Voluntary Report - Public distribution

**Date:** 11/12/2008

**GAIN Report Number:** CH8102

CH0000

**China, Peoples Republic of**

**FAIRS Subject Report**

**Grain and Oilseed Standards**

**2008**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Mark Petry

AgBeijing

**Prepared by:**

Wu Bugang

**Report Highlights:**

On July 3, 2008, China notified the WTO of the National Standard GB
1353---2007 \"National Standard for Corn\" as TBT/N/CHN/403 and National
Standard GB-1532-2006 \"National Standard for Soybeans\" as
TBT/N/CHN/402. These standards specify the relevant terms and
definitions, classifications, quality requirements, test methods, and
requirements for labeling, packaging, transportation and storage of corn
and soybeans. GB/T 5497 Inspection of Grain and Oilseeds - Methods for
Determination of Moisture Content is referenced in that standard and
published here as a reference in reviewing TBT/N/CHN/402 and 403. This
report is an UNOFFICIAL translation of GB/T 5497.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Annual Report

Beijing \[CH1\]

\[CH\]

**Executive Summary**: On July 3, 2008, China notified the WTO of the
National Standard GB 1353---2007 \"National Standard for Corn\"
(Replacing GB 1353-1999) as TBT/N/CHN/403. This standard specifies the
relevant terms and definitions, classifications, quality requirements,
test methods, and requirements for labeling, packaging, transportation
and storage of corn. This standard also applies to testing, evaluation
and identification of the quality of corn. The date for submission of
final comments to the WTO is September 3, 2008. The proposed date of
adoption is 90 days after circulation by the WTO Secretariat (October 3,
2008) and the proposed date of entry into force is 6 months after
adoption (January 3, 2009). This is notified as GAIN Report CH8069.

On July 3, 2008, China notified the WTO of the National Standard
GB-1532-2006 \"National Standard for Soybeans\" (Replacing GB 1352-1986)
as TBT/N/CHN/402. This standard specifies the relevant terms and
definitions, classifications, quality requirements, test methods, and
requirements for labeling, packaging, transportation and storage of
soybeans. This standard also applies to testing, evaluation and
identification of the quality of commercial soybeans. The date for
submission of final comments to the WTO is September 3, 2008. The
proposed date of adoption is 90 days after circulation by the WTO
Secretariat (October 3, 2008) and the proposed date of entry into force
is 6 months after adoption (January 3, 2009). This is notified as GAIN
Report CH8066.

One of the measures that is referenced in the proposed National Standard
is GB/T 5497 Inspection of Grain and Oilseeds - Methods for
Determination of Moisture Content. This standard has not been notified
to the WTO. This National Standard, along with other standards published
in GAIN Reports CH8097-CH8105, is being published so that GB 1353---2007
\"National Standard for Corn\" TBT/N/CHN/403 and GB-1532-2006 \"National
Standard for Soybeans\" TBT/N/CHN/402 can be reviewed with this
additional pertinent information.

Thanks go to the United States Soybean Export Council -- International
Marketing and the U.S. Grains Council for their support in translating
this measure.

**BEGIN TRANSLATION**

**National Standard of the People's Republic of China**

**GB 5497-85**

**Inspection of Grain and Oilseeds - Methods for Determination of
Moisture Content**

Issued on Nov. 2, 1985 Implemented on July 1, 1986

This standard is applicable to determination of moisture content of
commodity grain and oilseeds.

**1** **Method of Constant Weight at 105℃**

1.1 Instruments and Apparatus;

1.1.1 Electrothermostat;

1.1.2 Analytical Balance: Sensitivity 0.001g;

1.1.3 Laboratory electric disintegrator or the hand-operated
disintegrator;

1.1.4 Corn sieve;

1.1.5 Desiccator reserved with the allochroic silica gel. (The
allochroic silica gel can not be used any more once it appears red. It
can be reused after dried at a temperature of 130-140℃ and all of it
turn into blue).

1.1.6 Aluminium case: inner diameter: 4.5 cm, height: 2.0 cm.

1.2 Preparation of Test Sample

> Collect certain amount of sample from the average sample to prepare
> the test sample in a way as specified in the table below:
>
> Table of Method for Test Sample Preparation

