The regulations for the ginger rhizome of the varieties (cultivars) of Zingiber officinale Roscoe, are as follows:
Quality standards
| (1) | Subject to the regulations for Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 and Lowest Class ginger and the permissible deviations in subregulation 3, ginger shall ; |
| (a) | be intact: Provided that up to 3% (m/m) fresh broken pieces are permissible; |
| (c) | be clean and free from foreign matter (e.g. small stones) including visible soil; |
| (d) | be free from Arthropoda infestation; |
| (e) | be free from insect damage or damage caused by other organisms: Provided that holes left by roots and resembling insect holes are not regarded as a deviations; |
| (f) | be free from blemishes; |
| (h) | be free from injuries; |
| (i) | be free from bruises; |
| (j) | be free from abnormal external moisture and be properly dried after washing; |
| (k) | be free from foreign odours; |
| (I) | be free from sprouts: Provided that a deviation of 10% is permissible for Class 1 and a deviation of 15% is permissible for Class 2; |
| (m) | be free from frost damage; |
| (n) | be free from sun-scorch; |
| (o) | be free from any other factors that affect or may affect the quality of the ginger detrimentally; |
| (p) | be free from abrasions: Provided that light abrasion that has been dried properly is allowable for young ginger if it does not detrimentally affect the quality of the ginger; |
| (r) | be air dried properly before packing; |
| (s) | preferably have a gloss; |
| (u) | be sound and attractive in appearance and have normal characteristics of the cultivar; and |
| (v) | be developed and of such conditions as to enable them to withstand transport and handling. |
Classifications
| (a) | Class 1 ginger shall have a slight skin defects due to rubbing provided they are healed and dry with no brown discolouration and the surface area affected does not exceed 15%. |
| (b) | Class 2 and Class 3 ginger shall have skin defects due to rubbing provided they are healed and dry and the surface areas affected do not exceed 20% and 25% respectively. |
Packing and sorting requirements
| (a) | Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 ginger shall be sorted and packed according to mass in the following groups: |
| (i) | Hands (rhizomes) - at least 150 g each; and |
| (ii) | fingers (segments) - at least 75 g but not more than 150 g each. |
| (b) | The mass of the heaviest hand or finger may not be more than twice the mass of the lightest hand or finger in the same packaging. |
| (c) | The minimum diameter of a finger (segment) shall be 32 mm in the case of: |
| (i) | Hands - measured at the thickest part of the largest finger (segment) in the hand; or |
| (ii) | fingers - measured at the thickest part of the finger. |
| (d) | In the case of Lowest Class ginger - unspecified. |
Permissible deviations with regard to quality standards
| (a) | Class 1 ginger may deviate from the quality standards with 10% by mass: Provided that the following individual limits may not be exceeded: |
| (b) | Class 2 and Class 3 ginger may deviate from the quality standards with 15% and 25% respectively by mass: Provided that the following individual limits may not be exceeded: |
| - | decay: 4% and 6% respectively; |
| - | injuries: 8% and 10% respectively; |
| (c) | In the case of Lowest Class - decay shall not exceed 20% by mass or number. |
Permissible deviations with regard to packing and sorting requirements
| (5) | Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 ginger may deviate ; |
| (a) | by 10%, 15% and 25% (m/m) from the prescribed minimum size for the hand (rhizome) respectively; |
| (b) | by 10%, 15% and 25% (m/m) from the minimum diameter for the finger (segment) respectively; and |
| (c) | In the case of Lowest Class ginger -unspecified. |
Marking requirements
| (6) | Subject to the provisions of regulation 10(1): Part I, each container in which Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 and Lowest Class ginger is packed, shall be marked with: |
| (a) | the minimum and maximum mass in grams; |
| (b) | in the case of ginger fingers the expression "ginger fingers" or "fingers". |
