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DIN Standards Committee Food and Agricultural Products

Overview

Soil improvers and growing media are generally traded by volume as the weight of the product can be greatly affected by the moisture content. It is important for both consumers and traders to know the volume of product being traded. Furthermore, for the cultivation of plants, it is the volume of the product, and not the weight, that is generally important. The volume is calculated from knowing the weight and bulk density of the product, the latter being determined from weighing a known reference volume of product. As some soil improvers and growing media are compressible, it is important that this aspect be addressed in the method of determining the bulk density. A suitably competent person should undertake this testing. For those materials traded by reference to its mass, this document recognises the effects the moisture content can have on the quantity declared. Therefore the principle is that for such transactions any weight shall be accompanied by the moisture content so that the solid matter content can be calculated. As some soil improvers and growing media are compressible (and some may be presented in compressed blocks or bales), it is important that this aspect be addressed in the method of determining the bulk density. A suitably competent person should undertake this testing. Even for materials traded by volume, the moisture content can have an effect as high moisture levels increase agglomerations, can reduce the ability to decompress or reconstitute materials, reduce their flow characteristics and give higher apparent bulk densities and lower volumes. The preparation and sampling of all materials prior to quantity determination is covered in EN 12579. Quantity determination will be performed as soon as possible after preparation and sampling. This European Standard specifies methods for the determination of a quantity of soil improvers and growing media in bulk (supply quantity) and in packages (filling quantity). This is a reference method, which is designed with an appropriate precision level so that it can be used to validate any quantity declaration made. This standard is applicable to material that is in solid form, reconstituted if necessary, but not to blocks sold as such by dimension; for these, see EN 15761. This method is not applicable for material with more than 10 % (V/V) of particles greater than 60 mm in size; for these, see EN 15238. The requirements of this standard may differ from the national legal requirements for the declaration of the products concerned. Where there is no legal requirement to use this method, for example in quantity control of packaged product, then it is permissible for any other methods to be used so long as these other methods can be demonstrated to be comparable with this standard method in giving the same quantity with the same precision. Material which has become excessively wet and which cannot be easily broken down into a flowable material will not be suitable for the determination of quantity and may not give a representative result. However, because of the diverse nature and bulk density of these materials, it is not possible to quantify what is "excessive". This standard is intended to be used by manufacturers, buyers and enforcement agencies in verifying claims made for these products. It is not intended that it should necessarily be used for the purpose of manufacturing control. This document supersedes DIN EN 12580:2000-01. With respect to DIN EN 12580:2000-01 the provisions in EN 15238 and EN 15761 have been taken into account and the density determination of the product has been given in more detail. Moreover a method for calibration of the measure has been added. The committee responsible for this standard is NA 057-03-01 AA "Bodenverbesserungsmittel und Kultursubstrate" ("Soil improvers and growing media") at DIN.

Document: references other documents

Responsible national committee

NA 057-03-01 AA - Soil improvers and growing media  

Responsible european committee

CEN/TC 223/WG 3 - Sampling