Characteristics of barley according to GOST

Requirements for all products and products manufactured and distributed in Russia are contained in special regulatory documents known as GOSTs.The list of requirements for food and raw materials for their production usually includes the permissible content of impurities, appearance features, certain quality indicators and the required conditions for storage.

The requirements that a product for the food industry produced and purchased in the Russian Federation must meet GOST 28672-90 for barley. This normative document, published for the first time in 1990, replaced a number of previously existing standards and went through several reissues, the last of which occurred in 2010. Requirements for the product used in brewing are additionally regulated GOST 5060-86which was adopted in 1986. Both of these documents are not in conflict, but only complement each other.

The conditions specified in the GOST also apply to the barley that is used in blanks for the production of compound feed or malt for brewing, and to the cereal used in supplies to the processing industries of the food industry.

The most important definition contained in the document is the concept of the “main grain”, which includes the following:

• all whole grains of a product having a diameter of more than one and a half millimeters;
• some damaged grains, the nature of the damage in which does not allow them to be attributed to impurities.

All further requirements specified in the document regulate the properties of this particular product category. The most important condition for barley of all categories is humidity not more than 19%. At the same time, organizations exchanging goods are entitled to carry out transactions with wetter grains, provided that by drying and other operations before the delivery of grain to the final consumer, its moisture content will not exceed the regulated figure. Another important indicator that makes it possible to classify grains as the main ones (and therefore recognize their compliance with GOST) is the integrity of the endosperm (the nutritional part of the grain under its shell and the surrounding germ). This part of the barley kernels should not be completely destroyed, but should have a light color and not be loose to the touch.

Finally, all barley referred to the main one should have a yellow color of different shades, and its smell should not have any other shades (mildew, mustiness, malt). In addition, it is not allowed to infect the grain with any pests, except for tick infestation, but not more than I degree.

All other objects present in the grain and not corresponding to the properties of the main grain, GOST subdivides into such two groups of impurities, as:

• weed;
• grain.

The first group includes the following:

• all components having a diameter of less than 1.5 mm, regardless of their nature;
• mineral components (stones, earth, metals and other objects of inanimate nature);
• organic components (non-grain components of barley and grain plants or other parts of other plants);
• damaged grains of barley (which do not meet the requirements for the condition of the endosperm, affected by diseases and / or pests)

The second group of impurities GOST includes the following:

• crushed grains;
• unripe barley (has a green color and a soft texture);
• sprouted product;
• damaged grains whose endosperm has changed its color to cream or brown due to the damage received.

In terms of quality, all barley is divided into such main classes as:

• food grade barley belongs to the first class;
• food barley belongs to the second class.

Additionally, the product of the second class is divided into two subclasses, such as:

• barley for the production of malt for brewing and the production of alcohol;
• barley for the manufacture of agricultural feed.

In GOST there is a huge number of indicators for which requirements are made. If at least one of these indicators for any batch of products does not correspond to the normative for the class to which it claims, the entire batch is assigned to a lower class.

The main requirements that must be met by the first class barley used for the production of cereals and bakery products are as follows:

• product color should be exclusively yellow (different shades);
• humidity should not exceed 14.5%;
• the specific gravity (the so-called nature) of the grain should not be less than 630 grams per 1 liter;
• fine grains should be no more than 5%.

The basic requirements for the second class are as follows:

• color may be yellow or dark yellow;
• humidity not more than 15.5%.

Barley for malt production additionally includes requirements such as:

• nature should not be less than 570 g / l;
• fine grains should be no more than 5%;
• should give sprouts not less than 92% of the grains in the batch.

In addition to these basic characteristics, the permissible content of impurities is regulated for each of the classes.

Indicators of permissible concentration of toxins in 1 kilogram of barley vary and depend on the class of the product, namely:

• lead should be no more than 0.5 mg for grade 1 and no more than 5 mg for grade 2;
• cadmium - not more than 0.1 mg for grade 1 and 0.3 mg for grade 2;
• Arsenic - not more than 0.2 mg in barley class 1 and 0.5 mg in the product class 2;
• mercury - 0.03 and 0.1 mg, respectively;
• copper - 10 and 30 mg;
• Zinc in a product of any category should not exceed 50 mg;
• aflatoxin B1 in the product of category 1 should be no more than 0.005 mg, and for category 2 barley - 1 mg;
• zearalenone - no more than 1 mg for grade 1 and 3 mg for grade 2;
• T-2 toxin - 0.1 and 0.2 mg, respectively;
• vomitoxin - no more than 1 and 2 mg.

So, weed impurities for the first class should be no more than 2%, and for the second - up to 2% for malted barley and up to 5% for fodder, while paying attention to the following:

• the first category and the malt product of the second category cannot contain more than 0.2% of mineral impurities, whereas in the feed grain it can be up to 1%;
• spoiled grains in class 1 barley should be no more than 0.2%.

Grain impurities in the product of the first category should be no more than 7%. In the feed product it can be up to 15%, but the barley for the alcohol industry must contain it in an amount of not more than 3%. Moreover, for the first class, the composition of this impurity is separately regulated, namely:

• not more than 2% of off-grade barley;
• no more than 2% of germinated grains;
• not more than 5% of the seeds of other crops.

Interestingly, according to GOST for the second category of the product, the following should be attributed to the main grain in the classification:

• grains of other useful crops, not classified as impurities;
• 50% of damaged grains that are not classified as an impurity type.

The analysis of the compliance of grain properties with the specified requirements is carried out according to following regulatory documents:

• moisture assessment and selection of samples for analysis carried out according to GOST 13586.3;
• impurities are detected and characterized by groups according to the recommendations of GOST 30483;
• pest infestation is also detected according to GOST 30483;
• the color and smell of the product is evaluated according to GOST 10967 (visually according to accepted standards);
• specific weight is determined according to GOST 10840 (by the gravimetric method using a one or 20 liter purka);
• the concentration of toxins is assessed subject to the requirements of GOST 26927, as well as GOST from 26930 to 26934;
• the content of pesticides is determined according to the orders of the Ministry of Health.

The conditions of storage and transportation of barley are set by the same GOST 28672-90. First of all, the different classes of the product should be kept separate from each other in order to prevent their mixing. Storage facilities and vehicles should not be contaminated with pests, be dry and clean, and have no pronounced foreign odors.

In the next video you are waiting for useful properties and barley contraindications.