USDA Reviews U.S. Standards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
At the recommendation of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Advisory Committee, USDA's Fresh Products Branch has developed a long-range plan to review the U.S. standards for fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure that they meet the needs of the produce industry. This recommendation was delivered to former USDA Secretary Ann Veneman as part of an overall package of recommendations that the Advisory Committee believes will help productivity and efficiencies of the produce industry. Since 1928, USDA has developed 158 official grade standards for 85 fresh fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, peanuts, and related commodities. They describe the quality requirements for each grade of commodity, giving industry a common language for buying and selling. USDA has outlined their goal of reviewing each of their grade standards which is included below.

Public input from the produce industry will be solicited to determine if a grade standard needs to be updated, and if so, which elements should be updated. This site will be updated periodically as additional public notices are released by USDA. Please check back frequently to see what new information has been posted. If you have any questions, please contact Autumn Veazey, Director of Legislative Affairs, Associate Counsel, who is coordinating this project for United Fresh.

 

Recent USDA Final Rules: USDA accepted comments from the public on each Notice prior to issuing a Final Rule.  (within the last 6 months)