AFRICAN 
STANDARD  DARS  
869  
Second  Edition 2022 
 
 Reference No. DARS 869:2022 
ICS 67.060 
 
 
© ARSO 2022  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dry whole peas — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DARS 869:2022 
ii © ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved   
Table of contents  
 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 1 
3 Definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  2 
4 Quality requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  3 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  3 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  3 
5 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  4 
5.1 Heavy metals  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  4 
5.2 Pesticide residues ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  4 
6 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........................  4 
7 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  4 
8 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  4 
9 Sampling methods  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  5 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  6 
 
  DARS 869:2022  
© ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved  iii Foreword  
 
The African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) is an African intergovernmental organization 
established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Organization of 
African Unity (AU) in 1977. One of the fundamental mandates of  ARSO is to develop and harmonize 
African Standards (ARS) for the purpose of enhancing Africa’s internal trading capacity, increase 
Africa’s product and service competitiveness globally and uplift the welfare of African communities. The 
work of preparing A frican Standards is normally carried out through ARSO technical committees. Each 
Member State interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the 
right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, Regio nal Economic Communities 
(RECs), governmental and non -governmental organizations, in liaison with ARSO, also take part in the 
work.  
 
ARSO Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.  
 
The main task of techni cal committees is to prepare ARSO Standards. Draft ARSO Standards adopted 
by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an ARSO 
Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.  
 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of 
patent rights. ARSO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 
This African Standard was prepared by the ARSO Technical  Committee on Cereals, pulses and derived  
products  (ARSO/TC 12). 
 
 
 
 
 
© African Organisation for Standardisation 2022 — All rights reserved* 
 
ARSO Central Secretariat  
International House 3rd Floor  
P. O. Box 57363 — 00200 City Square  
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E-mail: arso@arso -oran.org  
Web: www.arso -oran.org  
  
                                                
* © 2022 ARSO — All rights of exploitation reserved worldwide for African Member States’ NSBs.  DARS 869:2022 
iv © ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved   
Copyright notice  
 
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© African Organisation for Standardisation 2022  — All rights reserved  
 
ARSO Central Secretariat  
International House 3rd Floor  
P.O. Box 57363 — 00200 City Square  
NAIROBI, KENYA  
 
Tel: +254 -20-2224561, +254 -20-3311641, +254 -20-3311608  
 
 
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement. 
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 DARS 869:2022  
© ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved  v Introduction  
 
Peas are part of the strategic food commodity basket recognized by the declaration of the African Union 
Food Security Summit held in December 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria. This standard was harmonized as part 
of the response by the resolution of the AU Food Security Summit to harmonize standards and grades 
for strategic food commodities as a means of promoting and facilitating intra -African food trade. Such 
facilitation would lead to free movement of food commodities from areas of surplus to areas of deficit, 
leading to overall achievement of food and nutrition security, food self -sufficiency and socioeconomic 
development of the African continent.  
 
 DARS 869:2022  
© ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved  1  
Dry whole peas — Specification  
 
1 Scope  
 
This African Standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for dry whole peas  
of varieties (cultivars) grown from Pisum sativum (L.) and Pisum sativum var. arvense (L.) intended for 
human consumption . It does not apply to processed whole peas after scope.  
 
2 Normative references  
 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated 
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced 
document (including any amendments) applies.  
 
ARS 53, General principles of food hygiene — Code of prac tice 
 
ARS 56, Pre-packaged foods — Labelling  
 
AOAC Official Method 999.10:1999, Determination of lead, cadmium, copper, iron and zinc in foods — 
Atomic absorption spectrophotometry after microwave digestion  
 
AOAC Official Method 999.11:1999, Determination of lead, cadmium, copper, iron and zinc in foods — 
Atomic absorption spectrophotometry after dry ashing  
 
AOAC Official Method 2001.04, Determination of Fumonisins B 1 and B 2 in corn and corn flakes — Liquid 
chromatography with immunoaffinity column cleanup  
 
CODEX STAN 193, Codex general standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed  
 
ISO 605 , Pulses — Determination of impurities, size, foreign odours, insects, and species and variety 
— Test methods  
 
ISO 6579, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection of 
Salmonella spp . 
 
