This Regulation shall apply with effect from the 1976 harvest.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 23 February 1976.
For the Commission
P.J. LARDINOIS
Member of the Commission (1)OJ No L 94, 28.4.1970, p. 1. (2)OJ No L 73, 27.3.1972, p. 14. (3)OJ No L 191, 27.8.1970, p. 5. (4)See page 6 of this Official Journal (5)OJ No L 191, 27.8.1970, p. 1.
ANNEX I COMMUNITY METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF RAW TOBACCO
A. Beaudesson method 1. Apparatus
Beaudessen EM 10 drying oven : a warm air electric drier in which the air is passed over the sample to be dried by forced convection by means of a special ventilation fan. The moisture content is determined by weighing before and after drying, the balance being calibrated in such a way that the reading given by the 10 g quantity used corresponds directly to the moisture content value in % (per cent).
2. Procedure
A 10 g quantity is weighed out in a pan with a perforated base and then put into the drying column, where it is supported by a spiral ring. The oven is turned on for five minutes, during which time the warm air causes the sample to dry at a temperature of about 100 ºC. At the end of five minutes, an automatic timer stops the process. The temperature of the air at the end of the drying process is recorded from a built-in thermometer. The sample is weighed, and its moisture content is read directly and corrected if necessary by the addition or subtraction of tenths of a per cent according to the temperature reading, using the scale provided with the apparatus.
B. Brabender method 1. Apparatus
Brabender oven : an electric drier consisting of a thermostated cylindrical chamber, ventilated by forced convection, into which are simultaneously placed 10 metal pans, each containing 10 g of tobacco. These pans are put onto a table, which can be rotated by means of a central handwheel into 10 different positions, allowing each of the pans, after drying, to be placed in a position where it can be weighed within the apparatus : a system of levers allows each of the pans to be placed successively on the arm of a built-in balance, without the necessity of removing the samples from the chamber. The balance has an optical read-out scale, and gives a direct reading for the moisture content. A second balance is attached to the apparatus, this being used only to weigh out the initial quantities.
2. Procedure
The thermostat is set at 110 ºC.
The chamber is set to preheat : minimum period 15 minutes.
Ten 10 g quantities are weighed out.
The oven is filled.
The samples are dried for 50 minutes.
Weights for determination of the gross moisture contents are read.
