[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43695-43696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21570]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration


United States Standards for Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and 
Lentils

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Notice with Opportunity to Comment.

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SUMMARY: The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration 
(GIPSA) is proposing to revise the United States Standards for Whole 
Dry Peas, Split Peas and Lentils. Specifically, GIPSA is proposing to 
eliminate the classes Persian and Mixed lentils, and to establish a new 
class, Miscellaneous peas, and a new grading factor for lentils, 
Inconspicuous Admixture. GIPSA is proposing to change these standards 
to facilitate the marketing of peas and lentils.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted to Sharon Vassiliades at 
GIPSA, USDA, STOP 3649, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 
20250-3649; faxed to (202) 720-4628; or e-mailed to 
[email protected].
    All comments received will be made available for public inspection 
at the above address during regular business hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)).
    The current United States Standards for Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas 
and Lentils, along with the proposed changes, is available either 
through the above addresses or by accessing GIPSA's Home Page on the 
Internet at: www.usda.gov/gipsa/strulreg/standard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Sharon Vassiliades at (202) 
720-1738.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 203(c) of the Agricultural 
Marketing Act of 1946, as amended, 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 * * *.'' GIPSA 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. The United States Standards for 
Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas and Lentils do not appear in the Code of 
Federal Regulations but are maintained by the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.

    GIPSA is proposing to change the United States Standards for Whole 
Dry Peas, Split Peas and Lentils using the procedures it published in 
the Federal Register on February 13, 1997 (62 FR 6705). Specifically, 
GIPSA is proposing to eliminate the classes Persian and Mixed lentils, 
and to establish a new class, Miscellaneous peas, and a new grading 
factor for lentils, Inconspicuous Admixture.
    GIPSA representatives are continually meeting with pea and lentil 
producers, processors, handlers, and merchandisers concerning the U.S. 
Standards for Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and Lentils in order to gain 
a better understanding of their views on changes needed to improve the 
existing standards. On the basis of comments received and other 
available information, GIPSA is proposing several changes to the 
standards.

Classes of Lentils

    The present U.S. Standards for Lentils provide for three classes of 
lentils: Lentils, Persian Lentils, and Mixed

[[Page 43696]]

Lentils. The class Lentils is defined as ``All lentils of the Chilean 
type, with not more than 2.0 percent of Persian lentils.'' Persian 
lentils are defined as ``All lentils of the Persian type, with not more 
than 2.0 percent of Chilean lentils.'' Mixed lentils are ``Any mixture 
of lentils consisting predominately of Chilean lentils or of Persian 
lentils, which contains more than 2.0 percent of lentils other than 
those of the predominating class.''
    All lentils grown and marketed in the United States, regardless of 
their size, shape, or color, are considered to be of the Chilean type 
and classed as ``Lentils.'' Furthermore, the class names ``Persian 
lentils'' and ``Mixed lentils'' are neither domestically nor 
internationally recognized terms. With the recent introduction of 
small-seeded Chilean types, there is an increased risk that such 
lentils may be misclassified as Persian lentils. This could confuse 
lentil importers and needlessly disrupt the market. To provide greater 
uniformity within the U.S. lentil standards, GIPSA is proposing to 
eliminate the classes Persian and Mixed lentils.

Inconspicuous Admixture

    Lentils--like most other crops--are susceptible to field 
contamination by volunteer crops and weeds. Most such weeds can be 
controlled with herbicide solutions. However, even if reasonable 
measures are taken, some weed seeds, volunteer grain, and other 
undesirable plant material are usually harvested with the lentils. 
Small and large seeded weeds/grain can be easily removed from the 
thresher-run lentils (i.e., dockage) and seeds that are the same size 
as lentils can also be removed with relative ease (i.e., foreign 
material). But, seeds that are the same size, shape, and color as 
lentils are very difficult to virtually impossible to remove. 
Fortunately, packers, exporters, and end-users do not view seeds that 
closely mimic the appearance of lentils, such as Vicia sativa (commonly 
known as vetch, mimics, or rogue lentils ), as being as detrimental to 
quality as dockage or foreign material. Hence, the U.S. lentil industry 
feels that such seeds should not be considered as foreign material, but 
as a separate factor.
    The U.S. lentil industry is committed to quality and has encouraged 
producers to take all appropriate action to control the spread of 
lentil-mimics. To facilitate this process and to ensure that lentil 
quality is determined accurately, GIPSA is proposing to establish a new 
factor, Inconspicuous Admixture. This factor will be defined as ``Any 
seed which is difficult to distinguish from a lentil, including, but 
not limited to  Vicia sativa.''

U.S. Standards for Whole Dry Peas

    The present U.S. Standards for Peas provide for five classes of 
peas: Smooth Green Dry peas, Smooth Yellow Dry peas, Wrinkled Dry peas, 
Winter Dry peas, and Mixed Dry peas. In recent years, several new types 
of peas have been developed or introduced that do not readily fit 
within any of the current classes. To better facilitate the marketing 
of these peas, GIPSA is proposing to revise the U.S. Standards for 
Whole Dry Peas to establish a new class, Miscellaneous peas. 
Accordingly, peas that are not otherwise classified in the standards 
would be classified and designated according to the commonly accepted 
commercial name for the pea, e.g., Marrowfat peas. These proposed 
standard changes were recommended to us and reviewed by the affected 
trade. Therefore, GIPSA is publishing these proposed standard changes 
with a 30-day comment period which will provide a sufficient amount of 
time for interested persons to comment on changes to the standards.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.

    Dated: August 8, 1997.
James R. Baker,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-21570 Filed 8-14-97; 8:45 am]
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