FOREWORD 
The following standards for use in grading and 
marketing fresh fruits and vegetables are recom- 
mended by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 
United States Department of Agriculture. The use 
of these standards by all agencies engaged in the 
handling of such fruits and vegetables should promote 
more uniform grading and should facilitate the mar- 
keting of these products. 
These standards are subject to revision and no 
doubt some will be revised before this booklet can be 
reprinted and such revisions included. Those who 
wish to be certain that they have the latest standards 
for any particular commodity may write to the Bureau 
of Agricultural Economics, Washington, D.C. 
Some standards include provisions as to how toler- 
ances shall be applied, whereas others do not. The 
following general policy shall be in effect for all stand- 
ards that do not contain specific statements as to 
how tolerances shall be applied. The tolerances for 
the standards are on a container basis. However, in- 
dividual packages in any lot may vary from the 
specified tolerances as stated below, provided the aver- 
ages for the entire lot, based on sample inspection, 
are Within the tolerances specified. 
For a tolerance of 10 percent or more, individual 
packages in any lot may contain not more than one 
and one haif times the tolerance specified, except that 
when the package contains 15 specimens or less, indi- 
vidual packages may contain not more than double 
‘the tolerance specified. 
For a tolerance of less than 10 percent, individual 
packages in any lot may contain not more than double 
the tolerance specified, provided at least one specimen 
which does not meet the requirements shall be allowed 
in any one package. 
The above policy of course does not apply to the 
grades for certain raw products for manufacture at 
canneries where the products are sorted into the 
various grades and the actual percentage of each 
grade is computed for each load. 
Interstate shipments of fruits and vegetables mar- 
keted on the basis of any of these standards must 
also comply with the provisions of the Food and 
Drugs Act of June 30, 1906. 
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