USDA revises pecan standards in the US

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is revising the U.S. Standards for Grades of Pecans in the Shell and the U.S. Standards for Grades of Shelled Pecans to reflect current industry descriptions and practices. The changes will replace the current grades with U.S. Extra Fancy, U.S. Fancy, U.S. Choice and U.S. Standard grades. The two current grades for pecans in the shell are U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2; the six current grades for shelled pecans are U.S. No. 1 Halves, U.S. No. 1 Halves and Pieces, U.S. No. 1 Pieces, U.S. Commercial Halves, U.S. Commercial Halves and Pieces and U.S. Commercial Pieces. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is also updating terminology, definitions and defect scoring guides in the standards. The final rule ...