Dry beans – Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTE: This is a draft proposal and it shall neither be used nor regarded as a Malawi Standard  
 
__________________  
Published by  
MALAWI STANDARDS BOARD  ICS 67.060             DMS 245:2015  
          Second edition  
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT MALAWI STANDARD  
 
 
  
 ICS 67.060           DMS 245:20 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dry beans– Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Obtainable from the  
Malawi Bureau of Standards  
P O Box 946  
BLANTYRE  
 
Tel: +265 1 870 488  
Fax: +265 1 870 756  
E-mail:  mbs@mbsmw.org  
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS  
 
Content            Page  
 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  i 
Technical Committee  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  i 
Notice  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... i 
Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..1 
Normative reference  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 1 
Definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 1 
Quality requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 2 
Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 3 
Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 3 
Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 4 
Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 4 
Sampling Methods  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 4 
 
FOREWORD  
 
This Draft Malawi Standard is a revision of MBS 245:1991 , and was prepared at the request of the Ministry of 
Agriculture  to provide specifications for beans .  
 
In preparing this Draft Malawi Standard  reference was made to the following East African Standard:  
 
EAS 46:2011,  Dry beans – Specification.  
 
Acknowledgement is made for the use of the information.  
 
 
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE  
 
This Draft Malawi Standard  was prepared by the Technical Committee MBS /TC16 , 
PrimaryAgriculturalProducts  and the following companies, organizations and institutions were represented:  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTICE  
 
This standard shall be revi ewed  every five years or earlier whenever necessary , in order to keep abreast of 
progress. Comments are welcome and shall be considered when the standard is being reviewed .1 
    DMS 245:2015 
DRAFT MALAWI STANDARD  
 
Dry beans  – Specification  
 
 
1 SCOPE  
 
This Draft Malawi Standard  specifies requirements and methods of sampling and test for dry common beans 
(Phaseolus vulgaris  Linn) intended for human consumption . 
 
 
2 NORMATIVE REFERENCE  
 
The following standards contain provision s, which through reference constitute provisions of this Malawi 
Standard . All standards are subject to revision and parties to agreements based on this Malawi Standard  are 
encouraged to apply the most recent editions of the standards listed below:  
 
MS 19: Labelling of pre -packed foods – General standard;  
 
MS 21: Code of hygienic conditions for food and food processin g units;  
 
MS 302: Contaminants and toxins in food - General standard;  
 
MS 145: Cereals and pulses – Methods of sampling as milled products;  
 
ISO 605:Pulses  – Determination of impurities, size, foreign odours, insects, and species and variety  – Test 
methods  
 
ISO 16050 :Foodstuffs  – Determination of aflatoxin B 1, and the total content of aflatoxin B 1, B2, G1and G 2in 
cereals, nuts and derived products  – High performance liquid chromatographic method ; 
 
ISO 24557 : Pulses  – Determination of moisture content  – Air-oven method . 
 
 
3 DEFINITIONS  
 
For the purpose of this Draft Malawi Standard , the following definitions shall apply:  
 
3.1 
beans  
dry threshed field and garden beans, whole, broken, and split, commonly used for edible purposes  
 
3.2 
broken/chipped/loose coat and split  
beans with some but less than one -fourth of each bean broken off or with one -fourth or more of the seedcoat 
removed  
 
3.3 
caps  
parts  of the seed coat adhering to split or broken seed  
 
3.4 
clean -cut weevil -bored beans  
beans from which weevils have emerged, leaving a clean -cut open cavity free from larvae, webbing, refuse, 
mould, or stain  
 
 
 2 
 3.5 
damaged beans  
beans and pieces of beans 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 beans  
3.6 
defective  
refers to beans that have been damaged to some degree  
 
3.7 
foreign matter  
any extraneous matter than dry beans or other food grains comprising of : 
a. “inorganic matter” includes metallic pieces, shale, glass, dust, sand, gravel, stones, dirt, pebbles, 
lumps or earth,  clay, mud and animal filth etc  
b. “organic matter” consisting of detached seedcoats, straws, weed s and other inedible grains etc  
 
3.8 
germinated beans  
beans which have sprouted  
 
3.9 
mouldy beans  
beans with visible mycelial growth on their surface  
 
3.10 
shrivelled beans  
beans which are under -developed and wrinkled over their entire surface excluding wrinkled beans  
 
3.11 
splits  
pieces of beans that are not damaged, each of which consists of three -fourths or less of the whole bean, and 
shall include any sound bean the halves of which are held together loosely  
 
 
4 QUALITY REQUIREMENTS  
 
4.1 General requirements  
 
Dry beans shall meet the following general requirements/limits as determined using the relevant standards 
listed in Clause 2. Beans  
 
a. shall be the dried mature seeds of Phaseolus vulgaris  Linn;  
b. shall be well-filled, clean, wholesome, uniform in size, and shape;  
c. shall be free from substances which render them unfit for human or animal consumption or 
processing into or utilisation thereof as food or feed;  
d. shall be free from abnormal flavours, musty, sour or  other undesirable odour, obnoxious smell and 
discolouration;  and 
e. shall be free from micro -organisms and substances originating from micro -organisms, fungi or other 
poisonous or deleterious substances in amounts that may constitute a hazard to human health . 
 
