16 MISC. PUBLICATION 604, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
U. S. standards for raw products for processing are designed to do away 
with the outmoded flat-rate method of purchase. This was done by providing 
two or more grades in each set of standards. In the correct application of 
the standards, processors pay premium prices for the percentage of a delivery 
that will meet requirements of the highest grade and correspondingly lower 
prices for the percentages which meet requirements of the lower grades. 
Usually no money 1s paid for culls. Such a system of payment for produce 
provides an incentive for the grower to deliver the highest percentage possible 
of the higher grades, as this gives him greater returns per unit of delivery. 
The system benefits the processor by enabling him to keep his production costs 
at a minimum, because less labor is required to prepare the product, his yield 
per unit purchase is greater, and finally he is able to pack a higher quality of 
finished product for which he receives greater returns. Even the consumer 
benefits under such a system by being able to purchase a better quality of 
processed products. 
Many fruits and vegetables are being processed for which U. S. standards 
have not yet been developed. Dehydration and quick-freezing of fruits and 
vegetables have extended the need for U. S. standards for more products. It 1s 
the plan of the Department to provide such standards as the demand arises and 
time permits. 
CONSUMER STANDARDS 
The development and promulgation of U. S. consumer standards for fresh 
fruits and vegetables is a comparatively new project. The program was initiated 
about 1946 primarily for the purpose of furnishing the rapidly expanding pre- 
packaging industry a basis for packing and sale of fresh produce and to permit 
consumers to purchase supplies on the basis of quality grade standards. It was 
recognized that the U. S. standards in effect for fresh products packed in large 
containers for sale to the wholesale trade in carload and truck lots were inade- 
quate to serve the needs of prepackagers who pack higher quality products in 
small packages ready for distribution to consumers. Products packed in large 
containers on the basis of U. S. standards used in wholesale trading often are not 
satisfactory to consumers without further sorting and reconditioning. 
Potatoes were chosen as the first product in the fresh products field for the 
development of consumer standards. After considerable investigation the official 
consumer standards for potatoes were made effective by the Department in 1947 
with the hope that their use by shippers would be helpful in satisfying consumers’ 
demands for better quality potatoes. 
Following the issuance of these standards, the Department began to receive 
requests from prepackagers to develop consumer standards for other products. 
As a result consumer standards for spinach leaves and tomatoes were developed 
and issued in 1948. Since then, consumer standards for 8 other vegetables and 1 
fruit have been promulgated which include those for carrots, celery, husked corn 
on the cob, kale, Italian sprouting broccoli, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, turnips, 
and cranberries. 
In order to distinguish consumer standards from the other types of standards, 
the alphabetical system for grade names was adopted. This policy is in line 
with other commodity divisions in the Agricultural Marketing Service which 
have issued standards for products prepackaged for consumers. U. S. standards 
for processed fruits and vegetables, poultry, eggs and dairy products are identified 
by alphabetical grade names. 
In general, the requirements of the consumer grades are the same as for 
comparable wholesale grades except that tolerances for defects and other factors 