ISO 6888 -1, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration 
of coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 1: Technique 
using Baird -Parker agar medium  
 
ISO 6888 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration 
of coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 2: Technique 
using rabbit plas ma fibrinogen agar medium  
 
ISO 6888 -3, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration 
of coagulase -positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 3: Detection 
and MPN technique for low number s 
 
ISO 7251,  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of presumptive Escherichia coli — Most probable number technique  
 
ISO 16050,  Foodstuffs — Determination of aflatoxin B 1, and the total content  of aflatoxin B 1, B2, G1 and 
G2 in cereals, nuts and derived products — High performance liquid chromatographic method  
 
ISO 21527 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration 
of yeasts and moulds — Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water activity less than or 
equal to 0.95  
 
ISO 24333, Cereals and cereal products — Sampling  
 
ISO 24557, Pulses — Determination of moisture content — Air-oven method  
AFRICAN STANDARD  DARS 869: 2022  
2 © ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved  3 Terms and definitions  
 
For the purpose of this standard the following definition s shall apply . 
 
3.1 
whole dry peas  
threshed seeds  of the garden type pea plant ( Pisum sativum (L.) and Pisum sativum var. arvense (L.)) 
 
3.2 
damaged /defective  peas  
whole peas that are split, pest -damaged, rotten and diseased, discoloured and immature or shrivelled  
 
 
3.3  
rotten peas  
peas that are materially damaged or discoloured by frost, weather, disease, weevils or other insects, or 
other causes so as to materially affect the appearance and quality of the peas  
 
3.4  
shrivelled /immature  peas  
peas  which are under -developed and wrinkled over their entire surface  
 
3.5  
discoloured peas  
peas  whose colour has been altered  due to heat, frost or water   
 
3.6  
pest damaged peas  
peas  which show damage owing to attack by rodents, insects,  mites or other pests  
 
3.7 
food grade packaging material  
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  
 
3.8 
foreign matter  
all organic and inorganic material (such as plant parts, sand, soil, glass, filth) other than peas  
 
3.9 
poisonous, toxic and/or harmful seeds  
any seed which if present in quantities above permissible limit may have damaging or dangerous effect 
on health, organoleptic properties or technological performance such as Jimson weed — Datura (D. 
fastuosa  L. and D. stramonium  L.) corn co ckle (Agrostemma  githago  L., Machai Lallium remulenum  L.) 
Akra (Vicia species) , Argemone mexicana , Khesari and other seeds that are commonly recognized as 
harmful to health  
 
3.10 
shrive lled peas  
dry peas which are distinctly shrive lled in contrast to the natural shape and  appearance of normally 
developed pea s 
 
3.11 
split peas   
broken pieces of peas that are less than three -quarters of the whole grain , and cotyledons that are 
loosely held together by the seed coat  
  DARS 869:2022  
© ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved  3 4 Requirements  
 
4.1 General requirements  
 
Dry whole  peas shall meet the following general requirements/limits .  
Peas  shall be:  
 
(a) mature dry seeds  of the garden type pea plant Pisum sativum (L.) and Pisum sativum var. 
arvense (L.); 
 
(b) clean, well -filled, wholesome, uniform in size, shape, colour;  
 
(c) free from substances which render them unfit for human consumption;  
 
(d) free from abnormal flavours, musty, sour or other undesirable odour,  obnoxious smell  and 
discolouration;   
 
(e) free of pests, live insects , animal droppings, fungus infestation, added colo uring matter, moulds, 
impurities of plant and animal origin including insects,  rodent hair and excreta  and shall meet any 
other sanitary and phytosanitary requirements;  
 
(f) free from micro -organisms and substances originating from micro -organisms, or other poisonous 
or deleterious substances in amounts that may constitute a hazard to human health ; 
 
(g) free from toxic or poisonous or harmful  seeds that are commonly recognized as harmful to health . 
 
4.2 Specific requirements  
 
4.2.1  Grading  
 
Dry whole peas shall be graded  into three grades on the basis of the tolerable limits established in Table 
1 which shall be additional to the general requirements set out in this standard.  
 
