loosely held together by cracked seed coats.

Important: Splits do not include beans that are otherwise damaged. In other words, if a split is damaged, it is graded as Damage, not as splits.

Procedures

Use a slotted sieve to help separate splits. Return to the sample any whole beans which pass through the sieve.

Stones (STNS)

Stones are hard shale, coal, hard earth pellets, and any other non toxic materials of similar consistency. Fertilizer pellets are assessed as stones when constituting 1.0% or less of the net sample weight. (See Fertilizer pellets for specific procedures to be followed when samples contain fertilizer pellets.)

Procedures

  1. Handpick stones from a representative portion of the cleaned sample.
  2. Determine stone concentration in the net sample.
  • Samples of grain grown in western Canada containing stones in excess of “basic grade” tolerances, up to 2.5% are graded Beans, Rejected “basic grade” Account Stones. The “basic grade” refers to a grade established in the Canada Grain Regulations (grades listed in the first column in grade determination tables) that would have been assigned to the sample if it contained no stones.
  • Samples of grain grown eastern Canada containing stones in excess of grade tolerances are degraded to lower grades. Samples containing stones in excess of the tolerance of the lowest grade established by regulation up to 2.5% are graded Beans, Sample Canada Account Stones.
  • Samples of western and eastern Canadian grain containing more than 2.5% stones are graded Beans, Sample Salvage.
  • Examples: Western Canada
    Excerpt from grade determination tables for Beans, Canada Cranberry, Blackeye or Yelloweye Canada
    Grade name Stones %
    Extra number 1 Canada 0.00
    number 1 Canada 0.05
    number 1 Canada Select 0.05
    number 2 Canada 0.10
    number 3 Canada 0.20
    number 4 Canada 0.50
    • Basic grade: Beans, number 2 Canada Cranberry
    • Reason for basic grade: 0.2% Heated
    Grade in Western Canada if stones found
    If the above sample contained Grade in western Canada
    0.2% stones Beans, Rejected number 2 Canada Cranberry Account Stones
    1.0% stones Beans, Rejected number 2 Canada Cranberry Account Stones
    3.0% stones Beans, Sample Salvage
    Examples: Eastern Canada
    Excerpt from grade determination tables for Beans, Canada Cranberry, Blackeye or Yelloweye Canada
    Grade name Stones %
    Extra number 1 Canada 0.00
    number 1 Canada 0.05
    number 1 Canada Select 0.05
    number 2 Canada 0.10
    number 3 Canada 0.20
    number 4 Canada 0.50
    • Basic grade: Beans, number 2 Canada Cranberry
    • Reason for basic grade: 0.2% Heated
    Grade in Eastern Canada if stones found
    If the above sample contained Grade in eastern Canada
    0.2% stones Beans, number 3 Canada Cranberry
    1.0% stones Beans, Sample Canada Cranberry Account Stones
    3.0% stones Beans, Sample Salvage

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 Beans, Held IP Suspect Contaminated Grain.

V

Variety (VAR)

Beans are graded without reference to variety

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