Faba beans: Grading
Important definitions
- Net weight of sample
- The sample after cleaning and removal of dockage is referred to as the cleaned sample. Its weight is the net weight of the sample. Percentages by weight for grading refer to percentages of the net weight.
- Hazardous substances in samples
- Wear gloves and a mask to handle any samples that you suspect may contain hazardous substances. Hazardous substances are defined in section 1 of the Canada Grain Regulations as “any pesticide, desiccant or inoculant”.
- Processed sample
- An unofficial sample of grain declared to be conditioned or cleaned to meet end user specifications, and whereas, the determination of dockage and/or determination of commercially clean are not performed or reported.
- Rounding rules
- Rounding rules are outlined in schedule 3 of the Canada Grain Regulations. When official inspection results are expressed numerically, they should be expressed to the same decimal precision as the applicable tolerance in the primary and export grade determination tables.
- Non-registered varieties
- Where grain of any kind is not a registered variety under the Seeds Act, no person shall, except with the permission of the Canadian Grain Commission, assign a statutory grade to that grain which is higher than the lowest grade established by regulation for that kind of grain.
- Representative portions for grading
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All grading is done on representative portions divided down from the clean sample, using a Boerner-type divider.
The optimum representative portion is the representative sample size within the minimum and maximum range used to obtain the most accurate result when assessing an objective factor. It is determined by taking into consideration the tolerance and concentration of the objective factor being assessed.
Representative portion of faba beans for grading (in grams) Grading factor Sample portion size range Minimum Maximum Damage 100 g 250 g Excreta working sample working sample Fertilizer pellets working sample working sample Fireburnt working sample working sample Foreign material 100 g working sample Heated or rotted 250 g working sample Insect parts working sample working sample Mouldy 250 g working sample Odour working sample working sample Perforated 100 g 250 g Sclerotinia sclerotiorum 500 g working sample Splits 100 g 500 g Stones working sample working sample Treated seed working sample working sample