Soya beans  – Specification  
 
(First  draft: 201 6-04) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTE: This is a draft proposal and it shall neither be used nor regarded as a Malawi Standard  
 
__________________  
 Publis hed by  
MALAWI STANDARDS BOARD  
 ICS 67.060               DMS 2 44:2016 
    Second  Edition  
 
 
 
 
DRAFT MALAWI STANDARD   
  ICS 67.060            DMS 244:2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Soya beans  – Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Obtainable from the  
Malawi Bureau of Standards  
Moirs Road  
P O Box 946  
BLANTYRE  
 
Tel: +265 1 870 488  
Fax: +265 1 870 756  
E-mail: mbs@mbsmw.org  
Website: www.mbsmw.org  
Price based on  5 pages  
© Copyright reserved   
i 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS  
 
Contents                     Page  
 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  i 
Technical committee  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  i 
Notice  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... i 
Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 1 
Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  1 
Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  1 
Quality requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  2 
Contamin ants ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  3 
Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  4 
Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........................  4 
Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  4 
Methods of analysis and sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  5 
 
 
FOREWORD  
 
This draft standa rd is a revision of MS 2 44:1991, Soya beans  – Specification. In preparing this draft 
standard, reference was made to the following East African Community Standard :  
 
EAS 762 :2011 , Dry soybeans — Specification . 
 
Acknowledgement is made for the use of the in formation.  
 
 
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE  
 
This draft standard  was prepared by the Technical Committee MBS/TC 16, Primary Agricultural Products  
and the following companies , organizations and institutions were represented:  
 
- ADMARC Limited;  
- Agricultural Commodity Exc hange for Africa ; 
- Auction Holdings Commodity Exchange ; 
- Bakhresa Grain Milling Malawi Limited ; 
- Blantyre Agricultural Development Division;  
- Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station;  
- Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) – Bunda Campu s; 
- Malawi Bureau of Standards;  
- National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi (NASFAM) ; 
- Rab Processors Limited; and  
- Transglobe Produce Export Limited.  
 
NOTICE  
 
This standard shall be reviewed every five years, or earlier when it is necessary, in order  to keep abreast of 
progress. Comments are welcome and shall be considered when the standard is being reviewed .  
1 
 DMS 244:2016 
DRAFT MALAWI STANDARD  
 
Soya bean s – Specification  
 
 
1 SCOPE  
 
This East African Standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for dry whole soya 
beans  of varieties (cultivars) grown from Glycine max  (L.) Merr.  intended for human consumption .  
 
 
2 NORMATIVE REFERENCES  
 
The following standards contain provisions, which through reference in this text, constitute  provisions of this 
Malawi standard.  All standards are subject to revision  and, since any reference to a standard is deemed to 
be a reference to the latest edition of that standard, parties to agreements based on this standard  are 
encouraged to take steps to ensure the use of the most recent edition of the standard indicated below. 
Information on current valid national and international standards can be obtained from the Malawi Bureau of 
Standards.  
 
MS 19: Labelling of pre -packed foods – General standard;  
 
MS 21: Food and food processing units – Code of hygienic conditions;  
 
MS 145: Cereals and pulses – Methods of sampling as milled products ; 
 
MS 146: Cereals and pulses – Methods of sampling as  grain;  
 
ISO 605: Pulses — Determination of impurities, size, for eign odours, insects, and species and variety — 
Test methods  
 
ISO 711: Cereals and cereal products — Determination of moisture content (Basic reference method);  
 
ISO 712: Cereals and cereal products — Determination of moisture content — Routine reference m ethod;  
 
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;  
 
AOAC Official Method 2001.04: Determination of Fumo nisins B1 and B2 in corn and  corn flakes — Liquid 
chromatography with immunoaffinity column cleanup.  
 
 
3 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS  
 
For the purpose of this draft standard, the following definitions shall apply:  
 
3.1 
soya bean  
whole mature dry seeds of varietie s (Glycine max  (L.) Merr.)  
 
3.2 
colour  
soya beans may be yellow, green, brown or black  
 
3.3 
damaged/defective grains  
soya beans and pieces of soy a beans that are badly ground -damaged, badly weather -damaged, diseased, 
frost-damaged, germ -damaged, heat -damag ed, insect -bored, mould -damaged, sprout -damaged, stinkbug - 
2 
 stung, or otherwise materially damaged. Stinkbug -stung kernels are considered damaged kernels at the rate 
of one -fourth of the actual percentage of the stung kernels  
 
3.4 
foreign matter  
any extraneo us matter than dry soya 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 detach ed seedcoats, straws, weeds and other inedible grains etc.  
 
3.5 
immature  
immature damaged soya beans  are characterized by a green exterior appearance in conjunction with green 
discolouration penetrating the cotyledon. Examination of the cotyledons is deter mined by cutting the soya 
beans  in cross section. For grading purposes, immature damaged soya beans  are considered as part of the 
“Total Damage” grade specification. Soya beans  that are green in appearance and have no discolouration of 
the cotyledon or jus t a halo of green around the outside of the cotyledon are to be assessed against the 
overall colour of the sample  
 
3.6  
poisonous, toxic and/or harmful seeds  
any seed which if present in quantities above permissible limit may have damaging or dangerous eff ect on 
health, organoleptic properties or technological performance such as Jimson weed — dhatura ( D. fastuosa  
Linn and D. stramonium  Linn.) corn cokle ( Agrostemma githago  L., Machai Lallium remulenum  Linn.) Akra 
(Vicia species), Argemone mexicana , Khesari  and other seeds that are commonly recognized as harmful to 
health  
 
