12 MISC. PUBLICATION 604, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
of quality packed by shippers in the case of a number of the more highly 
specialized products. Many shippers of these commodities preferred to pack 
a top-grade product of high color perhaps and practically free from defects and 
for which they would receive premium prices. Thus, it was necessary in some 
sets of standards to provide a grade designation for a product superior to that 
ordinarily termed “U.S. No. 1,” so the designation “U. S. Fancy” was chosen 
to describe such quality. Ordinarly, the percentage of a crop packed to meet 
the requirements of a U.S. Fancy grade is relatively small. 
In a few standards it has been found necessary to provide a grade designation 
for a quality of a product between U.S. Fancy and U. S. No. 1, as in the standards 
for peaches and potatoes. The designation “U. S. Extra No. 1” is applied to 
this quality. 
It has also been necessary to provide an intermediate grade between U. S. No. 1 
and U. S. No. 2 in the standards for a number of products in order to provide a 
designation for quality not up to the U.S. No. 1 standard, but noticeably superior 
to the U. S. No. 2 quality. The terms “U.S. Commercial” and “U. S. Combina- 
tion” were adopted to describe this quality. Minimum requirements for a U. S. 
Commercial grade are slightly lower for some factors than those for U.S. No. 1. 
U. S. Combination denotes a grade made up of a certain percentage of specimens 
meeting the requirements of U. S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 grades. These grades 
are often used to pack a crop which is below average in quality owing to abnormal 
growing conditions, or they are used as a grade designation for a lot packed to 
meet a higher grade but which fails in some respects. 
The U.S. No. 3 grade designation is used only in a few standards, for example, 
those for citrus fruit, a highly specialized product which lends itself to separations 
into many different plassifieation®. 
In developing the names and number of grades used for U. S. standards for 
fruits and vegetables, each product has been considered separately, and the aim 
has been to formulate standards, upon the basis of trade practices, that will fulfill 
the needs of each particular industry. Some criticism has been made of the 
system of grade names, in that such terms as “U. S. Fancy” or “U.S. Extra No. 1” 
are misleading and represent hidden grades. Such criticism, however, has 
usually come from persons not using the standards, rather than from growers, 
shippers, and receivers whom the standards are intended primarily to benefit. 
Members of the produce industry are generally well acquainted with requirements 
of standards and are not usually confused by grade names which digress slightly 
from the straight numerical system. In fact, the use of terms other than 
numerical in U. S. standards has been included in practically all instances at the 
request of the industry. 
REQUIREMENTS OF STANDARDS REPRESENT TRADE DEMANDS 
Contrary to the belief of some persons that requirements of grades in U. S. 
standards represent the theories of inexperienced departmental employees, grade 
requirements for the most part actually represent the ideas of members of the 
particular industry concerned. The small staff of technical employees, who 
finally put the standards into words, are really only the referees. Whenever 
demands for a set of standards are considered sufficient to warrant going ahead 
with their development, a member of the technical staff is assigned to the field to 
make the necessary investigations. Representative growers and shippers in all of 
the principal producing sections are visited and their ideas solicited. 
Often, meetings of representatives of the industry are held in the various pro- 
ducing sections. Grading and packing operations are observed and the principal 
