[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45907-45909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18221]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Document Number AMS-FV-09-0028, FV-13-328]
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Vegetables
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of
Agriculture (USDA) has revised eight United States Standards for Grades
of Frozen Vegetables. This revision replaces dual grade nomenclature
with single letter grade designations. ``U.S. Grade A'' (or ``U.S.
Fancy''), ``U.S. Grade B'' (or ``U.S. Extra Standard''), and ``U.S.
Grade C'' (or ``U.S. Standard'') become ``U.S. Grade A,'' ``U.S. Grade
B,'' and ``U.S. Grade C,'' respectively. This change conforms to recent
changes in other grade standards. AMS has also updated contact
information for obtaining copies of the grade standards and color
standards. These changes bring these grade standards in line with the
present quality levels being marketed today and provide guidance in the
effective use of these products. The grade standards covered by these
revisions are: frozen asparagus, frozen lima beans, frozen speckled
butter beans, frozen cooked squash, frozen summer squash, frozen
sweetpotatoes, frozen turnip greens with turnips, and frozen mixed
vegetables.
DATES: Effective Date: August 29, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian E. Griffin, Standardization
Branch, Specialty Crops Inspection Division, Fruit and Vegetable
Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 0709,
[[Page 45908]]
South Building; STOP 0247, Washington, DC 20250; fax: (202) 690-1527;
or email at [email protected]. Copies of the revised U.S.
Standards for Grades of Frozen Vegetables are available on the AMS Web
site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/scihome, and on http://www.Regulations.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing
Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1622(c)), directs and authorizes the
Secretary of Agriculture ``to develop and improve standards of quality,
condition, quantity, grade, and packaging, and recommend and
demonstrate such standards in order to encourage uniformity and
consistency in commercial practices.''
AMS is committed to carrying out this authority in a manner that
facilitates the marketing of agricultural commodities and makes copies
of official standards available upon request. Those United States
Standards for Grades of Fruits and Vegetables no longer appear in the
Code of Federal Regulations but are maintained by USDA, AMS, Fruit and
Vegetable Program at the following Web site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/scihome. AMS has revised these U.S. Standards for Grades using the
procedures that appear in part 36 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (7 CFR part 36).
Background: AMS periodically reviews the processed fruit and
vegetable grade standards for usefulness in serving the industry. AMS
has identified 18 grade standards covering various frozen vegetables
for possible revision. More recently developed grade standards use a
single term, such as ``U.S. Grade A'' or ``U.S. Grade B'' to describe
each level of quality within a grade standard. Older standards use a
dual system, such as ``U.S. Grade A'' and ``U.S. Fancy'' to describe
the same level of quality within a grade standard. Prior to undertaking
detailed work developing the proposed revisions to these grade
standards, AMS published a notice in the Federal Register on July 23,
2010 (75 FR 43141) soliciting comments on the possible changes and any
other comments regarding these grade standards to better serve the
industry. A 60-day period was provided for interested persons to submit
comments on the proposed grade standards. In response to the Notice,
AMS received one comment from by the American Frozen Food Institute
(AFFI). AFFI's comments are available on the web at http://www.Regulations.gov. AFFI is a national trade association representing
the interests of U.S. frozen food processors and their suppliers.
AFFI's more than 500 member companies represent approximately 90
percent of the frozen food processed annually in the United States.
AFFI's comment was in support of the proposed revisions to the U.S.
grade standards because its membership believes ``moving to a one-term
system of grading (e.g., referring to ``Grade A'' solely, instead of
allowing the use of ``Grade A'' and/or ``Extra Fancy'' to describe the
same degree of quality) will help to improve consistency between new
and old standards and minimize any confusion that might arise in the
marketplace in interpreting or understanding the grading terminology
used on packaging.''
