TDC3 (5615 )P3 
    Second  Edition  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Textiles - Woven bags made from natural fibres - Part 1: Bags for 
cereals and pulses  – Specification s. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
i 
 Foreword  
This second edition of this D raft Tanzania Standard has been prepared to specify requirements to be 
complied by   manufacturers producing woven bags from natural fibres for cereals and pulses products.  
 
In this second edition, rev iew has been made to mass per unit area , breaking strength, seam breaking 
strength, oil content and moisture regain parameters with their test methods respectively.  
In the preparation of this Draft Tanzania Standard assistance was derived from:  
KS 132: 2013 Woven bags made from natural fibres for cereals and pulses – specifications.  
 
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition TZS 1263: 2010 – Textiles – Woven bags made 
from natural fibres – specification Part 1: Bags for cereals.  
 
 
 
  
1 
 1 Scope  
This Draft Tanzania Standard specifies the constructional and performance requirements of woven bags 
made from coarse natural fibres for packing cereal or pulses. It also prescribes the packing and marking 
requirements of a bale containing the bags, ready for dispatch.  
2 Normative references  
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this Draft Tanzania Standard.  
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the 
referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
TZS 4, Rounding off numerical values  
TZS 20, Textiles – Woven fabrics – Determination  of number of threads per unit length and per 
unit width . 
TZS 21, Textiles – Woven or knitted fabrics – Determination of  mass per unit length and per unit 
area.  
TZS 22, Textiles – Woven fabrics - Determination of breaking load and extension  
TZS 44, Textiles – Woven or knitted fabrics - determination of width an d length.  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this  Draft Tanzania S tandard, the following terms and definitions shall apply.  
3.1 Fibre  
 
Unit of matter characterised by flexibility fineness and high ratio of length to thickness.  
 
3.2 Natural fibre  
Fibres  that are produced from  plants, animals, and geological processes. They can be used as a component 
of composite  materials, where the orientation of fibres impacts the properties. Natural fibres can also be 
matted  into sheets to make products such as paper , felt or fabric.  
3.3 Ends  
Yarns running along the length of and parallel to the sacking selvedge.  
3.4 Picks  
Yarns running across the width of the fabric and “perpendicular” to the sacking selvedge.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
3.5 Sacking  
Coarse fabric made from natural fibres used for making sacks or bags   
2 
 3.6 Joined bag  
Bag made out of two equal separate pieces of sacking.  
 
3.7 Bale  
 
Rectangular pressed rigid package containing woven bags made from natural fibres and covered with 
protective wrappings that are stitched and/or securely bound.  
 
3.8 Contract – mass (bale)  
 
Mass as obtained by multiplying the nominal mass of a bag by specified number of bags in that bale.  
 
3.9. Lot  
 
Bales containing woven bags made from natural fibres purporting to be of specified dimensions and quality 
and definite number of bags delivered to one purchaser against one dispatch note.  
4   Requirements  
4.1 Bag cloth  
The bag cloth shall be woven from natural fibre yarns with uniform construction and shall comply with the 
requirements specified in Tables 1.  
4.2 Sewing  
4.2.1 The stitching thread  
The stitching thread shall comprise such material(s), which shall not have any adverse effects on the 
contents  of the bag. The number of stitches per 10 cm shall be eight (8), minimum. The stitching thread 
shall have the minimum breaking strength of all the seams as specified in table Tables 1. The stitch line 
shall pass completely and continuously through all the  folds of the sacking leaving no gaps in stitches.  
4.2.2 Seams  
The side seams of each bag and the bottom seam, if any, shall be sewn in such a way that, they (seams) 
comply with the requirements of T able 1. The seams shall be sufficiently tight, to prevent  sifting or leakage 
of the contents of the bag.  
4.2.3 Hemming at the mouth  
The raw edges of the sacking at the mouth of each bag shall first be turned over to a depth of at least 1.5 
cm and then to a depth of at least 1.6 cm and the three layers of the sac king shall be firmly hemmed with 
the stitching thread.  
4.3 Freedom from defects  
The sacking shall be free from weaving defects such as holes, cuts, tears, floats, crushed selvedge, spots 
and stains. The bag shall be free from sewing defects such as gap -stitches, loose ends and frayed ends.  
4.4 Capacity  
The capacity of the bags shall not exceed the maximum of 100kg.   
3 
 Table 1 – Requirements of bags made from natural fibres  
 
