Sorghum Grain Standards

SORGHUM GR STA

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

Abbreviaons and Acronyms

ISO: Internaonal Organizaon for Standardizaon

CODEX Alimentarius: a collecon of internaonally recognized standards, codes of pracce, guidelines, and other recommendaons relang to food, food producon, food labeling, and food safety

UNECE: United Naons Economic Commission for Europe

CAC RCP: Codex Alimentarius Commission Recommended Code of Pracce

CODEX STAN: Codex Alimentarius Standard

USA: United States of America

EAS: East African Standards

AOAC: Associaon of Official Agricultural Chemists

AFB1: Aflatoxin B1

ppb: Parts per billion

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

SORGHUM GRAIN SPECIFICATION

Introducon

This standard has been developed to take into account:

a) The needs of the market for the product;

b) The need to facilitate fair domesc, regional and internaonal trade and prevent technical barriers to trade by establishing a common trading language for buyers and sellers;

c) The structure of the CODEX, UNECE, USA, ISO and other internaonally significant standards;

d) The needs of the producers in gaining knowledge of market standards, conformity assessment, commercial culvars and crop producon process;

e) The need to transport the product in a manner that ensures keeping of quality unl it reaches the consumer;

f) The need for the plant protecon authority to cerfy, through a simplified form, that the product is fit for cross-border and internaonal trade without carrying plant disease vectors;

g) The need to promote good agricultural pracces that will enhance wider market access, involvement of small-scale traders and hence making farming a viable means of wealth creaon; and

h) The need to ensure a reliable producon base of consistent and safe crops that meet customer requirements.

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

1. SCOPE

This first dra Somalia standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for sorghum grains of variees (culvars) grown from Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench intended for human consumpon.

2. NORMATIVE REFERENCES

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the applicaon of this document. For dated references, only the edion cited applies. For undated references, the latest edion of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

EAS 38, Labelling of pre-packaged foods — Specificaon

EAS 39, Code of Hygiene Pracce in Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry

EAS 900, Cereals and pulses —Sampling

EAS 901, Cereals and pulses —Test Methods

ISO 9648, Sorghum – Determinaon of tannin content

CODEX STAN 193, Codex general standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed

3. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definions shall apply.

3.1 Sorghum: Dried grain having the characteriscs of the variees (culvars) grown from Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench

3.2. Broken: Pieces of sorghum grain which passes through a screen having round holes of 1.8mm in diameter

3.3. Damaged: Kernels, pieces of sorghum kernels, and other grains that are badly ground damaged, badly weather damaged, diseased, frost-damaged, germ-damaged, heat-damaged, insect-bored, mould-damaged, sprout-damaged, or otherwise materially damaged

3.4. Decorcated: Grains from which the external casings and whole or parts of the germ have been removed in an appropriate manner, using mechanical treatment

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

3.5. Foreign maer: Organic and inorganic material other than sorghum grains, broken kernels, other grains and filth. Foreign maer includes loose sorghum seed coats

3.6. Food grade material: Packaging material, made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use and which will not impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to the product

3.7. Immature and shriveled: Grains that are not properly developed

3.8. Poisonous, toxic and/or harmful seeds: seeds which can have a damaging or dangerous effect on health, sensory properes or technological performance. These include Crotolaria (Crotalaria spp.), Corn cockle (Agrostemma githago L.), Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), Jimson weed (Datura spp.).

3.9. Praccally free: without defects in excess of those that can be expected to result from, and be consistent with good cultural and handling pracces employed in the producon and markeng of the sorghum grains

3.10. Sprouted: Grains with visible evidence of root system beginning to emerge

3.11. Test weight: Density of a measured volume of grain expressed in kilograms per hectolitre

4. CLASSIFICATION

Sorghum grains shall be classified as red, pink, brown, orange, yellow, white or any mixture of these colours according to the buyer's preference

4.1. Colour

Sorghum shall be classified as red, pink, brown, orange, yellow, white or any mixture of these colours according to the buyer's preference

5. QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

5.1. General requirements

Sorghum grains shall be:

a) dry and mature

b) clean, wholesome and uniform in size and shape;

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

c) well-filled grains of uniform colour;

d) free from musty or other objeconable odour;

e) praccally free from live pests; and

f) praccally free from noxious or harmful seeds in amounts that could be harmful to human health.

5.2. Specific requirements

Sorghum grains shall be categorized into three grades on the basis of the tolerable limits established in Table 1.

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

6. CONTAMINANTS

6.1. Pescide residues

Sorghum grains shall comply with those maximum pescide residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity.

6.2. Other contaminants

Sorghum grains shall comply with those maximum limits for other contaminants established in CODEX STAN 193.

6.3. Mycotoxins

Sorghum grains shall comply with the mycotoxin limits given in Table 2 when tested in accordance with the test methods specified therein.

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

7. HYGIENE

7.1. Sorghum grains shall be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with the provisions of appropriate secons of EAS 39

7.2. When tested by appropriate standards of sampling and examinaon listed in Clause 2, the products shall:

a) be free from microorganisms in amounts which may represent a hazard to health and shall not exceed the limits spulated in Table 2;

b) be free from parasites which may represent a hazard to health; and

c) not contain any substance originang from microorganisms in amounts which may represent a hazard to health.

Table

2 — Microbiological limits

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

8. PACKAGING

8.1. Sorghum grains shall be packed in suitable packages which shall be clean, sound, free from insect, fungal infestaon and the packaging material shall be food grade.

8.2. Sorghum grains shall be packed in containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutrional, and organolepc qualies of the products.

8.3. Each package shall contain sorghum grains of the same type and of the same grade designaon.

8.4. If sorghum grains are presented in bags, the bags shall also be free of pests and contaminants.

8.5. Each package shall be securely closed and sealed.

9. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

9.1. Sorghum grains shall be packaged in accordance with the weights and measures regulaons of Somalia or the desnaon country.

10. LABELLING

In addion to the requirements in EAS 38, each package shall be legibly and indelibly labelled with the following:

a) Product name as “Whole sorghum grains”

SORGHUM GRAINS STANDARD

b) Variety;

c) Grade;

d) Name, address and physical locaon of the producer/ packer/importer;

e) Lot/batch/code number;

f) Net weight, in kilograms;

g) The declaraon “Food for Human Consumpon'';

h) Storage instrucon as “Store in a cool dry place away from any contaminants'';

I) Crop year;

j) Packing date;

k) Instrucons on disposal of used package;

l) Country of origin; and

m) A declaraon on whether the sorghum was genecally modified or not.

11. SAMPLING

Sampling shall be done in accordance with the EAS 900.

BIBLIORAPHY

EAS 757: 2019, East African Standard for whole sorghum grains