AMS published a second Notice with a 60-day comment period in the
Federal Register on January 15, 2013 (78 FR 2946). All comments are
posted on http://www.Regulations.gov. In response to the second Notice,
AMS received two comments. The first commenter, representing a state
agency, agreed with the overall proposed change to the standards. This
commenter went on to ask why the notice proposes to change the grading
for only particular vegetables, e.g., asparagus, lima beans, speckled
butter beans, cooked squash, summer squash, etc., and not other
vegetables. AMS periodically reviews the processed fruit and vegetable
grade standards for usefulness in serving the industry. Other grade
standards have been identified and AMS has determined that these grade
standards may require additional revisions before moving forward. The
commenter also raised a question concerning frozen vegetables genetic
modification, which is outside of the scope of this action. Further,
the commenter was of the view that a good step overall in helping
clarify the grading system would be to add an explanation of what a
particular grade on a product means. For example, Grade A means that
the product is carefully selected for color and tenderness. With regard
to this suggestion, it should be noted that in each of the revised
standards, there is a section titled ``Grades of (name of commodity).''
Within this section there is a definition of what each particular grade
of a product means. The second commenter, representing a university,
was in support of AMS revising the eight frozen vegetable standards
identified in this Notice.
This Notice revises eight of the 18 grade standards identified in
notices published July 23, 2010 (75 FR 43141) and January 15, 2013 (78
FR 2946). The changes to each of the grade standards are as follows:
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Asparagus
Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to
``U.S. Grade B.''
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Cooked Squash
Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to
``U.S. Grade B.'' Correct a typographical error to read: ``U.S. Grade B
is the quality of frozen cooked squash that possesses reasonably good
flavor and odor.'' This would ensure that these requirements are
consistent throughout the document.
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Lima Beans
Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to
``U.S. Grade B.'' Change ``U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard'' to ``U.S.
Grade C.'' Update contact information for obtaining color standards for
frozen lima beans.
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Mixed Vegetables
Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to
``U.S. Grade B.'' Change ``U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard'' to ``U.S.
Grade C.'' Update references to color standard and definitions to
eliminate conflict with current U.S. Standards for Grades of Frozen
Lima Beans (remove reference to Maerz and Paul's Dictionary of Color
and replace with current USDA Color Standards for Frozen Lima Beans).
Update definition for color to ``Green means that not less than 50
percent of the surface area of the individual lima bean possesses as
much or more green color than U.S.D.A. lima bean green color standard
for frozen lima beans.'' Update definition to ``White means that more
than 50 percent of the surface area of the individual lima bean is
lighter in color than U.S.D.A. lima bean white color standard for
frozen lima beans.'' Add ``Information regarding these color standards
may be obtained by contacting the Specialty Crops Inspection
Division.'' These changes would eliminate the inconsistency in
evaluating the color of frozen lima beans when they are a component in
frozen mixed vegetables.
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Speckled Butter (Lima)
Beans
Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to
``U.S.
[[Page 45909]]
Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to ``U.S.
Grade B.''
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Squash (Summer Type)
Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to
``U.S. Grade B.''
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Sweet Potatoes
Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to
``U.S. Grade B.''
United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Turnip Greens With Turnips
Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to
``U.S. Grade B.'' Change references for ``flavor'' to ``flavor and
odor'' to ensure that these requirements are consistent throughout the
document.
The other grade standards identified in the original notice (75 FR
43141), namely frozen carrots, frozen whole kernel corn, frozen corn on
the cob, frozen breaded onion rings, frozen peas, frozen peas and
carrots, frozen French fried potatoes, frozen sweet peppers, frozen
succotash, and frozen tomato juice and tomato juice from concentrate
will be revised at a later date. AMS determined that these grade
standards require additional revisions to take into account U.S. Food
and Drug Administration's Standards of Identity, new styles and pack
types, and new commercially cultivated varieties (such as supersweet
corn) which possess unique characteristics. AMS will seek additional
guidance from the industry to update these grade standards so that they
reflect current marketing practices and serve the needs of the
industry.
The revisions to these frozen vegetable grade standards made in
this notice provide a common language for trade and better reflect the
current marketing of frozen vegetables. The changes are made effective
30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621-1627.
Dated: July 24, 2013.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-18221 Filed 7-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P