INTRODUCTION

Section 2.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 establishes standards for cereals, pulses, and their products. Standards for food grains, milled products, and processed cereal products are among them. In addition, this item includes standards for malted foods and solvent extracted edible oilseed flours.

GRAINS FOR FOOD

All components of food grains that deviate from normal grains, such as foreign matter, other food grains, damaged grains, weevil led grains, shattered, shrivelled grains, and so on, are referred to be refractions.

MOISTURE DETERMINATION

Mix the test sample with a reasonable amount of ground material to provide enough ground material for repeat determination. Ensure that the sample passes through the 1.0 mm filter without being too coarse or too fine. In a previously dry and tared dish, weigh accurately about 5 gram of sample and bake for 2 hours with the lid underneath. After the items have been placed in the oven, the time should begin when the temperature reaches 130°C. After 2 hours, remove the dish, chill in the desiccator, and weigh. The dish should be returned to the oven at half-hour intervals until it reaches a steady weight. It's also a good idea to provide the dish's size specification.

URIC ACID DETERMINATION

The method is based on protein precipitation and treatment of protein-free filtrate with Benedict's uric acid reagent and sodium cyanide, followed by colorimetric measurement of the resulting blue colour.

INSPECTION FOR ERGOT IN FOOD GRAINS

In the grinding mill, grind around 50 gm of sample to a fine powder. In a stoppered conical flask, place 10 gm of powdered material. In an electric shaker, add enough petroleum ether and mix for half an hour. Allow the petroleum ether to settle before decanting it.

The material should be dried in the open air. 8 ml dilute ammonia and a sufficient amount of solvent ether should be added to the substance. Shake for another 30 minutes. Fill a beaker halfway with ether and condense to a tiny amount. Shake the beaker thoroughly with 2 mL tartaric acid solution. Combine 1 mL tartaric acid – sample solution with 1 or 2 mL pdimethyl benzaldehyde solution in a mixing glass. The presence of Ergot is indicated by the emergence of blue colour.

HYDROCYANIC ACID IN BEANS DETERMINATION

The glucosides are hydrolyzed, and the resulting Hydrocyanic acid is steam distilled and titrated with Silver nitrate in an ammonia-based medium in the presence of potassium iodide, resulting in the soluble complex Ag(CN)2. The formation of permanent turbidity due to the precipitation of silver iodide marks the end of the titration.

ATTA EXAMINATION (WHEAT)

Sample preparation and then moisture determination from the sample

BISCUITS

In the moisture dish, weigh roughly 5gm of powdered sample correctly, previously dried and weighed in an oven Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the dish in it.For four hours, heat to 105°C. Allow to cool in the desiccator before weighing. At 30-minute intervals, repeat the drying, cooling, and weighing process until the difference between two consecutive weighs is less than 1 mg. 

BREAD

In a moisture dish that has been dried in the oven at 1050C, weigh correctly around 5 mg of the prepared sample. Preheat the oven to 105°C and bake the dish for 4 hours. Weigh after cooling in a desiccator. Repeat the heating, chilling, and weighing process until the difference between two successive weighings is less than 1 mg. Calculate the moisture percentage based on the mass loss.