GARLIC QUALITY STANDARDS

Introduction

These Quality standards are designed to ensure that the horticultural enterprises meet the minimum requirements to become an integral part of the market, whether export or local.

Quality isn’t just about profits and loss or beating out a competitor. It’s about safety, delivering on a promise and meeting the very basics of customer expectations. But, by meeting quality standards, enterprises often reap better profits and reduce losses. Those that exceed quality standards stand out above their competitors and further their potential for profit and consumer loyalty. Therein rests the benefit of quality standards.

Today, quality assurance measures the standards that go into a product or service before it goes out to the public. Quality assurance uses auditors, sometimes independent and sometimes in-house, to evaluate the methods that go into making products and providing services. In this set up, the Commercial Village Trade Facilitators will help train and audit the farmers horticultural produce before reaching the market.

This module will help achieve the following:

Improve enterprises’ ability to deliver garlic that consistently keep up a high quality to the market hence customer satisfaction
Enhance garlic quality thereby helping the enterprises to reduce extra costs that rejection of produce comes with.

Figure 1 Garlic packaging in a uniform and good quality way. http://www.prettygarlic.com/product/view.php?id=8

Common Standards

SCOPE OF THE STANDARD

This standard applies to garlic of varieties (cultivars) grown from Allium sativum L. to be supplied fresh, semi-dry or dry to the consumer, green garlic with full leaves and undeveloped cloves and garlic for industrial processing being excluded.

APPLICATION OF THE STANDARD

The purpose of the standard is to define the quality requirements of garlic after preparation and

packaging.

Terms And Definitions

Under the terms and definitions, the following shall apply

Fresh garlic: means produce with a ‘green’ stem and with the outer skin of the bulb still fresh.
Semi-dry garlic: means produce with the stem and the outer skin of the bulb not completely dry.
Dry garlic: means produce in which the stem, the outer skin of the bulb and the skin surrounding each clove are completely dry.

Quality Requirements

The purpose of the standard is to define the quality requirements for garlic after preparation and packaging.

a) CLASSIFICATION

Garlic is classified in three classes defined below:

EXTRA CLASS

Garlic in this class must be of superior quality. It must be characteristic of the variety and/or commercial type (5).

The bulbs must be:

Intact
regular in shape
properly cleaned
They must be free of defects, with the exception of very slight superficial blemishes, provided these do not affect the general appearance of the produce, the quality, the keeping quality and presentation in the package.
The cloves must be compact.
The roots of dry garlic must be cut off flush with the bulb.

CLASS I

Garlic in this class must be of good quality. It must be characteristic of the variety and/or commercial type (5). The bulbs must be:

Intact
Of fairly regular shape

The following slight defects, however, may be allowed, provided these do not affect the general appearance of the produce, the quality, the keeping quality and presentation in the package:

Slight tears in the outer skin of the bulb
Cloves must be reasonably compact

CLASS II

This class includes garlic, which does not qualify for inclusion in the higher classes, but satisfies the minimum requirements specified above. The following defects may be allowed, provided the garlic retains its essential characteristics as regards the quality, the keeping quality and presentation:

tears in the outer skin or missing parts of the outer skin of the bulb
healed injuries
slight bruises
irregular shape
up to three cloves missing

b) PROVISIONS CONCERNING SIZING

Size is determined by the maximum diameter of the equatorial section.

i) The minimum diameter is fixed at 45mm for garlic classified in the ‘Extra’ Class and 30mm for garlic classified in Classes I and II.

ii) For garlic presented loose - with stems - or in bunches, the difference in diameter between the smallest and the largest bulb in the same package may not exceed:

15mm where the diameter of the smallest bulb is less than 40mm
20mm where the diameter of the smallest bulb is 40mm or more.

c) PROVISIONS CONCERNING TOLERANCES

Tolerances in respect of quality and size are allowed in each package, or each lot where the garlic is presented loose, for produce not satisfying the requirements of the class indicated.

