Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990)

Regulations

Regulations relating to the Grading, Packing and Marking of Soft Wheat intended for sale in the Republic of South Africa

1. Definitions

Purchase

Unless the context otherwise indicates, any word or expression in these regulations to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act shall have that meaning, and—

"animal filth"

means dead rodents, dead birds and dung;

"bag"

means a bag manufactured from—

(a)	jute or phormium or a mixture of jute and phormium; or

(b)	polypropylene that complies with SANS specification CKS632 1246:2012;

"bulk container"

means any vehicle or container in which bulk wheat is stored or transported;

"consignment"

means—

(a)	a quantity of wheat of the same class, which belongs to the same owner, delivered at any one time under cover of the same consignment note, delivery note or receipt note, or delivered by the same vehicle or bulk container, or loaded from the same bin of a grain elevator or from a ship's hold; or

(b)	in the case where a quantity referred to in paragraph (a), is subdivided into different grades, each such quantity of each of the different grades;

"container"

means a bag or bulk container;

"damaged wheat"

means wheat—

(a)	which have been damaged by insects;

(b)	which have been distinctly discoloured (orange-brown, dark brown or black) by external heat or as a result of heating caused by internal fermentation in wheat with an excessive moisture content, excluding wheat kernels in respect of which the discolouration is confined to the germ end;

(c)	which are immature and have a distinctly green colour; and

(d)	in which germination has proceeded to such an extent that the skin covering the embryo has been broken or the developing sprouts and/or rootlets are clearly visible.

"ergot sclerotia"

means the sclerotia of the fungus Claviceps purpurea; and "ergot" has a corresponding meaning;

"field fungi-infected wheat"

means wheat of which the kernels are visibly infected with fungi, and that—

(a)	clearly have greyish brush-ends that are discoloured as a whole; or where field fungi growth is present from the brush-ends into the crease; and

(b)	have a dull, lifeless, chalky or pinkish and shrunken appearance as a result of Fusarium infection.

"foreign matter"

means all matter excluding wheat, other grain and unthreshed ears. Coal, dung, glass and metal shall not be present in the consignment concerned;

"heavily frost-damaged wheat"

means —

(a)	wheat which have been damaged by severe frost during the milk to soft dough stage and which is characterised by the kernels being fairly plump, but covered entirely with small blisters extending into the crease, excluding—

(i)	kernels in which blistering is confined to the back of the kernel; and

(ii)	immature wrinkled kernels in which wrinkling has been caused by frost while the kernels were still immature;

(b)	kernels which have a slightly flaked-off bran coat due to frost: Provided that evidence of frost damage is present and that the bran coat had not been rubbed off due to handling;

"hectolitre mass"

means the mass in kilogram per hectolitre;

"insect"

means any live grain insect that is injurious to stored grain, irrespective of the stage of development of that insect;

"other grain"

means the kernels or pieces of kernels of barley, oats, triticale, maize, rye and sorghum;

"poisonous seeds"

means the seeds or bits of seeds of plant species that may in terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972 represent a hazard to human or animal health when consumed, including seeds of Argemone mexicana, Convolvulus spp., Crotalaria spp., Datura spp., Ipomoea purpurea, Lolium temulentum, Ricinus communis or Xanthium spp.;

"screenings"

means all material that passes through the standard sieve;

"standard sieve"

means a slotted sieve—

(a)

with a flat bottom of metal sheet of 1,0 mm thickness with apertures 12,7 mm long and 1,8 mm wide with rounded ends. The spacing between the slots in the same row must be 2,43 mm wide and the spacing between the rows of slots must be 2,0 mm wide. The slots must be alternately orientated with a slot always opposite the solid inter segment of the next row of slots;

(b)	of which the upper surface of the sieve is smooth;

(c)	with a round frame of suitable material with an inner diameter of between 300 mm and 310 mm maximum and at least 50 mm high; and

(d)	that fits onto a tray with a solid bottom and must be at least 20 mm above the bottom of the tray.

"stinking smut infection"

means wheat that is infected with Tilletia spp. with the exception of wheat infected with Tilletia indica (karnal bunt). Wheat is considered to be infected by stinking smut if one or more of the following characteristics are present—

(a)	an unmistakable stinking smut odour; or

(b)	wheat kernels that are smeared with stinking smut; or

(c)	more than four stinking smut balls (or pieces of balls equal to four stinking smut balls) per 100 g of wheat.

"storage fungi infected wheat"

means wheat that are visibly infected with fungi, and that show—

(a)	blue, green, blackish or yellow fungal growth anywhere on the kernel; or

(b)	visible mould beneath the bran.

"the Act"

means the Agricultural Product Standards Act 119 of 1990;

"unthreshed ears"

means ears and bits of ears of wheat, barley, triticale and rye that still contain seeds that are completely covered with glumes; and

"wheat"

means the kernels and pieces of kernels of the species Triticum aestivum.