The USDA Grade Standards are designed to: 



* Reflect different quality levels for dif- 

 ferent needs. 



* Serve as a convenient basis for sales. 



* Furnish guides for in-plant quality con- 

 trol. 



* Form a basis for purchase specifications. 



* Establish a basis for official inspection. 

 Copies of the standards are available on 



request, free of charge. 



USDA Grade Standards— for voluntary use- 

 complement other mandatory standards de- 

 signed for consumer protection. Minimum 

 standards of quality — commonly referred to 

 as Food and Drug standards — have been es- 

 tablished by the Federal Food and Drug 

 Administration for several of the major canned 

 fruits and vegetables. These products must 

 meet the minimum Food and Drug standards 

 or otherwise be labeled to indicate that they 

 fail to meet such minimum quality levels. 



For those products for which Food and 

 Drug minimum standards of quality have been 

 established, the Department of Agriculture 

 adopts, as the minimum level for USDA Grade 

 C, specifications that are at least as high as 

 these mandatory requirements. In establishing 

 USDA Grade Standards it is customary to 

 have one or more levels of quality above 

 minimum Grade C — for example, Grades A 

 and B. Thus, USDA provides two or more 

 grade levels for marketing purposes and at 

 the same time recognizes the minimum man- 

 datory standards established by the Food 

 and Drug Administration. 



You Can Get Four Different Types of 

 Inspection 



You can choose the type of processed fruit 

 and vegetable inspection that is tailored to 

 your needs from the four different types of 

 service available. 



