[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5975-5976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-3350]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Docket No. PY-96-002]


Tentative Voluntary Poultry Grade Standards

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing that it 
is approving the test marketing of USDA grade identified cooked, 
boneless-skinless poultry products, based on tentative grade standards.

DATES: This test-market period begins February 15, 1996, and ends 
February 15, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry W. Robinson, Chief, Grading 
Branch, Poultry Division, 202-720-3271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Poultry grading is a voluntary program provided under the 
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.), 
and is offered on a fee-for-service basis. It is designed to assist the 
orderly marketing of poultry products. Quality in practical terms 
refers to the usability, desirability, and value of a product, as well 
as its marketability. Poultry grade standards identify and measure 
degrees of quality in poultry products. They permit important quality 
attributes to be evaluated uniformly and accurately; they provide a way 
for buyers and sellers to negotiate using a common language.
    Once poultry has been graded according to these standards, it may 
be 

[[Page 5976]]
identified with the USDA grademark. Over the years, processors have 
found it advantageous to market grade-identified poultry products and 
consumers have come to rely on the USDA grademark as assurance that 
they are getting the quality they want.
    Poultry producers and processors are continually developing new, 
innovative products. Chicken and turkey, in particular, have been 
transformed into numerous boneless and/or skinless products, thus 
increasing poultry's share of the consumer's food dollar and responding 
to consumer demand for food with more built-in convenience and less 
fat. Currently, there are grade standards for boneless poultry breasts, 
thighs, and tenderloins (Sec. 70.231), as well as for skinless 
carcasses and parts (Sec. 70.232). On March 30, 1995, the Agency 
approved the test marketing of USDA grade-identified, boneless-skinless 
poultry legs and drumsticks, based on tentative grade standards, 
through April 1, 1996 (60 FR 16428). And, on June 12, 1995, the Agency 
approved the test marketing of USDA grade-identified, ready-to-cook, 
boneless-skinless poultry products without added ingredients, based on 
tentative grade standards, through June 12, 1996 (60 FR 30830).
    The Agency has now been requested by industry to permit the grade 
identification of cooked, boneless-skinless poultry products without 
added ingredients. These products include cooked poultry that has been 
subdivided by cutting, slicing, cubing, or similarly reducing the size 
prior to grading, products that are currently marketed ungraded because 
there are no grade standards for them.
    The Agency recognizes that before new standards of quality can be 
established or current standards of quality can be amended, appropriate 
investigation is needed. This includes the test marketing of 
experimental packs of grade-identified poultry products to determine 
production requirements and consumer acceptance, and to permit the 
collection of other necessary data. Current regulations (7 CFR Part 70) 
provide the Agency with the flexibility needed to permit such 
experimentation, so that new procedures and grading techniques may be 
tested.
    The Agency has worked in partnership with members of the industry 
to develop tentative grade standards for cooked, boneless-skinless 
poultry products without added ingredients and is granting permission 
for a 1-year test marketing period. At the expiration of this 1-year 
period, the Agency will then evaluate the test results to determine if 
the current poultry grade standards should be amended, through notice-
and-comment procedures, to include the following tentative standards.

Tentative Grade Standards for Cooked, Boneless-skinless Poultry 
Products without Added Ingredients--A Quality

    1. The raw, ready-to-cook, boneless-skinless poultry products 
without added ingredients used to prepare the cooked product must be 
labeled in accordance with 9 CFR Part 381.
    2. The cooked poultry products must be derived from ready-to-cook 
carcasses or parts that are cooked in accordance with 9 CFR Part 381. 
The cooking process or method must not detract from the uncooked 
appearance of the products.
    3. The skin and bones shall be removed in a neat manner without 
undue mutilation of adjacent muscle.
    4. The cooked poultry products may be further processed and 
subdivided by cutting, slicing, cubing, or similarly reducing the size 
prior to grading. Individual subdivided pieces of poultry meat must be 
relatively uniform and of sufficient size and shape to determine grade 
with respect to the quality factors set forth in this section.
    5. The cooked poultry products shall be free of cartilage, tendons 
extending more than 1/2 inch beyond the meat tissue, blood clots, 
bruises, and discolorations other than slight discolorations, provided 
they do not detract from the appearance of the product.
    6. Trimming and minor flesh abrasions due to preparation techniques 
are permitted provided they result in a relatively smooth outer surface 
with no angular cuts, tears, holes, or undue muscle mutilation in the 
meat portion.

    Dated: February 9, 1996.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-3350 Filed 2-17-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P