5 Packing and Marking.  
5.1 Packing.  
5.1.1 Each packed bale shall c omply with the requirements of T able 5.  
5.2 Marking . 
5.2.1  The following information shall be marked on each bale with indelible i nk with all letters and figures;   
(i) name and address of manufacturer and/or trademark;  
(ii) description of  goods;  
(iii) quantity in pieces;  
(iv) contract mass in kg;  
(v) bale number.  
 SN Characteristics  Requirements  
 
 Tolerance  Test 
Methods  
1. Dimensions (100kg max imum ) 
i) Outside length  
ii) Inside width  
  
110cm  
70cm   
+10-0 
+10-0  
TZS 44  
2 Ends & Picks per cm  
i) Ends per 10cm  
ii) Picks per 10 cm   
28 
48  
±2 
±2 
.  
TZS 20  
3 Moisture regain  (%), max,  13% - Annex B.6  
4 Breaking strength of seam , N, 
min,(warp and weft direction)  650 
 - TZS 22  
5 Mass in g/m2 of bag cloth , min  
 600  TZS 2 1 
6 Oil content on dried de – oiled 
material (max)  2% - See Annex 
B.10 
7 Breaking strength of bag cloth, 
(5cm x 20cm) , min (both warp 
and weft)  
  
700   
TZS 22   
4 
 Table 2 – Requirements of a packed bale  
 
       Characteristic   
   Requirements   
Tolerance   
Test-method  
 
Total number of bags per bale  
 
Contract mass of a bale  
 
Correct mass of a bale   
150 
 
150 kg (min.)  
 
150kg (min.)   
- 
 
±2.5 
 
-  
A.2 
 
B.3 
 
B.4 
  
5 
 Annex A  
(Normative)  
 
Inspection of a bale  
 
A.1 Record all the particulars as stated on the bale.  
 
A.2 Remove all packaging materials from the bale. Count and record the number of all bags     
       in the bale. Denote this by N  
 
A.3 Record the colour of identification yarns on the bags.  
 
A.4 Count and record number of ends in each band.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
6 
 Annex B  
(normative)  
 
Testing  
B.1 The testing conditions shall be in accordance with TZS 3: 1979 , Atmospheric conditions for testing.  
 
B.2 The test sample shall constitute five bags, and the test results for each characteristic shall be expressed 
as an average taken of all the individual test results obtained for each bag.  
 
B.3Determine the mass of each bag in the test sample to the nearest 1.0 g. Calculate the average mass of 
a bag. Denote this by M.  
Calculate the contract mass of a bale using the formula:  
CN = M x N  
Where  
CN is the contract mass of a bale;  
M is the nominal mass of a bag;  
N is the total number of bags in the bale (from A.2).  
B.4 Calculate correct mass of a bale using the formula:  
 
Where  
CB is the correct mass of a bale  
N is the total number of bags in the bale (test result from A.2)  
M is the average mass of a bag (test result from B.3)  
R is the average moisture regain in a bag (test result from B.6) and  
RA is the recommended moisture allowance (refer to Table 1, h).  
B.5 The following procedure is performed to obtain t he dimensions.  
B.5.1  Spread each bag on a flat surface so that there are no creases or folds.  

