[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45907-45909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18221]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Document Number AMS-FV-09-0028, FV-13-328]


United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Vegetables

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) has revised eight United States Standards for Grades 
of Frozen Vegetables. This revision replaces dual grade nomenclature 
with single letter grade designations. ``U.S. Grade A'' (or ``U.S. 
Fancy''), ``U.S. Grade B'' (or ``U.S. Extra Standard''), and ``U.S. 
Grade C'' (or ``U.S. Standard'') become ``U.S. Grade A,'' ``U.S. Grade 
B,'' and ``U.S. Grade C,'' respectively. This change conforms to recent 
changes in other grade standards. AMS has also updated contact 
information for obtaining copies of the grade standards and color 
standards. These changes bring these grade standards in line with the 
present quality levels being marketed today and provide guidance in the 
effective use of these products. The grade standards covered by these 
revisions are: frozen asparagus, frozen lima beans, frozen speckled 
butter beans, frozen cooked squash, frozen summer squash, frozen 
sweetpotatoes, frozen turnip greens with turnips, and frozen mixed 
vegetables.

DATES: Effective Date: August 29, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian E. Griffin, Standardization 
Branch, Specialty Crops Inspection Division, Fruit and Vegetable 
Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 0709,

[[Page 45908]]

South Building; STOP 0247, Washington, DC 20250; fax: (202) 690-1527; 
or email at [email protected]. Copies of the revised U.S. 
Standards for Grades of Frozen Vegetables are available on the AMS Web 
site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/scihome, and on http://www.Regulations.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing 
Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1622(c)), 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.''
    AMS 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. Those United States 
Standards for Grades of Fruits and Vegetables no longer appear in the 
Code of Federal Regulations but are maintained by USDA, AMS, Fruit and 
Vegetable Program at the following Web site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/scihome. AMS has revised these U.S. Standards for Grades using the 
procedures that appear in part 36 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (7 CFR part 36).
    Background: AMS periodically reviews the processed fruit and 
vegetable grade standards for usefulness in serving the industry. AMS 
has identified 18 grade standards covering various frozen vegetables 
for possible revision. More recently developed grade standards use a 
single term, such as ``U.S. Grade A'' or ``U.S. Grade B'' to describe 
each level of quality within a grade standard. Older standards use a 
dual system, such as ``U.S. Grade A'' and ``U.S. Fancy'' to describe 
the same level of quality within a grade standard. Prior to undertaking 
detailed work developing the proposed revisions to these grade 
standards, AMS published a notice in the Federal Register on July 23, 
2010 (75 FR 43141) soliciting comments on the possible changes and any 
other comments regarding these grade standards to better serve the 
industry. A 60-day period was provided for interested persons to submit 
comments on the proposed grade standards. In response to the Notice, 
AMS received one comment from by the American Frozen Food Institute 
(AFFI). AFFI's comments are available on the web at http://www.Regulations.gov. AFFI is a national trade association representing 
the interests of U.S. frozen food processors and their suppliers. 
AFFI's more than 500 member companies represent approximately 90 
percent of the frozen food processed annually in the United States. 
AFFI's comment was in support of the proposed revisions to the U.S. 
grade standards because its membership believes ``moving to a one-term 
system of grading (e.g., referring to ``Grade A'' solely, instead of 
allowing the use of ``Grade A'' and/or ``Extra Fancy'' to describe the 
same degree of quality) will help to improve consistency between new 
and old standards and minimize any confusion that might arise in the 
marketplace in interpreting or understanding the grading terminology 
used on packaging.''
    AMS published a second Notice with a 60-day comment period in the 
Federal Register on January 15, 2013 (78 FR 2946). All comments are 
posted on http://www.Regulations.gov. In response to the second Notice, 
AMS received two comments. The first commenter, representing a state 
agency, agreed with the overall proposed change to the standards. This 
commenter went on to ask why the notice proposes to change the grading 
for only particular vegetables, e.g., asparagus, lima beans, speckled 
butter beans, cooked squash, summer squash, etc., and not other 
vegetables. AMS periodically reviews the processed fruit and vegetable 
grade standards for usefulness in serving the industry. Other grade 
standards have been identified and AMS has determined that these grade 
standards may require additional revisions before moving forward. The 
commenter also raised a question concerning frozen vegetables genetic 
modification, which is outside of the scope of this action. Further, 
the commenter was of the view that a good step overall in helping 
clarify the grading system would be to add an explanation of what a 
particular grade on a product means. For example, Grade A means that 
the product is carefully selected for color and tenderness. With regard 
to this suggestion, it should be noted that in each of the revised 
standards, there is a section titled ``Grades of (name of commodity).'' 
Within this section there is a definition of what each particular grade 
of a product means. The second commenter, representing a university, 
was in support of AMS revising the eight frozen vegetable standards 
identified in this Notice.
    This Notice revises eight of the 18 grade standards identified in 
notices published July 23, 2010 (75 FR 43141) and January 15, 2013 (78 
FR 2946). The changes to each of the grade standards are as follows:

