SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621-1627) as amended, directs and authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture “to develop and improve standards of quality, condition, quantity, grade, and packaging, and recommend and demonstrate such standards in order to encourage uniformity and consistency in commercial practices.”

AMS is committed to carrying out this authority in a manner that facilitates the marketing of agricultural commodities and makes copies of official standards available upon request. The U.S. Standards for Grades of Fruits and Vegetables that no longer appear in the Code of Federal Regulations are maintained by AMS at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/​grades-standards. AMS is revising certain parts of these U.S. Standards for Grades using the procedures that appear in part 36 of title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR part 36).

Background

AMS continually reviews all fruit and vegetable grade standards to ensure their usefulness to industry, modernize language, and remove duplicative terminology. AMS is revising seven grade standards: U.S. Standards for Grades of Tomato Catsup, U.S. Standards for Grades of Tomato Sauce, U.S. Standards for Grades of Tomato Juice, U.S. Standards for Grades of Canned Tomato Paste, U.S. Standards for Grades of Canned Tomato Puree, U.S. Standards for Grades of Canned Tomatoes, and U.S. Standards for Grades of Concentrated Tomato Juice. The color section of these grade standards references Munsell color discs that are no longer used to determine color. The color sections will be updated to remove specific references to the Munsell color discs and to instead reference the USDA color chip information (A1, A2, C1, and C2) and use guidance. Color chip information is available on the Listing of Fresh and Processed Commodity Visual Aids on the AMS website at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/​grades-standards/​how-purchase-equipment-and-visual-aids. The color sections will note that the availability and procedure for using USDA color standards can be obtained by contacting USDA at the website above. AMS is also removing specific addresses for licensed suppliers of color standards. Contact information for current licensed suppliers is available in the Fresh and Processed Equipment Catalog at the website above.

More recently developed grade standards use a single term, such as “U.S. Grade A” or “U.S. Grade B,” to describe each level of quality within a grade standard. Older grade standards used dual nomenclature, such as “U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy,” “U.S. Grade B or U.S. Extra Standard,” and “U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard,” to describe the same level of quality. The terms “U.S. Fancy,” “U.S. Extra Standard,” and “U.S. Standard” will be removed and the terms “U.S. Grade A,” “U.S. Grade B,” and “U.S. Grade C” will be used exclusively.

AMS is adding a table to section 52.5170 of the U.S. Standards for Grades of Canned Tomatoes named “Table II Low Individual Drained Weights for Canned Tomatoes and Stewed Tomatoes, All Grades, All Styles (ounces).” This table shows the individual drained weights allowed for each level of quality and container size.

Finally, AMS is making editorial changes, including inserting section headings and changing “catsup” to the more commonly used term “ketchup” to align with the Food and Drug Administration's standard of identity and commercial practices.

The following table summarizes the revisions being made by AMS.

Comments

A 60-day period was provided for interested persons to submit comments on the proposed grade standards (90 FR 44360, September 15, 2025). In response to its request, AMS received two anonymous comments. All comments were posted on http://www.regulations.gov. One commenter offered support for changing the term “catsup” to “ketchup” as it “will allow the product to be more identifiable with the everyday consumer.” The other commenter offered their support for updating “catsup” to “ketchup” stating it “will improve consumer clarity.” This commenter also offered support for removing dual nomenclature stating it “strengthens consistency within the entire food industry that follows USDA guidelines.” While offering their support in the two aforementioned areas, the commenter questioned how these changes would: (1) “affect export or import requirements in terms of international standards already in place,” and (2) “affect small and midsize producers in terms of implementation costs.” In response to these questions: (1) This will not affect export or import requirements as U.S. standards are voluntary and are standalone from international standards. Buyers will need to declare which standard they wish to use when doing business. (2) This is not expected to affect implementation costs for small and midsize producers since the revised content in the standard was all identified as being no longer applicable to industry, with the exception of “Table II Low Individual Drained Weights for Canned Tomatoes and Stewed Tomatoes, All Grades, All Styles (ounces)” for which the information ( printed page 26987) used to make the table was previously in the standard, but it's now added in table form for easy referencing.

AMS is moving forward with the revisions as proposed and determined by AMS since these grade standards will provide a common language for trade and better reflect the current marketing of fruits and vegetables.

Authority:7 U.S.C. 1621-1627.

91 FR 26985