[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 17, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19169-19170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-7241]


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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; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: We plan to revise the U.S. standards for Whole Dry Peas, Split 
Peas, and Lentils to provide applicants for service with an optional 
grade designation for pea and lentil certification and to remove the 
requirement that, in the case of Mixed Dry Peas, the percentage of each 
class in the mixture be shown on the grade line.

DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by May 17, 2007.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice. You may 
submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: Send comments via electronic mail to 
[email protected].
     Mail: Send hardcopy written comments to Tess Butler, 
GIPSA, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 1647-S, Washington, DC 
20250-3604.
     Fax: Send comments by facsimile transmission to: (202) 
690-2755.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver comments to: Tess 
Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 1647-S, 
Washington, DC, 20250-3604.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Instructions: All comments should refer to the date and 
page number of this issue of the Federal Register.
     Read Comments: All comments will be available for public 
inspection in the above office during regular business hours (7 CFR 
1.27 (b)).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly A. Whalen at USDA, GIPSA, 
FGIS, FMD, Suite 180, STOP 1404, 6501 Beacon Drive, Kansas City, 
Missouri 64133; Telephone (816) 823-4648; Fax Number (816) 823-4644; e-
mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (AMA), directs 
and authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and improve 
standards for agricultural products (7 U.S.C. 1622). These are 
standards of quality, condition, quantity, grade, and packaging. The 
intent of such standards is to encourage uniformity and consistency in 
commercial practices.
    We establish and maintain a variety of quality and grade standards 
for agricultural commodities. These standards serve as the fundamental 
starting point to define commodity quality in the domestic and global 
marketplace. We provide official procedures for how inspectors 
determine the various grading factors in supporting handbooks, such as 
the Pea and Lentil Handbook. The AMA standards and supporting 
procedures are voluntary and widely used in private contracts, 
government procurement, marketing communication, and, for some 
commodities, consumer information.
    Standards developed under the AMA include rice, whole dry peas, 
split peas, feed peas, lentils, and beans. The U.S. standards for Whole 
Dry Peas, Split Peas, Feed Peas, Lentils, and Beans do not appear in 
the Code of Federal Regulations (although the process by which we 
develop these standards is specified through the regulations in 7 CFR 
868.102, Procedures for establishing and revising grade standards); 
however, the standards are available on the GIPSA Web site at http://www.gipsa.usda.gov/GIPSA/webapp?area=home&subject=grpi&topic=sq-ous and 
by contacting the Field Management Division (FMD) at the above address. 
We provide the official procedures for how inspectors determine the 
various grading factors in various supporting handbooks, such as the 
Pea and Lentil Handbook, which you may view and print from the GIPSA 
Web site at http://www.gipsa.usda.gov/GIPSA/webapp?area=home&subject=lr&topic=hb-pl.

Optional Grade Designation and Certification Procedures

    We work closely with the U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council (USDPLC) 
and others in the pea and lentil industries to examine the 
effectiveness of the U.S. standards in today's marketing environment. 
It appears that the current standards continue to meet consumer and 
processor needs; however, both the rice and grain industries have 
optional certification procedures. We have determined that these 
certification procedures could be beneficial to the pea and lentil 
industries, as well.
    Currently, inspectors certify peas and lentils offered for 
inspection as a specific quality (U.S. grade), such as U.S. No. 2 
Smooth Green Dry Peas. Certifying a specific grade is commonly referred 
to in the rice and grain industries as ``Option 1'' grade designation. 
This works well most of the time, however, there are exceptions. At 
times, sellers find when preparing to load peas or lentils for shipment 
that the supply of a particular grade of pea or lentil may be 
insufficient to meet the quality and quantity requirements specified in 
the sales contract. When this happens, the seller may find it necessary 
to ship peas or lentils of a better quality. However, current 
inspection procedures do not allow the flexibility to describe or 
certify superior quality peas or lentils as being of a lower quality. 
If the lot presented for inspection is not uniform in quality for the 
declared grade, the inspector

[[Page 19170]]

certifies each portion separately according to quality. That is, if a 
consignment consists of both U.S. No. 1 and 2 Smooth Green Dry Peas, 
current procedure requires that the quantity representing each of the 
different qualities receive separate certification. Such certification 
may not meet the terms of sale for the contract.
    The U.S. standards for rice and grains offer an alternative 
approach that is termed ``Option 2'' grade designation. When a contract 
specifies an Option 2 grade designation, the applicant may specifically 
request Option 2 certification. Under Option 2 certification, there is 
no limitation placed on the amount of better quality grain in the lot. 
When a lot meets or is of better quality than the declared grade, 
inspectors include the term ``or better'' immediately following the 
numerical or sample grade designation.
    We would like to offer the Option 2 grade designation and 
certification approach for peas and lentils. Under such an approach, 
peas or lentils that are a better quality than that specified by the 
contract would be certified as a specific grade ``or better;'' (for 
example, U.S. No. 2, or better, Smooth Dry Peas). The applicant for 
inspection can obtain the optional certification procedure by 
requesting it on the application for inspection. The applicant would 
file the request for the optional certification prior to the beginning 
of inspection so the inspector knows how to certify the lot. We believe 
that Option 2 grade designation and certification will better align the 
pea and lentil industries with the rice and grain industries, provide 
sellers with the flexibility to ship peas and lentils of better 
quality, and provide buyers with the desirable option of receiving 
better quality.

Mixed Whole Dry Peas

    We also intend to eliminate the requirement that certain grade 
related information be shown on the grade line of the certificate for 
the class of Mixed Whole Dry Peas. Currently, the U.S. standards for 
Whole Dry Peas require a breakdown of the different classes, in order 
of predominance, be shown on the grade line of the certificate, in 
addition to the regular grade designation information, when the peas 
are classed as Mixed peas. Instead of showing this information on the 
grade line, we plan to enter such information in the ``Results'' 
section of the certificate. This approach will not change the grade of 
the product. We intend for the change to improve the readability of the 
certificate. The grade line will provide the grade designation and 
other related information will be provided in the ``Results'' section 
of the certificate. Further, this change in the U.S. standards for 
Whole Dry Peas will better align certification requirements in peas 
with other graded commodities such as rice, beans, and lentils.

Comments

    We are requesting comments for 30 days. All comments received 
within the comment period will be made part of the public record we 
maintain, will be available to the public for review, and will be 
considered before we take final action.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621-1627.

James E. Link,
Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.
 [FR Doc. E7-7241 Filed 4-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-KD-P