[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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