Fresh Fruit and Vegetable 

 Grading Services 



Thanks to the highly efficient marketing 

 system in the United States, fruits and 

 vegetables can be grown where climate, 

 soil, and geography are most suitable 

 and delivered fresh and wholesome to 

 consumers thousands of miles away. 



If you're part of this far-flung system — a 

 grower, shipper, processor, or receiver — 

 or if you're an institutional feeder, the 

 U.S. Department of Agriculture's official 

 grading services can play a vital role in 

 the smooth functioning of your business. 



For sellers, there is assurance that prod- 

 ucts meet specific grade or contract 

 requirements; for buyers, assurance that 

 they are getting the quality they expect, 

 regardless of whether the shipper is 

 across town or across the country. 



Grade Standards 



As the basis for the grading services, 

 USDA has developed official grade stan- 

 dards for fresh fruits, vegetables, tree 

 nuts, peanuts, and related commodities. 

 The grade standards describe the quality 

 requirements for each grade of a com- 

 modity, giving the industry a common 

 language for selling and buying. 



USDA has established a policy to gradu- 

 ally phase in four uniform grade names — 

 U.S. Fancy, U.S. No. 1, U.S. No. 2, and 

 U.S. No. 3 — to represent available levels 

 of quality. Although the number of 

 grades included in a standard may vary, 

 two or three are usually enough to meet 

 normal trading demands for most fruits 

 and vegetables. 



If your request for official grading is 

 based on U.S. grade standards, the offi- 

 cial certificate covering your shipment 

 will show which USDA grade the product 

 meets. If there are no U.S. grade stan- 

 dards for your product, or if you request 



a quality or condition inspection based 

 on a State grade or your own specifica- 

 tions, USDA graders can certify the 

 product's quality or condition on that 

 basis. These certificates are accepted 

 as legal evidence in all Federal courts 

 and in nearly all State courts. 



Grading Services 



The grading services are divided into 

 two main categories — shipping point 

 grading and terminal market grading. 

 The bulk of grading is conducted at 

 shipping point as the produce is being 

 packed for shipment to market. A ship- 

 ment of produce also may be graded at 

 its destination to determine its current 

 grade, either for the receiver's use in 

 handling the lot or to settle questions 

 which may arise between shipper and 

 receiver. 



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