ISO 712-1:2024

Overview

ISO 712-1:2024 - "Cereals and cereal products - Determination of moisture content - Part 1: Reference method" defines a routine reference method for measuring moisture content in a wide range of cereals and cereal products. It applies to wheat, rice (paddy, husked and milled), barley, millet (Panicum miliaceum), rye, oats, triticale and sorghum in the form of grains, milled grains, semolina or flour. The document replaces ISO 712:2009 (minor revision) and is intended for laboratory use where an accurate, reproducible moisture determination is required.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope & exclusions: Not applicable to maize and pulses (see ISO 6540 for maize and ISO 24557 for pulses).
• Principle: Dry a representative test portion under controlled conditions so results correspond to the absolute method in Annex B.
• Apparatus:
  • Analytical balance accurate to ±0.001 g.
  • Grinding mill with low heat development, airtight construction and adjustable particle size.
  • Non‑corrodible metal or glass dish with lid; test portion surface mass ≤ 0.3 g/cm².
  • Constant‑temperature oven maintaining 130 °C to 133 °C near test portions and able to recover temperature in < 30 min after loading.
  • Desiccator with effective desiccant.
• Sample preparation:
  • Products with specified particle-size characteristics (Table 1) may be tested without grinding.
  • Grinding is required if particle-size limits are not met; some samples require preconditioning to bring moisture to between 9 % and 15 % before grinding (typically when moisture > 15 % or