[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 70 (Monday, April 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18810-18811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07060]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 70 / Monday, April 13, 2026 /
Notices
[[Page 18810]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Doc. No. AMS-SC-24-0068]
Revising U.S. Standards for Grades of Lemons
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final notice.
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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of
Agriculture (USDA) is revising the United States (U.S.) Standards for
Grades of Lemons (or Standards) by adding the term ``seedless lemons.''
In addition, AMS is incorporating marking requirements for lemons
meeting the seedless definition.
DATES: Applicable May 13, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Buss, by phone (231) 260-5913;
fax (540) 361-1199; or email at [email protected]. Copies of the
U.S. Standards for Grades of Lemons are available at https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/fruits.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing
Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621-1627), as amended, directs and authorizes
the Secretary of Agriculture ``[t]o 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. The U.S. Standards for
Grades of Fruits and Vegetables that no longer appear in the Code of
Federal Regulations are maintained by USDA, AMS, Specialty Crops
Program at the following web site: https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards. AMS is revising the U.S. Standards for Grades of Lemons
using the procedures that appear in part 36 of title 7 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (7 CFR part 36).
Background
On March 25, 2024, California Citrus Mutual, a voluntary non-profit
trade association for California's citrus growers, petitioned USDA to
revise the lemon standard to incorporate a seedless lemon definition
and marking requirements. The petitioner represents 95 percent of the
lemon producers nationwide. In their petition, California Citrus Mutual
explained that advancements in the domestic lemon industry led to the
development of seedless lemon varietals. AMS worked closely with
California Citrus Mutual throughout the development of these revisions,
soliciting their comments and suggestions about the standards through
discussion drafts and presentations. On September 11, 2025, AMS
published in the Federal Register (90 FR 43947; Docket No. AMS-SC-24-
0068) a notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to the
U.S. Standards for Grades of Lemons. These revisions establish a
definition for seedless lemons along with marking requirements to
maintain consistency in the industry.
Through this action, AMS is revising the U.S. Standards for Grades
of Lemons to add a definition for the term ``seedless lemons'' stating
that ``when marked `seedless,' a 100-count composite sample shall have
not more than 6 fruit (or 6 percent) containing seeds (irrespective of
number or development per fruit). Seeds include fully developed and
undeveloped seeds (or pips).'' Written this way, any undeveloped seeds
will be counted against that piece of fruit. The percentage of lemons
with seeds is based on the number of fruit with seeds, rather than the
number of seeds within a lemon. This new definition is not applied to
affect grade.
In addition, through this action, AMS will incorporate marking
requirements to the Standards for lemons meeting this seedless
definition. The new marking requirements do not affect grade. The
marking requirements specify that ``when lots are marked `seedless,'
the term `seedless' shall be legibly marked on at least 95 percent of
the containers, including consumer units.'' These marking requirements
will provide buyers and consumers with clear information on the product
being bought and sold between parties. Without marking requirements, it
would be difficult to differentiate between lots of seedless lemons and
lots of lemons with seeds to determine when the new definition applies.
Comments
AMS provided a 60-day comment period for interested parties to
submit comments on the proposed grade standards. In response to its
request, AMS received and considered 27 comments. All comments were
posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Nineteen commenters expressed
their support for the proposed revisions to the U.S. Standards for
Grades of Lemons.
One commenter recommended AMS clarify the sampling methodology to
ensure the process is uniform across inspection. AMS agrees that
providing a clear sampling methodology will help ensure the process is
uniform across inspections. However, AMS finds it is more appropriate
to include the sampling methodology in the USDA Lemons Shipping Point
and Market Inspection Instructions, located online at https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/lemon-grades-and-standards, rather
than including it directly into the U.S. Standards for Grades of
Lemons, because that is where other similar instructions are provided.
Therefore, AMS made no changes to the proposed revisions to the
Standards based on this comment.
Another commenter stated that the marking requirement for
``seedless'' lemons should be more specific and include a mandated font
and text size. The commenter also stated that AMS should consider the
impact the new definition has on small farms and consider a phase-in
period for these small farms. While AMS acknowledges this comment, AMS
does not mandate specific fonts or text sizes for its U.S. Standards.
The marking requirements do not include a required font or text size
because lemon packaging can vary in size. Accordingly, AMS finds that
it would be impractical and overly burdensome to producers and packers
to require such font and text size specifications. Additionally, AMS
does
[[Page 18811]]
not find that a phase-in period is necessary for the industry because
the Standards are voluntary, and producers are not required to use the
term ``seedless'' on their label. However, if the lemons are labeled as
``seedless'' on the packaging, the term ``seedless'' needs to be on at
least 95% of the containers. Accordingly, AMS made no changes to the
proposed revisions to the Standards based on this comment.
Two anonymous commenters stated AMS should include a statement on
the label to indicate whether the lemons are a Genetically Modified
Organism (GMO). While AMS acknowledges these comments, that type of
labeling is outside the scope of this revision to the U.S. Standards.
The U.S. Standards are a measure of a commodity's quality and condition
and do not address the regulation of GMOs. Accordingly, AMS made no
changes to the proposed revisions to the Standards based on these
comments.
