Canary seed: Grading factors

Chapter 23. Canary seed (PDF, 524 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.

C

Contaminated grain (CONTAM GRN)

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.

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.

Extraneous material

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

Procedure

If a sample is suspected of being coated with a pesticide, desiccant, inoculant or if the sample contains evidence of extraneous material, including any foreign chemical substance other than fertilizer pellets (FERT PLTS), the sample shall be graded ‘Canary Seed, Held IP Suspect Contaminated Grain’ and 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 'Canary Seed, Sample Condemned'.

E

Earth pellets

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

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

See Contaminated grain (CONTAM GRN)

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.

Procedure

  1. Handpick any fertilizer pellets and determine the concentration in the net working sample.
  2. Fertilizer pellets are assessed as stones (STNS) when the concentration does not exceed 1.0% of the net sample weight.
  3. Samples containing fertilizer pellets in excess of 1.0% of the net sample weight are graded ‘Canary Seed, Held IP Suspect Contaminated Grain’. 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 ‘Canary Seed, Sample Condemned’.

Fireburnt (FBNT)

Samples that show any evidence of being charred or scorched by fire are considered fireburnt. Evidence includes odour or pieces of charred wood.

Foreign material (FM)

Foreign material is assessed in processed samples only. It includes all material other than whole, broken or hulled canary seed.

See Hulled seeds (HULL)

G

Glabrous (GLB)

Refers to canary seed varieties which do not have tiny sharp hairs or spicules attached the hull. Also known as hairless.

Note: On written request, the percentage of glabrous can be reported in the remarks section of grading certificate

H

Heated kernels (HTD)

Heated kernels are red or orange, and have the odour typical of grain that has deteriorated in storage or has been damaged by artificial drying. Rotted (ROT) kernels are included in the tolerance for heated.

Heated seeds of other grains are included in the tolerance for heated.

Hulled seeds (HULL)

  • Left: Canary seed, Right: Hulled canary seeds
    Left: Canary seed, Right: Hulled canary seeds

Hulled seeds are canary seeds that have their hulls removed.

They are considered dockage and reported as a percentage of the gross weight of the sample.

Note: In processed samples, hulled seeds are not considered foreign material (FM). They are reported as a percentage of the gross weight of the sample.

I

Inert material (INERT MTL)

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

O

Odour (ODOR)

There is no numeric tolerance for odour. Consider:

  • basic quality of the sample
  • type and degree of the odour
  • presence of visible residue causing the odour
Heated, fireburnt and odour for canary seed
If odour is the grade determinant and there is: Then the grade is:
A distinct objectionable odour not associated with the quality of the grain, but not heated or fireburnt Canary Seed, Sample Canada Account Odour
A distinct heated odour Canary Seed, Sample Canada Account Heated
A distinct fireburnt odour Canary Seed, Sample Canada Account Fireburnt

R

Rotted (ROT)

See Heated kernels (HTD)

S

Soft earth pellets (SEP)

Soft earth pellets are:

  • earth pellets that crumble into fine dust under light pressure, using a finger only—if they do not crumble, they are considered stones (STNS)
  • any non-toxic material of similar consistency

Procedure

  1. Handpick soft earth pellets from a representative portion of the cleaned sample.
  2. Soft earth pellets constituting 10% or less of the sample are assessed as dockage.
  3. Where soft earth pellets represent more than 10% of the net weight, the sample is graded ‘Canary Seed, Sample Canada Account Admixture’.

Stones (STNS)

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

Procedure

  1. Handpick stones from a representative portion of the cleaned sample.
  2. Determine stone concentration in the net sample.

T

Treated seed and other chemical substances

See Contaminated grain (CONTAM GRN).

V

Variety (VAR)

Only varieties registered in Canada under the Seeds Act are eligible for the top grades of canary seed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for the registration of varieties in Canada. Consult the CFIA’s database of varieties registered in Canada online to determine if a given variety is registered in Canada.