2014-17256. United States Standards for Whole Dry Peas

AGENCY:

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION:

Final Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is revising the United States Standards for Whole Dry Peas to establish an additional color grading factor requirement for the Whole Dry Peas class “Smooth Yellow Dry Peas” and establish a definition for “fair color yellow peas.” These changes will help facilitate the marketing of the class, Smooth Yellow Dry Peas and help ensure the purity of classes for Whole Dry Peas.

DATES:

Effective Date: July 15, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Beverly A. Whalen at USDA, GIPSA, FGIS, Policies, Procedures, and Market Analysis Branch, Field Management Division, National Grain Center, 10383 N. Ambassador Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64153; Telephone [phone]; Fax Number [phone]; email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (AMA) (7 U.S.C. 1622(c)), 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.” GIPSA is committed to carrying out this authority in a manner that facilitates the marketing of agricultural commodities.

GIPSA establishes and maintains a variety of quality and grade standards for agricultural commodities that serve as the fundamental starting point to define commodity quality in the domestic and global marketplace.

GIPSA provides official procedures for how inspectors determine the various grading factors in supporting handbooks, such as the Pea and Lentil Handbook, which is available on GIPSA's public Web site at: http://www.gipsa.usda.gov/​Publications/​fgis/​handbooks/​pealentil_​insphb.html.

The AMA standards and supporting procedures are voluntary and used widely in private contracts, government procurement and marketing communication. Standards developed under the AMA include those for rice, whole dry peas, split peas, feed peas, lentils and beans. The U.S. standards for whole dry peas, split peas, feed peas, lentils and beans no longer appear in the Code of Federal Regulations, but are now maintained by USDA-GIPSA. The process for developing or reviewing these standards is specified in the AMA regulations (7 CFR 868.102, Procedures for establishing and revising grade standards.) The U.S. Standards for Whole Dry Peas are available from the GIPSA Web site at http://www.gipsa.usda.gov,, or by phone, fax, or email from the contact listed above.

GIPSA representatives maintain an ongoing working relationship with the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council (USADPLC), a national organization of producers, processors, and exporters of U.S. dry peas, lentils, and chickpeas; the US Dry Pea and Lentil Trade Association (USPLTA), a national association representing processors, traders, and transporters in the pea and lentil industry; as well as handlers and merchandisers, to ensure the effectiveness of the U.S. Standards for whole dry peas, split peas, and lentils in today's marketing environment. USADPLC and USPLTA maintain that some currently popular smooth yellow dry pea varieties do not have a true yellow color which necessitates changes to the whole dry pea grade standards. As a result, GIPSA is revising the whole dry pea standard to establish an additional color grading factor requirement for the Whole Dry Peas class “Smooth Yellow Dry Peas” and establish a definition for “fair color yellow peas.” The addition to the grade standards will enable the class of smooth yellow dry peas to be marketed on the basis of acceptable appearance.

Whole Dry Pea Color Requirement and Definition Changes

GIPSA is changing the way in which the color standard is applied to the U.S. No. 2 Whole Dry Peas “Smooth Yellow Dry Pea” classification only. Doing so will improve the effectiveness of the standards so they may better facilitate product marketing.

The current U.S. Standards for Whole Dry Peas characterize the minimum color requirement for U.S. Nos. 1 and 2 as being “good color peas” and the minimum color requirement for U.S. No. 3 as “poor color peas.” The existing dry pea color characterizations “good” and “poor” do not sufficiently address all possible degrees of color in some Smooth Yellow Dry Pea varieties. Samples that are marginally discolored and those which are significantly discolored are both considered to be “poor color peas.” Due to the economic significance general appearance (color) has for processors and end-users, GIPSA worked with the USADPLC to establish an additional minimum color requirement for the U.S. No. 2 Smooth Yellow Dry Pea classification only; a clear definition to describe the color “fair color yellow pea”; and create a visual reference image that will aid in the consistent application of a fair color.

The established definition for fair color yellow peas is: “Dry yellow peas that in mass are lightly to moderately discolored as a result of storage or any other cause to the extent they cannot be considered of good color.”

The addition of “fair color yellow peas” as a minimum color requirement for U.S. No. 2 “Smooth Yellow Dry Pea” classification only; the definition of “fair color yellow peas”; and the establishment of the visual aid for the color to the U.S. Standards for Whole Dry Peas will result in a more uniform and consistent application of the standards.

“Good color peas” will continue to serve as a minimum color requirement for all classes of U.S. No. 1 Whole Dry Peas and “Good color peas” will continue to serve as a minimum color requirement for all classes of U.S. No. 2 Whole Dry Peas with the exception of Smooth Yellow Dry Peas. Samples meeting the minimum color requirement “poor color peas” will receive no better than a U.S. No. 3 grade designation for all classes of Whole Dry Peas.

Comment Review

GIPSA published a notice in the Federal Register on November 14, 2013 (78 FR 68410), inviting interested parties to comment on the proposed revisions to the U.S. Standards for Whole Dry Peas. No comments were received.

Final Action

GIPSA is establishing an additional color grading factor requirement for the Whole Dry Peas class “Smooth Yellow Dry Peas” and establishing a definition for “fair color yellow peas.” The addition to the grade standards will enable the class of Smooth Yellow Dry Peas to be marketed on the basis of acceptable appearances. The definition for fair color yellow peas is as follows:

“Dry yellow peas that in mass are lightly to moderately discolored as a result of storage or any other cause to the extent they cannot be considered of good color.”

These changes will facilitate use of the standards and better reflect current marketing practices.

The changes to the standards are effective July 15, 2014, the beginning of the harvest season.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.

Larry Mitchell,

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.