+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Type of Grain    | Sample    | Preparation Method                   |
|                  | Reduction |                                      |
|                  | Weight: g |                                      |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Granular cereal  | 30\~50    | Remove impurities and the mineral    |
| and finished     |           | substances of bulk sample, with the  |
| product of grain |           | breaking fineness passing through    |
|                  |           | 1.5mm round-hole sieve not less than |
|                  |           | 90%                                  |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Soybean          | 30\~50    | Remove impurities and the mineral    |
|                  |           | substances of bulk sample, with the  |
|                  |           | breaking fineness passing through    |
|                  |           | 2.0mm round-hole sieve not less than |
|                  |           | 90%                                  |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Peanut kernel,   | 50        | Take cleaned kernels and cut them    |
| tung-seed kernel | approx.   | into slices or pieces less than      |
| etc              |           | 0.5mm with a hand-operated slicer or |
|                  |           | knife                                |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Peanut in shell, | 100       | Take cleaned kernels (seeds), let    |
| tea seed, tung   | approx.   | them shelled and weighed to          |
| seed, castor     |           | calculate the hull-kernel ratio;     |
| bean, etc        |           | grind or pulverize the hull, and cut |
|                  |           | the kernel into slices.              |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Cotton seed,     | 30        | Take cleaned seeds, slice or scrape  |
| sunflower seeds  | approx.   | the seeds in mortar                  |
| etc              |           |                                      |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Rapeseed, sesame | 30        | The whole granule sample with the    |
| etc              | approx.   | bulk impurities removed              |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Sweet potato     | 100       | Take cleaned slices and shatter      |
| slices           | approx.   | them, with the fineness the same as  |
|                  |           | that of the granular grain           |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+
| Shredded sweet   | 100       | Take cleaned shredded sweet potato   |
| potato,          | approx.   | or strip and shatter them, with the  |
|                  |           | fineness the same as that of the     |
| Sweet potato     |           | granular grain                       |
| strip            |           |                                      |
+------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------+

1.3 Operation Method

1.3.1 Fixing temperature: Put the mercury ball of the thermometer in the
oven about 2.5 cm away from the baking net and adjust the temperature of
the oven and fix it at 105±2℃.

1.3.2 Drying the aluminum case: Take a clean and empty aluminum case,
put it onto the baking net below the mercury ball of the thermometer in
the oven. Baking the case for 30 minutes to 1 hour, take it out and
place it into the desiccator to cool it to the room temperature and take
it out for weighing. Subsequently, bake it for another 30 minutes until
the weight difference between the first and second baking is no more
than 0.005g, which is regarded as the constant weight.

1.3.3 Weighing up the test sample: Weigh up the test sample of about 3g
with the aluminum case that has been baked to constant temperature
(*W~0~*). As for the unhulled oilseeds, weigh up the test sample based
on the kernel-hull ratio, alternatively, weight up test sample of
kernels and hulls respectively. (*W~1~*, accurate to ±0.001 g.)

1.3.4 Baking the test sample: Sleeve the aluminum case cover on the case
bottom and place it into the baking net around the thermometer in the
oven. Bake the case at a temperature of 105℃ for 3 h (90 minutes for
oilseeds), take it out and cover it. Put it into the desiccator to cool
it to the room temperature and take it out for weighing. Then re-bake
the case according to the above-mentioned method, and take it out for
cooling and weighing every 30 minutes until the weight difference
between the first and second baking is no more than 0.005g. If the
weight after the latter baking is larger than that of the former, the
weight after the former baking will be taken as the calculation basis
(*W~2~*).

1.4 Calculation of Results

> The moisture content of grains and oilseeds is calculated as formula
> (1):
>
> The moisture content (%) =
> $\frac{W_{1} - W_{2}}{W_{1} - W_{0}} \times \text{100}$................(1)
>
> Where:
>
> $W_{0}$ - The weight of the aluminum case, g;
>
> $W_{1}$ - The weight of the test sample before baking and the aluminum
> case, g;
>
> $W_{2}$ - The weight of the test sample after baking and the aluminum
> case, g;
>
> As for the unhulled oilseeds whose moisture content of kernels and
> hulls are determined respectively, the moisture content of such
> unhulled oilseeds is calculated as formula (2):
>
> The moisture content (%) = *M*~1~×*A*+*M*~2~×(1-*A*)..........
> ........... (2)
>
> Where:
>
> *M*~1~ - The percentage of the moisture content of the kernel, %;
>
> *M*~2~ - The percentage of the moisture content of the hull, %;
>
> *A* - The percentage of the gross output of the kernel, %;
>
> The allowable deviation of the dual test results shall not exceed
> 0.2%, calculate the mean value of the dual test results and take the
> first digit after the decimal point as the final determination result.
> Where other methods are adopted to determine the moisture content, the
> allowable deviation between the result obtained therefrom and that
> obtained in the aforesaid method shall not exceed 0.5%.