4.2 Specific requirements  
 
4.2.1  Grading  
 
Dry beans 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.  
 
 
 
 3 
 4.2.2  Ungraded dry beans  
 
Shall be dry beans which do not fall within the requirements of Grades 1, 2, and 3 of this standard but are not 
rejected dry beans.  
 
4.2.3  Reject grade dry beans  
 
Reject dry beans shall be beans which are musty, sour, heating, materially weathered, or weevily; which 
have any commercially objectionable odour; which contain insect webbing or filth, animal filth, any unknown 
foreign substance, broken glass, or metal fragments; or which are otherwise of distinctly low quality. The 
characteristics are not  within the parameters specified in Table 1. They cannot satisfy the conditions of under 
grade dry beans and shall be graded as reject dry beans and shall be regarded as unfit for human or animal 
consumption.  
 
Table 1 : Specific requirements  
 
 
S/No.   
Characteristic s Maximum limits  Method of 
test 
Grade A Grade B Grade C  
1 Foreign matter, % m/m  0.5 0.75 1 
ISO 605  2 Inorganic matter, % m/m  0.1 0.2 0.3 
3 Other edible grains, % m/m  0.1 0.2 0.5 
4 Pest damaged grains, % m/m  1 2 3 
5 Heat damaged grains, % m/m  0.1 0.2 0.5 
6 Contrasting varieties, % m/m  0.5 1 1.5 
7 Broken/split, % m/m  1 2 3 
8 Discoloured, % m/m  1 1 1 
9 Total defective grains, % m/m  2 3.5 5.5 
10 Filth, % m/m  0.1 0.1 0.1 
11 Moisture, % m/m  13.0 13.0 13.0 ISO 24557  
 
5 CONTAMINANTS  
 
5.1 Heavy metals  
 
Dry beans shall comply with those maximum limits for heavy metals established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission for this commodity  (adopted by Malawi as MS 302) . 
 
5.2 Pesticide residues  
 
Dry beans shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission for this commodity . 
 
5.3 Mycotoxin limits  
 
Dry beans shall comply with those maximum mycotoxin limits established by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission for this commodity  (adopted by Malawi as MS 302) . 
 
6 HYGIENE  
 
6.1 Dry beans shall be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with the provisions of appropriate 
sections of MS 21.  
 
6.2 When tested by appropriate standards of sampling and examination listed in Clause 2, the products:  
a) shall be free from microorganisms in amounts which may represent a hazard to health and shall not 
exceed the limits stipulated in Table 2;  
b) shall be free from  parasites which may represent a hazard to health; and  4 
 c) shall not contain any substance originating from microorganisms in amounts which may represent a 
hazard to health.  
 
Table 2: Microbiological limits  
 
S/No.  Type of microorganism  Limits  
1 Yeasts and moulds, max ., per g 104 
2 Staphylococcus aureus  per 25 g   Not detectable  
3 Escherichia coli max. , per g Not detectable  
4 Salmonella , per 25 g  Not detectable  
 
 
7 PACKAGING  
 
7.1 Dry beans shall be packed in suitable packages which shall be clean, sound, free from insect, fungal 
infestation and the packing material shall be of food grade quality.  
 
7.2 Dry beans shall be packed in containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, technological 
and organoleptic qualities of the products.  
 
7.3 The co ntainers, including packaging material, shall be made of substances which are safe and 
suitable for their intended use. They shall not impart any toxic substance or undesirable odour or flavour to 
the product.  
 
7.4 Each package shall contain dry beans of the same type and of the same grade designation.  
 
7.5 If dry beans are presented in bags, the bags shall also be free of pests and contaminants.  
 
7.6 Each package shall be securely closed and sealed.  
 
 
8 LABELLING  
8.1 
In addition to the requirements in MS 19, each package shall be legibly and indelibly marked with the 
following:  
a) product name as “Dry beans”;  
b) variety;  
c) grade;  
d) name, address and physical location of the producer/ packer/importer;  
e) lot/batch/code number;  
f) net weight, in kg;  
g) the declaration “Food for Human Consumption,”  
h) storage instruction as “Store in a cool dry place away from any contaminants”;  
i) crop year;  
j) packing date;  
k) instructions on disposal of used package;  
l) country of origin;  and 
m) a declaration on whether the dry beans were genetically modifi ed or not.  
 
 
9 SAMPLING METHODS  
 
Sampling shall be done in accordance with MS 145  and other relevant national or international standards .  
 
ICS 67.060                                 DMS 2 45:2015 
             Second edition  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE MALAWI BUREAU OF STANDARDS           CERTIFICATION MARK SCHEME  
The Malawi Bureau of Standards is the 
standardizing body in Malawi under the aegis 
of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Set up 
in 1972 by the Malawi Bureau of Standards 
Act (Cap: 51:02), the Bureau is a parastatal 
body whose activities aim at formulating and 
promoting the general adoption of standards 
relating to structures, commodities, materials, 
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revise, alter and amend the same to 
incorporate advanced technology.  To bring the advantages of standardization 
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