STANDARDIZATION AND INSPECTION FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 15 
3700 
Figure 2.—Sorters grade oranges on movable conveyor belts in a Florida packing house. 
processing. In 1933 separate standards were recommended for tomatoes for 
the manufacture of strained tomato products. During the 1955 season, close to 
780,000 tons were inspected by Federal-State inspectors. 
U. S. standards have been issued for raw products for processing as follows: 
Apples, asparagus, snap beans, lima beans, beets, blackberries and similar berries, 
strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cherries, sweet corn, pickling 
cucumbers, currants, grapes, onions, freestone peaches, pears, peas, sweet peppers, 
sweetpotatoes, raspberries, spinach, and tomatoes. Copies of these standards, as 
well as other U. S. standards, are issued in pamphlet form and can be obtained 
free of charge upon request to the Department of Agriculture, Agricultural 
Marketing Service, Washington 25, D. C. A checklist showing the products 
for which such standards have been issued and their effective dates is also avail- 
able from the same source. 
Before U. S. standards for raw products for processing were issued, it was the 
usual practice for canners and processors to purchase their supplies at a certain 
flat rate per unit. Under such a system, they often experienced great difficulty 
in getting the quality of raw product necessary to pack a high-quality finished 
product. Processors must have ripe fruit and tender vegetables in order to 
make the best quality of finished products. Under the flat-rate system of pay- 
ment, many growers were not particularly careful about bringing in their crops 
at the time they were at the most desirable stage of maturity for processing. 
For example, tomato growers often delivered tomatoes that were not red-ripe, 
and corn growers sometimes let the ears get overmature before harvesting, 
in the belief that they would get more weight. The establishment of standard 
grades has largely corrected these practices. 
