Pulses are bought by name and delivered by lot, and the gap between the two is where most disputes in the category begin. "Red lentils" describes a category. A specific lot has a purity, a moisture content, a proportion of broken grain, a level of foreign matter and a size grade, and each of those decides something a buyer will notice — in the warehouse, in the kitchen, or on the shelf. A specification that names all five turns a category into a product.
Purity
Purity is the share of the lot that is the product as described: the stated pulse, of the stated type, within the stated grade. It is the headline figure and it is only as useful as the lines that follow, because the remainder — the part that is not the described product — can be several different things, and they are not equally serious.
Other grains or seeds mixed into the lot are one thing. Off-type material of the same pulse — a different variety, a different colour — is another. Foreign matter is a third. A specification that states purity as a single percentage without saying what the remainder may contain has left the important part open.
Moisture
Moisture governs storage, and it is the line most often responsible for a lot that was acceptable at origin and unacceptable on arrival. A pulse lot that is too wet risks mould and insect activity in transit and in the warehouse. It also weighs more than the dry matter the buyer is paying for, which is a commercial issue independent of the safety one.
Moisture is specified as a maximum and should be measured at loading, with the method named. For chickpeas, typical maximums fall in the range of 10 to 13 %; other pulses carry their own conventions. The number matters less than the fact that it is written down and checked before the container closes.
Broken grain — and the split lentil exception
Broken grain is unintended fragments in a lot that is supposed to be whole. It affects appearance, it affects cooking uniformity, and it is a sign of rough handling somewhere between field and bag. A specification for whole pulses limits it, with a percentage.
Red lentils need a specific note here. Split red lentils are not broken whole lentils; they are a product in their own right, produced deliberately by dehulling whole lentils and splitting them. A buyer ordering split red lentils describes the split product. A buyer ordering whole red lentils limits broken. The two specifications are different, and a purchase order that does not say which it means will be filled with whichever the supplier has.
Foreign matter and sieve size
Foreign matter is material that is not the pulse at all: stones, soil, plant fragments, other seeds. It is limited as a percentage, and for chickpeas a typical trade maximum is around 0.2 %. Beyond the number, the nature of the foreign matter is worth stating, because a stone and a fragment of stem are not the same problem for a buyer with a packing line.
Sieve size is the grade: the aperture the lot has been sized to, with a tolerance for material outside it. It is the primary specification for chickpeas, where calibre defines the product, and it is increasingly used for lentils. It determines whether a lot cooks evenly and whether it looks uniform in a pack, and it should be stated rather than inferred from the product name.
Where we sit
TeraVella works in pulses as a sourcing partner — we do not claim to own a mill or a processing plant. We put these five lines in writing with the buyer before production, each with its analytical method, verify a producer against them, collect batch analyses at loading, and manage documented shipment in bulk sacks or retail packs under your own brand. For red lentils and chickpeas we check the export quota position before discussing volume. We hold ISO 9001, ISO 22000 and ISO 27001 and make no organic or other certification claim. Volumes and prices are confirmed at quotation.
