UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION 
  
 
MINISTERIAL REGULATION  
ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THAI AGRICULTURAL STANDARD ON   
PEANUT KERNEL: MAXIMU M LEVEL OF AFLATOXIN 
AS A MANDATORY STANDARD  
B.E. 2558 (2015) 
 
By virtue of Section 5 paragraph one and Section 15 paragraph t wo of the 
Agricultural Standards Act, B.E. 2551 (2008), the Minister of A griculture and Cooperatives 
hereby issues this Ministerial Regulation as follows: 
Section 1 This Ministerial Regul ation shall come into force aft er three hundred 
and sixty five days as from the date of its publication in the Royal Gazette.  
Section 2 The Thai Agricultural Standard TAS 4702-2014 in accor dance with 
the Notification of the Ministr y of Agriculture and Cooperative s on the Establishment of Thai 
Agricultural Standard: Peanut Kernel: Maximum Level of  Aflatox in under the Agricultural 
Standards Act, B.E. 2551 (2008) dated on 3 November B.E. 2557 ( 2014) shall be established 
as a mandatory standard. 
     
           Given on the 27
th Day of November B.E. 2558 (2015) 
 
                   (General Chatchai Sarikalya) 
                                 Minister of Agr iculture and Co operatives 
         
 
Remark :  Rationale for the promulgation of this Ministerial Regulation is that : Agricultural 
commodity; raw dried peanut kernel used as food nowadays contai ns aflatoxin contamination 
which is unsafe for consumption. Therefore, a control is requir ed in order to protect consumers 
and prevent losses of the public from health hazard that may ca use, by establishing a maximum 
level and control measure to reduce aflatoxin in raw dried pean ut kernel intended to be used as 
food excluding seed. The Notification of the Ministry of Agricu lture and Cooperatives on the 
Establishment of Thai Agricultural Standard on Peanut Kernel: M aximum Level of Aflatoxin 
has been established under the Agricultural standard Act. B.E. 2551 (2008), dated 3rd 
November 2557 (2014), followed by public hearing from stakehold ers in accordance with 
Section 18 of the Agricultural standard Act B.E. 2551 (2008).  It is deemed necessary to 
establish the Thai Agricultural Standard: Peanut Kernel : Maxim um Level of Aflatoxin as a 
mandatory standard.  
 
 TAS 4702-2014  
THAI AGRICULTURAL STANDARD 
PEANUT KERNEL : MAXIMUM LEVEL OF AFLATOXIN 
1. SCOPE 
This standard establishes aflatoxin level and control measures  for dried peanut kernel, as raw 
material for further processing as food in order to regulate th e producers, traders and 
inspection of produced, imported or exported dried peanut kerne l. 
2. DEFINITIONS  
For the purpose of this standard: 
2.1 Aflatoxin means mycotoxin that is produced by fungi species , especially Aspergillus 
flavus  and Aspergillus parasiticus . In general at least four type s of aflatoxin are produced and 
found in peanuts, namely aflatoxin B1  and B2 and aflatoxin G1 and G2. 
2.2 Total aflatoxins mean the  sum of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G 2.  
2.3 Dried in-shell means a stripped peanut pod after sun-drying  or mechanical drying. 
2.4 Peanut kernel means a dried peanut kernel obtained after th e dried pod has been shelled, 
excluding seed. 
2.5 Peanut kernel producer means person who performs commercial  transaction of shelling 
activities including collector, packer, and warehouse operator,  for commercial purposes. 
3. AFLATOXIN LEVEL AND CONTROL 
3.1 Maximum level of total aflatoxins in peanut kernel shall no t exceed 20 
microgram/kilogram. 
3.2 The peanut kernel producer shall have control measures in p lace as follows:  
3.2.1 Mouldy kernel, broken kernel, damaged kernel and foreign matters shall be sorted 
before distribution and recorded as evidence. Such defective ke rnel shall be separated in 
clearly labelled container, and shall not be marketed for human  consumption or processed 
into food products. 
3.2.2 To ensure that peanut kernel is in compliance with Sectio n 3.1, the peanut kernel 
producer as a shelling manufacturer shall be required to test a flatoxin level of each lot of 
peanut kernel prior to distribution.   In case of the peanut ke rnel producer as a collector, 
packer, and warehouse operator, the aflatoxin level in peanut k ernel shall be randomly tested 
during storage and the test result shall be kept for inspection  by conformity assessment body 
or official inspector as requested. TAS 4702-2014  2 
3.2.3 The records of Section 3.2.1 and Section 3.2.2 shall be k ept for at least 2 years. 
3.3 Peanut kernel exporter shall have the evidence showing that  exported peanut kernel is 
produced by the licensed and certified peanut kernel producer i n accordance with this 
standard accompanying with the test result showing that aflatox in level does not exceed the 
maximum level as required by trading-partner countries. 
3.4 Peanut kernel importer shall have the evidence showing that  imported peanut kernel is 
produced from peanut kernel producer who has control measure in  place as specified in 
Section 3.2 accompanying with the test result issued by the com petent authority or recognised 
laboratory showing that aflatoxin level does not exceed the max imum level specified in 
Section 3.1.  
4. METHODS OF SAMPLING  
The methods specified in the most updated version of an Annex t o the CODEX STAN 1 9 3 
General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods and Feeds  or Appendix A of this 
standard shall be applied.  
5. METHODS OF ANALYSIS FOR AFLATOXIN  
5.1 Methods of analysis for total aflatoxins are shown in Table  1: 
                                   Table 1 Methods of analysis fo r total aflatoxins 
                                                                 (Section 5.1) 
Requirement Method of analysis1/ Principle 
Total aflatoxins AOAC 991.31 
 Immunoaffinity column  
(Aflatest) 
AOAC 993.17  Thin layer 
chromatography 
AOAC 975.36 Romer minicolumn 
EN 12955 
ISO 16050  HPLC with post column 
derivatization and immunoaffinity column clean up 
AOAC 979.18 
 Holaday-Velasco 
minicolumn 
 