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Asparagus

    Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to 
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to 
``U.S. Grade B.''

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Cooked Squash

    Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to 
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to 
``U.S. Grade B.'' Correct a typographical error to read: ``U.S. Grade B 
is the quality of frozen cooked squash that possesses reasonably good 
flavor and odor.'' This would ensure that these requirements are 
consistent throughout the document.

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Lima Beans

    Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to 
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to 
``U.S. Grade B.'' Change ``U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard'' to ``U.S. 
Grade C.'' Update contact information for obtaining color standards for 
frozen lima beans.

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Mixed Vegetables

    Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to 
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to 
``U.S. Grade B.'' Change ``U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard'' to ``U.S. 
Grade C.'' Update references to color standard and definitions to 
eliminate conflict with current U.S. Standards for Grades of Frozen 
Lima Beans (remove reference to Maerz and Paul's Dictionary of Color 
and replace with current USDA Color Standards for Frozen Lima Beans). 
Update definition for color to ``Green means that not less than 50 
percent of the surface area of the individual lima bean possesses as 
much or more green color than U.S.D.A. lima bean green color standard 
for frozen lima beans.'' Update definition to ``White means that more 
than 50 percent of the surface area of the individual lima bean is 
lighter in color than U.S.D.A. lima bean white color standard for 
frozen lima beans.'' Add ``Information regarding these color standards 
may be obtained by contacting the Specialty Crops Inspection 
Division.'' These changes would eliminate the inconsistency in 
evaluating the color of frozen lima beans when they are a component in 
frozen mixed vegetables.

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Speckled Butter (Lima) 
Beans

    Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to 
``U.S.

[[Page 45909]]

Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to ``U.S. 
Grade B.''

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Squash (Summer Type)

    Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to 
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to 
``U.S. Grade B.''

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Sweet Potatoes

    Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to 
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to 
``U.S. Grade B.''

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Turnip Greens With Turnips

    Update address for AMS. Change ``U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy'' to 
``U.S. Grade A.'' Change ``U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard'' to 
``U.S. Grade B.'' Change references for ``flavor'' to ``flavor and 
odor'' to ensure that these requirements are consistent throughout the 
document.
    The other grade standards identified in the original notice (75 FR 
43141), namely frozen carrots, frozen whole kernel corn, frozen corn on 
the cob, frozen breaded onion rings, frozen peas, frozen peas and 
carrots, frozen French fried potatoes, frozen sweet peppers, frozen 
succotash, and frozen tomato juice and tomato juice from concentrate 
will be revised at a later date. AMS determined that these grade 
standards require additional revisions to take into account U.S. Food 
and Drug Administration's Standards of Identity, new styles and pack 
types, and new commercially cultivated varieties (such as supersweet 
corn) which possess unique characteristics. AMS will seek additional 
guidance from the industry to update these grade standards so that they 
reflect current marketing practices and serve the needs of the 
industry.
    The revisions to these frozen vegetable grade standards made in 
this notice provide a common language for trade and better reflect the 
current marketing of frozen vegetables. The changes are made effective 
30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.

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

    Dated: July 24, 2013.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-18221 Filed 7-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P