[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6112-6113]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1820]


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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 of reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We published a notice in the Federal Register on April 17, 
2007 (72 FR 19169), inviting comments regarding the revision of the 
U.S. Standards for Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and Lentils.

[[Page 6113]]

The proposed revisions would provide applicants for service with an 
optional grade designation for pea and lentil certification and remove 
the requirement that for Mixed Dry Peas, the percentage of each class 
in the mixture be shown on the grade line. The notice provided an 
opportunity for interested parties to forward written comments to the 
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) until 
May 17, 2007. Due to the continued high level of interest in this 
notice, we are reopening the comment period to provide interested 
parties with additional time in which to comment.

DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by April 1, 2008.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit your comments on the 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 1633-S, Washington, DC 
20250-3604.
     Fax: Send comments by facsimile transmission to: (202) 
690-2173.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver comments to: Tess 
Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 1643-S, 
Washington, DC 20250-3604
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulation.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Instructions: All comments should make reference 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, Market and Program Analysis Staff, 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: GIPSA published a notice in the Federal 
Register on April 17, 2007 (72 FR 19169), inviting comments from all 
interested persons on the proposed revisions to the U.S. Standards for 
Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and Lentils. The proposed revisions would 
provide applicants for service with an optional grade designation for 
pea and lentil certification and remove the requirement for Mixed Dry 
Peas, the percentage of each class in the mixture be shown on the grade 
line. For ease of reference, we have included in this notice the 
discussion of the revisions to the U.S. Standards for Whole Dry Peas, 
Split Peas, and Lentils that are under consideration.

Optional Grade Designation and Certification Procedures

    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 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 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.
    An alternative approach 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 would be no limitation placed on the amount of 
better quality peas and lentils in the lot. When a lot meets or is of 
better quality than the declared grade, inspectors would 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, 
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. 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). We believe that 
Option 2 grade designation and certification will 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 propose 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 propose to enter such information in the ``Results'' 
section of the certificate. This approach will not change the grade of 
the product and will enhance the readability of the certificate.

Comments

    The comment period of 30 days from the date of publication (72 FR 
19169) closed on May 17, 2007. Due to continued high level of interest 
in the April 17, 2007, notice, GIPSA is reopening the comment period to 
provide interested parties additional time to comment. As a result, the 
comment period is reopened for a 60 day period. We welcome both 
comments from interested persons who did not comment during the initial 
30 day period, as well as those interested persons who have already 
commented.

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

David R. Shipman,
Acting Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-1820 Filed 1-31-08; 8:45 am]
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