**2 Method for Drying under Fixed Temperature and Fixed Time**

2.1 Instruments and Apparatus: same as 1.1.

2.2 Test Sample Preparation: same as 1.2.

2.3 Calculation of Test Sample Dosage: By this method, test sample of
certain quantity will be utilized. First, figure out the bottom area of
the aluminum case, and then calculate the test sample dosage on the
basis of 0.126g per sq. cm (the bottom area × 0.126). Where an aluminum
case with the diameter of 4.5cm is used, the test sample dosage will be
2g. Where an aluminum case with the diameter of 5.5cm is used, the test
sample dosage will be 3g.

2.4 Operation Method

> Weigh up certain quantity of test sample with the aluminum case that
> has been baked to constant weight (accurate to ±0.001g). When the
> temperature of the oven rises to 135-145℃, put the aluminum case
> filled with test sample onto the baking net around the thermometer and
> increase the temperature of the oven to 130±2℃ in 5 mines,
> simultaneously, begin to time, bake the case for 40 minutes, place it
> into the desiccator for cooing and take it out for weighing.

2.5 Calculation of Results

> The moisture content calculation by method of drying under fixed
> temperature and fixed time is the same as that of 1.4.

**3 Method of Drying with Tunnel Oven**

> Where the method of drying with tunnel oven is adopted to determine
> the moisture content of the cereal, bake the cereal for 20 minutes at
> a temperature of 160±2℃. To determinate the moisture content of
> oilseeds and beans, bake them for 30 minutes at a temperature of
> 130±2℃.

3.1 Instruments and Apparatus

3.1.1 Tunnel Oven

3.1.2 Stopwatch

3.2 Test Sample Preparation: same as 1.2.

3.3 Operation Method

3.3.1 Fixing Temperature: Put the instruments flat on the ground. Insert
the thermometer into the baking room and place the mercury ball 1cm away
from the mouth of the bake case. Turn on the power supply to fix the
temperature.

3.3.2 Weighing the Sample with the Bake Case: Push three clean bake
cases into the oven and push another 10 minutes later, at this moment
one of the three bake cases which have been pushed into previously will
be squeezed out of the tunnel. Put this baked case into the scale pan on
the oven, add a 10g poise and adjust the screw of the quadrant scale
till the indicator points to the zero point of the scale. Take off the
poise and put the prepared test sample into the bake case. Increase or
reduce the dosage of test sample until the indicator points to the zero
point. Place the test samples which have been weighed into the bake case
evenly, push them into the drying room and close the left door and begin
to time simultaneously.

3.3.3 Drying the Test Sample: Where the method of baking for 20 minutes
at 160℃ is adopted, push a bake case with test sample into the drying
room every 6 minutes and 40s. Where the method of baking for 30 minutes
at 130℃ is adopted, push a bake case with test sample into the drying
room every 10 minutes .When the fourth test sample case is pushed into,
the first test sample case has been baked completely and will be pushed
out to the scale pan. Pull down the fixed-tray of the scale pointer and
observe the numerical value shown by the indicator, which is regarded as
the percentage of the moisture content determined.

> The allowable deviation of the dual test results shall not exceed
> 0.5%.

**4 Twice-baking Method**

> Twice-baking method is adopted when the moisture content of grains is
> over 18% and that of the soybean and the sweet potato slices is over
> 14% and that of oilseeds is over 13%.

4.1 First Baking: Weigh up 20g full granule test sample (*W*~1~,
accurate to ±0.001g) and place it into the bake box with a diameter of
10cm or 15cm and a height of 2cm and have it laid open. Bake grains at a
temperature of 105℃ and soybean & oilseeds at a temperature of 70℃ for
30-40 minutes and then take them out. Cool them to the constant weight
naturally (the weight difference shall be no more than 0.005g) and which
is regarded as the test sample weight (*W*~1~) after the first baking.

4.2 Second Baking: The test sample preparation and operation method are
same with those in 1.2 and 1.3.

4.3 Calculation of Results

> Where the twice-baking method is adopted, the moisture content will be
> calculated as formula (3).
>
> The moisture content (%)
> =$\frac{W \cdot W_{2} - W \cdot W_{3}}{W \cdot W_{2}} \times \text{100}$.........\...(3)
>
> Where:
>
> $W$ - The weight of the test sample before the first baking, g;
>
> $W_{1}$ - The weight of the test sample after the first baking, g;
>
> $W_{2}$ - The weight of the test sample before the second baking, g;
>
> $W_{3}$ - The weight of the test sample after the second baking, g;
>
> The allowable deviation of the dual test results shall not exceed
> 0.2%, calculate the mean value of the dual test results and take the
> first digit after the decimal point as the measured result.

**Additional Explanation:**

This standard was proposed by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's
Republic of China.

This standard was drafted by the Grain Storage and Transport Bureau, the
Ministry of Commerce.

Major draftsmen of this standard are Gao Xiuwu, Yang Haoran, Wu Yanxia,
and Lu Guifen.