_______________________________  
1/ Referring to the most updated edition   3                                                 TAS 4702-2014  
5.2 In case unable to be analysed as of Table 1, an alternative  method shall be selected 
according to its sensitivity for detecting aflatoxin at or belo w the maximum level of total 
aflatoxins as specified in Section 3.1 and its performance char acteristics shall be deemed 
appropriate and in compliance with one of the following criteri a. 
5.2.1 The method issued by the national competent authority or international standard 
organization or published manuals or other publications as inte rnationally accepted. 
5.2.2 The method validated by laboratories through collaborativ e studies in accordance with 
internationally accepted guidelines. 
5.2.3 In case none of the above mentioned methods is available,  the method validated by 
single laboratory validation in accordance with internationally  accepted guideline is 
acceptable. 
5.2.4 Aflatoxin test kit is used for initial screening for the control and test of aflatoxin by 
peanut kernel producer according to Section 3.2.2. Such test ki t shall be validated. 
 TAS 4702-2014  4 
APPENDIX A 
METHOD OF SAMPLING FOR AFLATOXIN ANALYSIS IN PEANUT KERNEL 
(Section 4) 
Sampling of peanut kernel shall be conducted in such a way that  these samples are 
represented the entire lot with the details described as follow s:  
A.1 The material taken from a single random place in the lot or  sublot (incremental sample) 
shall be about 200 grams. 
A.2 Number of incremental samples to be taken depends on the we ight of the lot specified in 
Table A.1 and A.2 
Table A.1  Lot weight, sublots, Number of i ncremental samples, Laboratory  sample weight 
for the lot weight larger than 15 tonnes. 
                                                                      (Section A.2) 
Lot weight (tonne) Weight or Number  
of Sublots Number of 
incremental samples Laboratory sample 
weight (kg) 
> 500 100 tonnes 100 20 
> 125 - 500 5 sublots 100 20 
> 25 - 125  25 tonnes 100 20 
> 15 - 25 1 sublot 100 20 
Sources:  
1.Manual for Testing and Certification Service of Agricultural Commodity for Export, 
Department of Agriculture (2012) 
2.Commission Regulation (EC) No.401/2006 of  23 February 2006 laying down the methods 
of sampling and analysis for the official control of the levels of mycotoxins in foodstuffs 
3.Commission Regulation (EU) No.178/2010 of March 2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 
401/2006 as regards groundnuts (peanuts), other oilseeds, tree nuts, apricot kernels, 
liquorice and vegetable 
4. Annex to CODEX STAN 193 General Standar d for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and 
Feed)   5                                                 TAS 4702-2014  
Table A.2  Lot weight, Number of increment al samples, Laboratory sample w eight for the lot 
weight less than 15 tonnes. 
                                                                      (Section A.2) 
Lot weight (tonne) Number of 
incremental 
samples Aggregate sample 
Weight (kg)  Number of laboratory samples 
< 0.1 10 2 1 
> 0.1 -  0.2 15 3 1 
> 0.2 -  0.5 20 4 1 
> 0.5 -  1.0  30 6 1 
> 1.0 -  2.0 40 8 1 
> 2.0 -  5.0 60 12 2 samples at equal weight   
> 5.0 -  10.0 80 16 2 samples at equal weight  
> 10.0 -  15.0 100 20 2 samples at equal weight  
Sources:  
1.Manual for Testing and Certification Service of Agricultural Commodity for Export, 
Department of Agriculture (2012) 
2.Commission Regulation (EC) No.401/2006 of  23 February 2006 laying down the methods 
of sampling and analysis for the official control of the levels of mycotoxins in foodstuffs 
3.Commission Regulation (EU) No.178/2010 of March 2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 
401/2006 as regards groundnuts (peanuts), other oilseeds, tree nuts, apricot kernels, 
liquorice and vegetable 
4. Annex to CODEX STAN 193 General Standar d for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and 
Feed)  
A.3 In case of vacuum pack 
A.3.1 For lot weight larger than 15 tonnes, at least 50 increme ntal samples shall be taken 
resulting in a 20 kg aggregate sample.  
A.3.2 For lot weight of equal to or less than 15 tonnes, 50% of  the number of incremental 
samples as shown in Table A.2 shall be taken resulting in an ag gregate sample of which the 
weight corresponds to the w eight of the sampled lot. 
A.3.3 In cases where the method of sampling according to Sectio ns A.3.1 and A.3.2 would 
lead to unacceptable commercial consequences resulting from dam a g e  t o  t h e  l o t  ( s u c h  a s  
damage on package, loss of vacuum condition) then an alternativ e method of sampling may 
be applied as approved by the conformity assessment body provid ed that it is fully 
documented.