How many times have you received donut peaches but wondered what are the guidelines for defects and for tolerances? Believe it or not, you would use the same U.S. Grade Standard when inspecting donut peaches as you would for regular peaches. Of course there are exceptions to every rule and this is no exception. The […]
Category Archives: Grade Standards-Updates
Donut Peaches
Cherry Sizing
With the sweet cherry season arriving, now would be good time to clear up a little confusion. When the cherries arrive from California or Washington State you will notice the different size designations on the containers. You may receive cherries marked as “12 Row”, “11 Row” or even in half rows, such as “10-1/2 Row” […]
Lettuce Standards
I recently received a question from someone who was a bit confused over which lettuce standard applied to which type of lettuce. The confusion arises out of the many lettuce standards that are available. The Boston or Butter lettuces are inspected using the US Grade Standards for Lettuce. This standard also applies to head lettuce, […]
Inspecting Salad Mix
Have you ever received a load of fresh cut produce, and after checking out a few bags you found some problems? But now what? How much discoloration are you allowed, how much decay is permissible? Well, I will try not to confuse the issue, but reading the USDA Inspection Instructions and trying to make sense […]
Ugli Ripe Tomatoes
Ugli Ripes and Vintage Ripes tomatoes are now being inspected in Florida, and are partially exempted from meeting the Marketing Order requirements. Simply put, the tomatoes must meet the requirements of the U.S. No. 2 Grade, except they may be misshapen and they may be slightly rough (as compared with the shoulders being smooth). USDA inspectors are being instructed to report […]
Peppers- Defect No Longer
Take a look at the following peppers. Can you identify the defect from this picture? If you had said the pepper with the turning red color was the defect….I would have agreed with you. But, something changed. Sometime within the last few months “turning red color” (or full red color) on green hot peppers is no longer being […]
Table Grapes- Shattered Berries
The USDA is currently revising the US Grades for Table Grapes. Currently, the U.S. No. 1 Table Grade allows the following defects at market (destination). 12% Total defects, including 8% Permanent (Quality) defects, including 4% for Serious damage, including 2% for Serious damage by permanent defects, including 1% Decay The proposed standard will allow an additional […]