Another comment stated: (1) AMS should ``further clarify the
specific requirements for the `seedless lemon' label'' (such as noting
size, shape, label position, etc.); (2) AMS should provide the theory
or statistics on which the seedless lemon definition is based; (3)
undeveloped seeds should not be counted in the seedless lemon
definition because that is ``too strict'' and these undeveloped seeds
do not affect taste; and (4) ``it is recommended to use `seed/seed
kernel count per fruit' as the primary criteria for assessing seedless
lemons.'' The commenter further explained that this method of
measurement is the current ``international standard for defining
seedless agricultural products.''
AMS acknowledges this comment and the issues it raises. With
respect to the commenter's first point regarding labeling requirements,
AMS notes that these grade standards are voluntary, and that AMS does
not impose specific labeling requirements regarding size, shape, or
label positioning. As noted above, it would be overly burdensome to
require specific labeling requirements like size, shape, or label
positioning because lemon packaging may vary. AMS included marking
requirements (i.e., to include the term ``seedless'') to serve as a
declaration of the product for buyers and consumers so that the
seedless lemons definition can be applied when containers are marked
``seedless.'' With respect to the commenter's second point, the
industry initially based the seedless definition framework on Florida's
state seedless tangerine standard (20-13.0041) and then updated it to
the proposed definition to align with cultivar advancements and
retailer expectations. As newer seedless lemon cultivars have been
developed, the petitioners discovered that mature trees (3+ years)
generally contain no seeds, whereas an occasional seed can be found
from lemons originating from juvenile trees. California Citrus Mutal
originally considered proposing to set the definition's percentage of
fruit with seeds at one percent but ultimately increased the percentage
in their proposed definition to six percent to allow for more leeway.
The historical counts of seeds in seedless lemons align with this
definition. In response to the commenter's third point regarding the
strictness of the definition, AMS determined after several discussions
that undeveloped seeds should be counted against the seedless
definition because both are considered seeds to buyers and consumers.
It is understood that undeveloped seeds do not affect taste but
including them in the definition will better align the standard with
consumer expectations for seedless lemons. Lastly, regarding the
commenter's suggested measurement methodology, AMS responds that the
seedless definition is based on the number of fruits that contain
seeds, rather than the ``seed/seed kernel count per fruit'' because
consumers expect seedless lemons to be free of seeds and it is expected
that most lemons will not contain any seeds. Written this way, if a
small subset of lemons in a lot were seeded (and contained many seeds),
the number of seeds in a single fruit would not set the lot back
significantly as it would with a ``seed/seed kernel count per fruit.''
According to the California Citrus Mutual's petition, the seedless
definition would cover most of the seedless lemon varietals currently
available on the market. Additionally, based on the predicted growing
market projections provided by California Citrus Mutual's petition for
lemons covered by the seedless definition, it appears that customers
are not concerned with whether a seedless lemon contains one seed or
several; they are only concerned whether the lemon is truly seedless or
contains any seeds at all. For these reasons, AMS made no changes to
the proposed revisions to the Standards based on this comment.
Another comment asserted that AMS did not adhere to the
requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, Executive Order 12866, and the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act in this agency action to revise the U.S. Standards for
Grades of Lemons. The commenter further suggested several remedies.
While the agency action the commenter is referring to was a
notification and request for comments, and not a proposed rule, the
notification was included in the proposed rule category in the Federal
Register and on the regulations.gov website. Any proposed actions to
develop, revise, suspend, or terminate the U.S. Standards for Grades of
Lemons are subject to the requirements found at 7 CFR part 36.
Accordingly, as noted above, AMS published a notification and request
for comments in the Federal Register on September 11, 2025, which
included a 60-day comment period for interested persons, ending
November 10, 2025. Further, AMS clarifies that, contrary to the
commenter's additional assertions, there are no Federal marketing
orders for lemons. After reviewing the comment, AMS determined all the
statutory and procedural requirements for this action have been met.
Accordingly, AMS made no changes to the proposed revisions to the
Standards based on this comment.
Two additional comments consisted of only a few words such as
``lemons'' or ``I love lemons'' and were not considered.
AMS is moving forward with the revisions to the U.S. Standards for
Grades of Lemons as proposed by California Citrus Mutual as these
revisions will provide a common language for trade, better reflect the
current marketing of fruits and vegetables, and provide uniformity on
the buying and selling of seedless lemons. Accordingly, AMS is revising
the U.S. Standards for Grades of Lemons by adding the following
definition of seedless lemons and associated marking requirements:
Seedless Lemons.
Section 51.2799 Seedless lemons.
(a) Definition. When marked ``seedless,'' a 100-count composite
sample shall have not more than 6 fruit (or 6 percent) containing seeds
(irrespective of number or development per fruit). Seeds include fully
developed and undeveloped seeds (or pips).
(b) Marking requirements. When lots are marked ``seedless,'' the
term ``seedless'' shall be legibly marked on at least 95 percent of the
containers, including consumer units.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621-1627.
Erin Morris,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-07060 Filed 4-10-26; 8:45 am]
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