There are a few defects you will find while inspecting Brussels Sprouts, with discoloration being the most common.  Discoloration will appear in many different forms, yellow to black in color, affecting major portions of leaves or may appear as black specks scattered over the surface.  Unfortunately the USDA has a standard scoring guideline when encountering all types of discoloration; “Sprouts should be scored as damage when yellow, brown, and black or otherwise discolored leaves detract from the desirable good green color. Score when two or more portions of leaves are affected to an extent that materially detracts from the appearance.”

The USDA does not take into account if the discoloration is affecting the wrapper leaves or the head leaves, nor does it seem to think black discoloration may be more detrimental in appearance than yellow discoloration.

Let’s take a look at typical discoloration found on Brussels Sprouts.

As you can see, all three sprouts are showing various degrees of discoloration.  Whether the discoloration was caused by tipburn, watersoaking or chill damage from pre-cooling, or from age, the USDA simply instructs their inspectors to treat all discoloration equally. So, are these sprouts all considered as being a defect, damage by discoloration?  According to the USDA, the sprout is scored as damage when two or more portions of leaves are materially affected.  It is clear the top left and bottom sprout have discoloration affecting more than one leaf, thus meeting the criteria to be scored as a defect.  The discoloration affecting the sprout in the top right seems to be affecting only one leaf, but it does affect a major portion of the leaf, and is yellow in color as compared to just being watersoaked for the other two sprouts.  All USDA inspectors would score all three of these sprouts as defects, damage by surface discoloration.

As a reminder, when encountering discoloration on sprouts, especially watersoaked discoloration, carefully rub your finger over the affected area to check for the presence of soft rot or decay.