Table 1 — Specific requirements  
 
Characteristics  Limits  Method of 
test Grade 1  Grade 2  Grade 3  
(1)  Moisture, % m/m  14.0 14.0 14.0 ISO 24557  
(2)  Purity, % min. m/m  99 97 97 ISO 605  
(3)  Foreign matter, % max m/m 0.2 0.5 0.7 
ISO 605  (4)  Inorganic matter, %  max m/m 0.1 0.2 0.3 
(5)  Broken/split peas , % max m/m 1 2.5 5 
(6)  Pest damaged peas, % max m/m 0.3 0.8 1.5 
(7)  Rotten & diseased peas, max% m/m  0.2 0.5 0.5 
(8)  Discoloured peas, % m/m  1 1 1 
(9)  Immature/shrivelled peas, % max m/m 2 4 5 
(10)  Filth, %  max m/m 0.1 0.1 0.1 
(11)  Total defective dry whole peas, %  max m/m 3 5 8.5 
NOTE 1  The parameter, total defective dry whole peas is not the sum total of the individual defects. It is limited to 70% of 
the sum total of individual defects.  
 
NOTE 2 For Grade 1 whole dry peas, m ore than 70% by weight of the whole shall be peas of a si ze that will not pass through 
a 6.35mm round hole screen.  
 
  DARS 869: 2022  
4 © ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved  5 Contaminants  
 
5.1 Heavy  metals  
 
Dry whole peas shall comply with those maximum limits for metal contaminants specified in CODEX 
STAN 193 and in particular those listed in Table 2.  
 
Table 2 — Metal contaminants  
 
S/N Parameter  Limit ( mg/kg  max)  Test method  
(1) Lead (Pb)  0.1 AOAC 999.11 or AOAC 999.10  
(2) Cadmium (Cd)  0.1 AOAC 999.11 or AOAC 999.10  
 
5.2 Pesticide residues  
 
Dry whole peas  shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits  established by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission for this commodity   
 
6 Hygiene  
 
6.1 Dry whole peas  shall be produced and handled under hygienic conditions in accordance with 
ARS 53  
7 Packaging  
 
7.1 Dry whole peas  shall be pack aged in suitable food grade packag ing materials  which shall be 
clean, sound, free from insect, fungal infestation and the pack aging material shall be of food grade 
quality  and shall be securely closed and sealed.  
 
7.2 Dry whole peas shall be pack aged in packaging materials  which will safeguard the hygienic, 
nutritional, technological and organoleptic qualities of the products.  
 
7.3 Each package shall contain dry whole peas  of the same type and of the same grade 
designation.  
 
 
8 Labelling  
 
8.1 General labelling  
 
The following specific labelling requirements shall apply and shall be legibly and indelibly marked in 
accordance with the requirements of ARS 56:  
 
 
(i) product name as “ Dry whole peas ”; 
 
(ii) variety;   
 
(iii) grade;  
 
(iv) name, address and physical location of the producer / packer/importer;  
 
(v) lot/batch/code number;  
 
(vi) net weight, in SI units ; 
 
(vii) the declaration “Food for Human Consumption’’  
 
(viii) storage instruction as “Store in a cool and dry place away from any contaminants’’;  DARS 869:2022  
© ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved  5  
(ix) crop year;  
 
(x) packing date;  
 
(xi) instructions on disposal of used package;  
 
(xii) country of origin;  
 
(xiii) a declaration on whether the dry whole peas  were  genetically modified or not.  
 
(xiv) ‘best before’ date  
 
8.2 Labelling of non-retail containers  
 
Information detailed in 8. 1 shall be given either on the container or in accompanying documents, except 
that the name of the product, lot identification and the name and address of the processor or packer as 
well as stor age instructions, shall appear on the container.  
 
For products purchased for use by the buyer /retailer , at least the name of producer, l ot number and/or 
‘crop year’  shall be indicated on the container.  
 
Lot identification and the name and address of the p rocessor or packer may be replaced by an 
identification mark provided that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanying documents.  
 
 
9 Sampling   
 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with the ISO 24333 . 
 
 
  DARS 869: 2022  
6 © ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved  Bibliography  
 
 
EAS 759 :2012, Dry whole peas — Specification  
 
United States Standards for Whole Dry Peas , Effective July 15, 2009  
 
Peas,  Official Grain Grading Guide, August 1, 20 12, Canadian Grain Commission  
 
Ethiopian Standard, ES 19:2001, Pulses — Grading of dry peas  
 
Malawi Standard, MBS 243:1991, Dry garden peas — Specification  
 
 
 
 
DARS 869: 2022  
© ARSO  2022 — All rights reserved