Fababeans: Grading factors

B

Blackened

Fababeans are blackened when their seed coats are very dark blue to black. See Damage.

C

Colour (CLR)

Colour is evaluated on the cleaned sample after the removal of damaged and split fababeans.

Terms used to describe colour in the grade determinants tables
Term	Characteristics
Reasonably good natural colour	Fababeans are moderately immature, with lightly adhered soil, moderately discoloured from storage or other natural causes, such as mottling.
Fair colour	Fababeans are immature but not green, have moderate amounts of adhered soil, or are otherwise moderately discoloured from natural causes, such as mottling.
Poor colour	Fababeans have a dark discolouration covering less than half of the hull, where there is no penetration of the cotyledon.

Other terms used to describe colour
Term	Characteristics
Sunburned or oxidation	Fababeans have undergone normal discolouration of the seed coats during storage. The colour varies from light tan to brown to very dark brown, depending on the duration and conditions of storage.
Immature	Fababeans are normal size and greenish, but not distinctly green.

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

adulterated for the purposes of the Food and Drugs Act; or
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: Fababeans, Sample Condemned.

Cracked (CRKD)

Fababeans with a discoloured exposed cotyledon are considered cracked. See Damage.

Cracked seed coats (CSDC)

Fababeans with cracked seed coats are considered sound if the halves of the kernels are held firmly together and the beans are not otherwise damaged. See Damage.

D

Damage (DMG)

Damage includes

Blackened or cracked
Sprouting
Distinct immaturity
Distinct deterioration or discolouration by weather or disease
Insect damage
Heat or mould damage
Any other damage that seriously affects appearance or quality

Discoloured (DCLR)

Fababeans are considered discoloured if the discolouration on the seed coat covers more than half the bean or when the discolouration penetrates the cotyledon. See Damage.

Procedures

If the penetration of the discolouration is not obvious, cut the cotyledon crosswise in the discoloured area to determine the extent of the discolouration.

E

Earth pellets (EP)

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 Fababeans, Held IP Suspect Contaminated Grain.

Fireburnt (FBNT)

Fireburnt fababeans 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 containing any fireburnt seeds are graded Fababeans, Sample Canada Account Fireburnt.

Foreign material (FM)

Foreign material is any material other than whole or split fababeans.

G

Green (GR)

Fababeans are considered green if they show distinctly green colour throughout the seed when cut to expose the cotyledons. See Damage.

H

Heated (HTD)

Fababeans are considered heated or rotted if they are materially discoloured as a result of heating or rotting. Seed coats appear dark brown to black. The cotyledon tissue of dissected beans appears tan or brown. See Damage.

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

Mouldy (MLDY)

Fababeans are considered mouldy if they show clear evidence of mildew or mould.

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 fababeans
If odour is the grade determinant and there is:	Then the grade is:
An exessive objectionable odour not associated with the quality of the grain, but not heated or fireburnt	Fababeans, Sample Canada Western (CW)/Canada Eastern(CE) Account Odour
An exessive heated odour	Fababeans, Sample CW/CE Account Heated
An exessive fireburnt odour	Fababeans, Sample CW/CE Account Fireburnt

P

Perforated (PERF)

Fababeans are considered perforated if they show clear evidence of hull perforations caused by insects or disease.

R

Rime

White rime is the adhered lining of the seed pod.

Fababeans that are completely and densely covered with white rime are considered damaged. See Damage.
When the rime is sparse enough to expose the soundness of the bean, the bean is sound and the rime is considered in the general appearance of the sample.

Rotted (ROT)

See Heated.

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.

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

Procedures

Earth pellets may be removed as dockage. See Normal cleaning procedures.
If soft earth pellets are over 10.0% of the gross weight of the sample, they become a grading factor, included in the tolerance for Foreign Material.

Return the pellets to the sample.
Handpick soft earth pellets from a representative portion of the cleaned sample.
If soft earth pellets are the grade determinant, grade the sample Fababeans, Sample Canada Account Admixture.

Splits (SPLTS)

Splits include

Halves or smaller pieces of fababeans
Halves that are loosely held together by cracked seed coats
Fababeans with cracked cotyledons, such as from artificial drying

Splits do not include fababeans that are otherwise damaged.

Sprouted (SPTD)

Fababeans in which the hull is parted over the area of the germ as a result of sprouting are considered damaged. See Damage.

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

Handpick stones from a representative portion of the cleaned sample.
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 Fababeans, 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 determinant tables) that would have been assigned to the sample if it contained no stones.
Samples of grain grown in 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 Fababeans, Sample Canada Account Stones.

Samples of western and eastern Canadian grain containing more than 2.5% stones are graded Fababeans, Sample Salvage.

Examples: Western Canada

Excerpt from grade determinant tables for Fababeans, Canada
Grade name	Stones %
number 1 Canada	0.1
number 2 Canada	0.2
number 3 Canada	0.5

Basic grade: Fababeans, number 2 Canada
Reason for basic grade: 2.0% Damage

Grade in Western Canada if stones found
If the above sample contained	Grade in western Canada
0.4% stones	Fababeans, Rejected number 2 Canada Account Stones
1.0% stones	Fababeans, Rejected number 2 Canada Account Stones
3.0% stones	Fababeans, Sample Salvage

Examples: Eastern Canada

Excerpt from grade determinant tables for Fababeans, Canada
Grade name	Stones %
number 1 Canada	0.1
number 2 Canada	0.2
number 3 Canada	0.5

Basic grade: Fababeans, number 2 Canada
Reason for basic grade: 2.0% Damage

Grade in Eastern Canada if stones found
If the above sample contained	Grade in eastern Canada
0.4% stones	Fababeans, number 3 Canada
1.0% stones	Fababeans, Sample Canada Account Stones
3.0% stones	Fababeans, 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 Fababeans, Held IP Suspect Contaminated Grain.

V

Variety (VAR)

Fababeans are graded without reference to variety.