Official Grain Grading Guide
Sunflower seed: Grading factors
Full list of grading factors
- Contaminated grain
- Damage (DMG)
- Dehulled (DHULL)
- Earth pellets
- Ergot (ERG)
- Excreta (EXCR)
- Extraneous material
- Fertilizer pellets (FERT PLTS)
- Fireburnt (FBNT)
- Foreign material (FM)
- Head rot damage
- Heated, rotted or mouldy (HTD)
- Insect damage (I DMG)
- Odour (ODOR)
- Other grains (OGS)
- Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (SCL)
- Soft earth pellets (SEP)
- Stones (STNS)
- Test weight (TWT)
- Treated seed and other chemical substances
- Varieties
- Very immature seeds (VIM SDS)
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
- 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.
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 ‘Sunflower 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 ‘Sunflower Seed, Sample Condemned’.
D
Damage (DMG)
Damaged seeds show at least one of following characteristics:
- Head rot damage (HEAD ROT)
- Heated, rotted or mouldy (HTD)
- Very immature (VIM SDS)
- Insect-damaged (I MDG)
- Otherwise materially damaged
Dehulled (DHULL)
Hulled seeds are broken and whole seeds that are without hulls.
E
Earth pellets (EP)
- 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 that have 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
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
- Handpick any fertilizer pellets and determine the concentration in the net working sample.
- Fertilizer pellets are assessed as stones (STNS) 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 ‘Sunflower 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 ‘Sunflower Seed, Sample Condemned’.
Fireburnt (FBNT)
Foreign material in sunflower seed includes other grains (OGS), sclerotinia (SCL) and stones (STNS).
Foreign material (FM)
Foreign material in sunflower seed includes other grains, sclerotinia and stones.
H
Head rot damage (HEAD ROT)
Head rot is damage most frequently caused by sclerotinia head rot disease.
Damage includes
- Hulls with 50% or more of the surface covered by white patches
- Seeds that are off colour, e.g., tan to dark brown
- Seeds that may contain small black sclerotia
Procedure
- Using a Boerner-type divider, divide a representative portion for hulls.
- Examine the portion and remove hulls with white patches covering 50% or more of the hull.
- Divide the remaining representative portion for a subsample not less than 5 g.
- Remove the hulls and examine the seeds for off-colour and the presence of sclerotia.
Heated, rotted or mouldy (HTD)
Heated seeds have the colour and or odour typical of seeds that have heated in storage or have been damaged by artificial drying.
Procedure
- Pass the representative portion of the clean sample through a barley pearler for 3 to 5 seconds.
- Separate heated, rotted or musty kernels from sound kernels.
- Heated seeds of other grains are included in the tolerance for heated.
If you are unsure whether the kernel is heated, rotted or musty, cut the seed lengthwise and examine the exposed meat. Brown-coloured meat is considered to be heated.
I
Insect damage (I DMG)
Insect-damaged seeds have hull perforations of any size caused by insects and include any hulled seeds which have been bored or chewed by insects.
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
| If odour is the grade determinant and there is: | Then the grade is: |
|---|---|
| An excessive objectionable odour not associated with the quality of the grain, but not heated or fireburnt | Sunflower seeds, Sample Canada Account Odour |
| An excessive heated odour | Sunflower seeds, Sample Canada Account Heated |
| An excessive fireburnt odour | Sunflower seeds, Sample Canada Account Fireburnt |
Other grains (OGS)
Other grains are any other grains that are not removed during cleaning. Other grains are considered a grading factor and are added to the dockage.
In samples eligible for off-grades, other grains are considered a grading factor and are not added to the dockage.
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.
In samples eligible for off-grades, sclerotia are considered a grading factor and are not added to the dockage.
Soft earth pellets (SEP)
Soft earth pellets are pellets that crumble under light pressure from a finger—if they do not crumble, they are considered stones (STNS). These pellets can be
- Earth and fertilizer pellets (FERT PLTS)
- Any non-toxic material of similar consistency
Procedure
Earth pellets may be removed as dockage. See the Normal cleaning procedure.
In samples eligible for off-grades, soft earth pellets are considered a grading factor and are not added to the dockage.
- Return the pellets to the sample.
- Handpick soft earth pellets from a representative portion of 100 g of the cleaned sample.
- If soft earth pellets is the grade determinant, grade the sample ‘Sunflower Seed, Sample Canada Account Admixture’.
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 (FERT PLTS) for the specific procedure to be followed when samples contain fertilizer pellets.
Procedure
- 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 ‘Sunflower Seed, 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 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 ‘Sunflower Seed, Sample Canada Account Stones’.
- Samples of western and eastern Canadian grain containing more than 2.5% stones are graded ‘Sunflower Seed, Sample Salvage’.
Examples: Western Canada
| Grade name | Stones % |
|---|---|
| numberNo. 1 Canada | 0.1 |
| numberNo. 2 Canada | 0.1 |
Basic grade: Sunflower Seed, numberNo. 1 Canada, Oil
| If the above sample contained | Grade in western Canada |
|---|---|
| 0.2% stones | Sunflower Seed, Rejected numberNo. 1 Canada Oil Account Stones |
| 3.0% stones | Sunflower Seed, Sample Salvage |
Examples: Eastern Canada
| Grade name | Stones % |
|---|---|
| numberNo. 1 Canada | 0.1 |
| numberNo. 2 Canada | 0.1 |
Basic grade: Sunflower Seed, numberNo. 1 Canada, Oil
| If the above sample contained | Grade in eastern Canada |
|---|---|
| 0.2% stones | Sunflower Seed, Sample Canada Account Stones |
| 3.0% stones | Sunflower Seed, Sample Salvage |
T
Test weight (TWT)
Test weight is the weight of a known volume of grain expressed in kilograms per hectolitre. For procedures, see Chapter 1 of this guide, Test weight.
Treated seed and other chemical substances
V
Variety (VAR)
Only varieties registered in Canada under the Seeds Act are eligible for the top grades of sunflower 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.
Note: On written request, the variety is shown as part of the grade name, for example, ‘Sunflower Seed, No. 2 Canada Oil, AC Aurora’.
Important: State “Varietal purity not guaranteed” in the remarks section of grading certificates issued using a varietal name.
Very immature seeds (VIM SDS)
Very immature seeds are whole sunflower seeds that contain no meat.
Procedure
- Using a Boerner-type divider, divide a representative portion.
- Separate whole shrunken seed kernels from sound kernels.
- Determine the percentage of seeds that do not contain meat by either pressing the seed on a hard surface with finger pressure or by manually opening the seed.
- Very immature seeds are included in the percentage of damaged seeds for grade determination.