STANDARDIZATION AND INSPECTION FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 11 
Compulsory grading of many fresh fruits and vegetables in accordance with 
requirements of official U. S. standards is required by the provisions of many 
State laws. A few States also require compulsory inspection of some products, 
either by law or by regulations under lawful authority. 
BASIC PRINCIPLES FOLLOWED IN DEVELCPING STANDARDS 
Through experience, certain basic principles have been recognized as funda- 
mental in the development of a practicable and useful set of standards. Prob- 
ably the most important principle 1s that a set of standards for a fruit or vegetable 
must recognize definite gradations in quality of the entire supply. This means 
that they must be applicable to all portions of the supply before they can serve 
as an equitable basis for trading in the commodity. 
In the development of a set of standards, the standards for grades are the 
most important. It must be recognized, however, that U. S. standards also 
include standards for factors other than grades, such as standards for bunching 
in the case of bunched vegetables, or standards for packing, which usually deal 
with such factors as the arrangement in the containers, uniformity of size, and 
tightness of pack. ‘Thus, upon inspection, a product nicht meet the require- 
ments of a grade but fail to meet the standards for packing, or vice versa, and 
be so reported. 
In developing standards for grades, the highest grade in a set of standards 
represents the quality and condition characteristics most desired by the trade 
and which command the highest prices in the markets. The lower grades 
represent qualities not so desirable but which have good food value and are 
merchantable. Naturally, the lower grades, under normal marketing conditions, 
command lower prices than the higher grades. The number of grades included 
in a set of standards depends to a large extent on the number of distinct 
gradations of quality that the industry makes and which is usually governed 
by relative value of the product. For example, it is feasible to have more 
grades of quality for such products as citrus fruits, apples, and pears, which 
have relatively high value, than for cabbage and some of the root crops, which 
have a relatively low value and which, from the growers’ or shippers’ viewpoint, 
do not warrant sorting into so many grades. 
In formulating standards intended primarily for use in wholesale trading of 
fresh fruits and vegetables, the Department of Agriculture, in the beginning, 
adopted the numerical system of nomenclature for grades, with some exceptions. 
In general, the designation “U. S. No. 1” was given to the highest grade for a 
product. U.S. No. 1 grade, as a rule, represents good, average quality that is 
practicable to pack under commercial conditions. Usually, under normal 
growing conditions, better than half of the crop will be of U. S. No. 1 grade. 
The designation TG GINO. ’ ordinarily represents the quality of the lowest 
grade that is deemed practicable to pack under normal conditions. Minimum 
requirements for a U. S. No. 2 grade are usually set low enough so that shippers 
ordinarily would not deem it advisable to ship products which will not meet 
the requirements of this grade. Exception to this rule, of course, would be 
made when an acute shortage of a commodity occurred. 
The term “Unclassified” has been adopted to describe produce which has not 
been graded in accordance with the requirements of any grade. It is not con- 
sidered a grade but is provided as a designation to show that no definite grade 
has been applied to a lot. 
In formulating standards for some products, it was found that the U.S. No. 1 
and U, S. No, 2 designations were not sufficient to represent all of the gradations 
