United States Standards for Grades of Nectarines

Resumo

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposes to revise the United States (U.S.) Standards for Grades of Nectarines. AMS is proposing to remove "speckling", as a type of defect when grading nectarines, since speckling is strictly a cosmetic issue and does not affect the internal quality, shelf life, or lead to any negative flavors of the affected nectarines. In fact, nectarines with higher sugar content, or sweetness, have been correlated with increased amounts of speckling. These changes would bring the grade standards in line with the present quality levels being marketed today and would provide guidance in the effective utilization of this commodity.