§ 51.1583 - Damage.

§ 51.1583 Damage.

Damage means any injury or defect which materially injures the edible or shipping quality, or the appearance of the individual potato or the general appearance of the potatoes in the container, or which cannot be removed without a loss of more than 5 percent of the total weight of the potato including peel covering defective area. Loss of outer skin (epidermis) shall not be considered as damage when the potatoes are designated as “Early” unless the skinned surface is materially affected by dark discoloration. Any one of the following defects, or any combination of defects, the seriousness of which exceeds the maximum allowed for any one defect, shall be considered as damage:

(a) Second growth or growth cracks which have developed to such an extent as to materially injure the appearance of the individual potato or the general appearance of the potatoes in the container.

(b) Air cracks which are deep, or shallow air cracks which materially injure the appearance of the individual potato or the general appearance of the potatoes in the container.

(c) Shriveling, when the potato is more than moderately shriveled, spongy, or flabby.

(d) Sprouting, when the sprouts are not dried and are more than one-half inch long.

(e) Surface scab which covers an area of more than 5 percent of the surface of the potato in the aggregate.

(f) Pitted scab which affects the appearance of the potato to a greater extent than the amount of surface scab permitted or causes a loss of more than 5 percent of the total weight of the potato including peel covering defective area.

(g) Rhizoctonia, when the general appearance of the potatoes in the container is materially injured or when individual potatoes are badly infected.

(h) Wireworm, grass root or similar injury, when any hole on potatoes ranging in size from 6 to 8 ounces is longer than three-fourths inch, or when the aggregate length of all holes is more than one and one-fourth inches; smaller potatoes shall have lesser amounts and larger potatoes may have greater amounts, provided, that the removal of the injury by proper trimming does not cause the appearance of such potatoes to be injured to a greater extent than that caused by the proper trimming of such injury permitted on a 6 to 8 ounce potato.