3.7 
rancid  
soya beans in various stages of rancidity are characterized by a deep pink discolouration on the seed coat 
and varying degrees of discolouration of the cotyledon  
 
3.8 
splits  
broken soybean seeds that are less than three -quarters of the whole seed, and cotyledons that are loosely 
held together by the seed coat  
 
 
4 QUALITY REQUIREMENT S 
 
4.1 General  requirements  
 
Soya beans shall meet the following general requirements/limits as det ermined using the relevant standards:  
a) shall consist of grain that consists of 50 percent or more of whole or broken soya beans  (Glycine max  
(L.) Merr.) that will not pass through an 8/64 round -hole sieve and not more than 10.0 percent of other 
grains for w hich standards have been established;  
b) shall be hard, clean, wholesome, uniform in size, shape, colour and in sound merchantable condition; 2 
c) shall be safe and suitable for human consumption;  
d) shall be free from abnormal flavours, obnoxious smell and discolo uration.  
e) shall be 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.  
 
 
  
3 
 4.2 Specific  requirements  
 
4.2.1 Grading  
 
Soya 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.  
 
4.2.2  Ungraded soya beans Table  
 
These s hall be soy a beans which do not fall within th e requirements of Grades 1, 2, and 3 of this standard 
but are not rejected soya beans . 
 
4.2.3  Reject grade soya beans  
 
This comprises soy a beans which have objectionable odour, off flavour, living insects or which do not 
possess the quality characteristics  specified in Table 1. They cannot satisfy the conditions of ungraded soya 
beans  and shall be graded as reject soya beans  and shall be regarded as unfit for human consumption.  
 
Table 1: Specific re quirements for soya beans  
 
S/No.  Characteristic  Maximum lim its Methods 
of test  Grade 1  Grade 2  Grade 3  
1 Moisture, % (m/m)  13.0 13.0 13.0 ISO 711  
ISO 712  
2 Test weight kg/h (g/0.5L) min.  70(357)  68(347)  66(337)  
ISO 605  3 Foreign matter, % m/m  1 2 3 
4 Inorganic matter, % m/m  0.1 0.3 0.5 
5 Broken/split gr ains, % m/m  1 2.5 5 
6 Pest damaged grains, % m/m  0.3 0.8 1.5 
7 Rotten & diseased grains, % m/m  0.2 0.5 1.0 
9 Heat damaged grains %m/m  0.1 0.2 0.5 
10 Contrasting colours, % m/m  2 3 5 
11 Immature/shrivelled grains, % m/m  0.1 0.2 0.5 
12 Filth, % m /m 0.1 0.1 0.1 
13 Total defective grains, % m/m  2 3 5 
14 Total aflatoxin (AFB1+AFB2+AFG1 +AFG2)), 
ppb, max  10 ISO 16050  
15 Aflatoxin B1 only, ppb, max  5 
16 Fumonisin, ppm, max  2 AOAC  
2001.04  
 
 
5 CONTAMINANTS  
 
5.1 Heavy metals  
 
Soya beans  shall comp ly with those maximum limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for 
this commodity.  
 
5.2 Pesticide residues  
 
Soya beans  shall comply with those maximum pesticide residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius  
Commission for this commodi ty. 
 
5.3 Mycotoxin limits  
 
Soya beans  shall comply with those maximum mycotoxin limits set in table 1 above, and those established 
by the Codex Alimentarius  Commission for this commodity when tested according to ISO 16050.   
4 
 6 HYGIENE  
 
6.1 It is recommended that the product covered by the provisions of this draft standard  be prepared and 
handled in accordance with the appropriate sections of the MS 21 and other Codes of practice relevant to 
this product established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.  
 
6.2 When tested by appropriate methods of sampling and examination, the product:  
 
a) shall be free from microorganisms in amounts which m ay represent a hazard to health  and shall not 
exceed the limits stipulated in Table 2 ; 
b) shall be free from parasites which may r epresent a hazard to health , and 
c) shall not contain any substance originating from microorganisms, including fungi, in amounts  which may 
represent a hazard to health.  
 
Table 2: Microbiological limits  
 
S/No.  Type of micro -organism  Limits  
1 Yeasts and mould s, max. per g  104 
2 Staphylococcus aureus  per 25 g  Absent  
3 Escherichia  coli, max. per g  Absent  
4 Salmonella,  max. per 25 g  Absent  
 
 
7 PACKAGING  
 
7.1 Soya 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 Soya beans  shall be packed in containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, technological 
and organoleptic qualities of the products.  
 
7.3 The containers, including p ackaging 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 soya beans  of the same type and of the same grade designation.  
 
7.5 If soya 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  
 
In addition to the provisions prescribed in MS 19 , each packa ge shall be legibly and indelibly marked with the 
following:  
a) product name as “Dry Soya beans ”; 
b) variety;  
c) grade;  
d) name, address and physical location of the producer/ packer/importer;  
e) lot/batch/code number;   
5 
 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;  
m) a declaration on whether the soya beans  were genetically modified or not.  
 
 
9 METHODS OF ANALYSIS AND SAMPLING  
 
Sampling for testing as required in this standard shall be done according to  MS 145 and MS 146 . 
  
 
ICS 67.060           DMS 244:2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 
prom oting the general adoption of standards 
relating to structures, commodities, materials, 
practices, operations and from time to time 
revise, alter and amend the same to 
incorporate advanced technology.  To bring the advantages of standardization 
within the r each of the common consumer, the 
Bureau operates a Certification Mark Scheme. 
Under this scheme, manufacturers who 
produce goods that conform to national 
standards are granted permits to use the 
Bureau’s “Mark of Quality” depicted below on 
their products.  This Mark gives confidence to 
the consumer of the commodity’s reliability.