R 100R 100MN CA
B 
7 
 B.5.2  For the outside length, measure the outside length of each bag to the nearest 0.1 cm in six different 
places (three on the face and three on the back), from  the bottom fold -line to the mouth, using a ruler or 
tape measure graduated in centimetres. The outside length of each bag is the average (arithmetic mean) 
of the six readings. Repeat the procedure for five bags.  
B.5.3  For the outside width measure the out side width of each bag to the nearest 0.1 cm in six different 
places (three on the face and three on the back), from the edge of one side seam to the edge of the other 
seam or fold -line (in case there is only one side seam), using a ruler or tape measure g raduated in 
centimetres. The outside width of each bag is the average (arithmetic mean) of the six readings. Repeat 
the procedure for five bags.  
B.6 Carry out the following procedure to determine the moisture regain.  
Cut out two strips, each measuring abou t 25 cm x 25 cm from the sacking of each bag and determine the 
average moisture regain using the formula:  
 
Where  
R is the percentage moisture regain;  
M is the original mass of the strip; and  
m is the oven -dry mass of the strip.  
B.7 Count the number of end s and picks (shots) per 10 cm of each bag to the nearest whole number, in 
five different places along the sacking, using a suitable measuring gauge (ruler or tape measure) graduated 
in centimetres.  
Determine the average ends and picks (shots) per 10 cm of each of the five bags in accordance with TZS 
20:  
B.8 To determine the breaking strength of sacking cut out three warp -ways and three weft -way strips each 
measuring 20 cm x 5 cm from the sacking of each bag.  
Determine the average breaking strength of each strip using a strength -tester having a nominal gauge 
length of 20.0 cm and a constant -rate-of-traverse of 20 cm per minute, in accordance with TZS  22:  
B.9 To determine the breaking strength of the seam, cut out two specimens from each bag in the form of a 
double ‘T’ with 10 cm of seam and 5 cm from the sacking of each bag.  
Determine the average breaking strength of the seam taking 20.0 cm as the nominal gauge length of the 
strength -tester, with the seam near about the centre using a constant -rate-of-traverse of 20 cm per minute 
in accordance with TZS 22:  
%mmM100R 
8 
 B.10 OIL CONTENT  
B. 10.1  Cut out one strip measuring 5 cm x 5 cm. Place it in a thimble in a soxhelt extractor. Add about 
100mL of trichroethylene or light petroleum to the clean, dry extraction flask previously weighed correct to 
1 mg. extract the test specimen for 1 h 30 min to  2 h such that the extractor siphons at least 10times. 
Disconnect the apparatus.  
B.10.2 Recover the excess of solvent by heating the flask on a water bath at 90  ̊ C to 95  ̊ C (see Note) and 
allow a stream of air to pass through the flask by means of a tube  terminating just below the neck. Remove 
all traces of moisture by heating the flask to 10 5 ± 3 º C for 3min. weigh the flask and determine the mass 
of the extract.  
 Note : If light petroleum is used as solvent, the temper ature of water bath shall be 60   ºC to 65 º C  
 
 
All dimensions in millimetres  
 
FIG 1. – SIZE AND SHAPE OF TEST – SPECIMEN FOR SEAM STRENGTH  
 
B.10.3 Remove the thimble from the soxhelt extractor and allow the solvent to evaporate. Transfer the 
extracted specimen to a tared weighing bottle . Dry the specimen at 105 ± 3 º C for at least 3h. Cool and 
weigh. Determine the oven dry mass of the extracted specimen by the following formula:  
 
9 
  
  
Where,  
 A = Percentage, the mass, of the added oil content of the test specimen,  
 
 X = Mass, in g, of the extract (see Clause A10.3).  
 
 d = the percentage of naturally occurring oil and wax in the sample removed during 
 extraction, and  
 
 V = Oven -dry mass, in g, of the extracted test specimen (see clause 10.3)  
  
 Note : The value of d lies between 0.19 % and 0.34 % for trichloroethyl ene and 0.16% and 0.22% for light 
petroleum. For general calculations, the values for d   may be as taken as 0.25 % for trichloroethylene and 
0.2% for light petroleum. However, of correct figures can be obtained, they shall be u sed.