A. Quality Tolerances

EXTRA CLASS

5% by weight of garlic not satisfying the requirements of the class but meeting those of Class I or, exceptionally, coming within the tolerances of that class.

CLASS 1

10% by weight of garlic not satisfying the requirements of the class but meeting those of Class II or, exceptionally, coming within the tolerances of that class. Within this tolerance, not more than 1% by weight of bulbs may have cloves with externally visible sprouts.

CLASS 11

10% by weight of garlic satisfying neither the requirements of the class nor the minimum requirements, with the exception of produce affected by rotting or damaged by frost or sun, or any other deterioration rendering it unfit for consumption. In addition to this tolerance, a maximum of 5% by weight of bulbs may have cloves with externally visible sprouts.

B. Size Tolerances

For all classes: 10% by weight of bulbs not satisfying the requirements as regards sizing and the size indicated but conforming to the size immediately above and/or below that specified. Within this tolerance, not more than 3% of bulbs may have a diameter smaller than the specified minimum but not less than 25mm.

PROVISIONS CONCERNING PRESENTATION

I) UNIFORMITY

The contents of each package, or lot for produce presented in bulk, must be uniform and contain only garlic of the same origin, variety or commercial type, quality and size (if sized). The visible part of the contents of the package, or lot for produce presented loose, must be representative of the entire contents.

II) PACKAGING

With the exception of dry garlic presented in strings, which may be transported in bulk (loaded directly into a transport vehicle), garlic must be packed in such a way as to protect the produce properly. The materials used inside the package must be new, clean and of a quality such as to avoid causing any external or internal damage to the produce. The use of materials, particularly paper or stamps, bearing trade specifications is allowed, provided the printing or labelling has been done with non-toxin ink or glue. Packages, or lots for produce presented in bulk, must be free of all foreign matter.

III) PRESENTATION

Garlic must be presented as follows:-

(i) loose in the package, with cut stems, the length of the stem not to exceed:

10cm in the case of fresh and semi-dry garlic
3cm in the case of dry garlic

(ii) in bunches by:

number of bulbs
net weight.

The stems must be evened off.

(iii) in the case of dry and semi-dry garlic only, in strings by:

number of bulbs, there being at least six bulbs per string
net weight.

In the case of presentation in bunches or strings, each package must have uniform characteristics (number of bulbs or net weight).

Irrespective of the type of presentation, the stems must be cut cleanly, as must roots in the case of dry garlic classified in the ‘Extra’ class.

VI) PROVISION CONCERNING MARKING

Each package must bear the following particulars, in letters grouped on the same side, legibly and indelibly marked, and visible from the outside. For garlic in strings transported in bulk (loaded directly into a vehicle), the particulars must appear on a document accompanying the goods, and attached in a visible position inside the transport vehicle.

I) INDENTIFICATION

Packer and/or dispatcher: Name and address or officially issued or accepted code mark. However, in the case where a code mark is used, the reference ‘packer and/or dispatcher (or equivalent abbreviations)’ has to be indicated in close connection with the code mark.

II) NATURE PRODUCE

‘Fresh garlic’, ‘semi-dry garlic’ or ‘dry garlic’ if the contents are not visible from the outside.
Name of the variety or commercial type (‘white garlic’, pink garlic’, etc).
‘Smoked’, where appropriate.

III) ORIGIN OF PRODUCE

Country of origin and, optionally, district where grown, or national, regional or local place name.

IV) COMMERCIAL SPECIFICATIONS

Class
Size (if sized) expressed as minimum and maximum diameters of the bulbs.

Conclusion

Quality assurance helps a company meet its clients’ demands and expectations. High quality builds trust with customers, which, in turn, makes the enterprises competitive in the market. It saves costs and fixes issues before problems become larger, and it helps to set and maintain quality standards by preventing problems to begin with. Investing in quality assurance is indispensable in many enterprises today. It is most effective when it’s in place from the start. When quality assurance is done right, it provides confidence, tests the product and lets enterprises market their products with few worries.

This module will therefore help the farmers to have knowledge on quality and standards required in processing and packaging garlic to meet the market demand and improve income.