[Federal Register: April 17, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 73)]
[Notices]
[Page 19169-19170]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17ap07-26]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
United States Standards for Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and
Lentils
AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: We plan to revise the U.S. standards for Whole Dry Peas, Split
Peas, and Lentils to provide applicants for service with an optional
grade designation for pea and lentil certification and to remove the
requirement that, in the case of Mixed Dry Peas, the percentage of each
class in the mixture be shown on the grade line.
DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by May 17, 2007.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice. You may
submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: Send comments via electronic mail to
comments.gipsa@usda.gov.
Mail: Send hardcopy written comments to Tess Butler,
GIPSA, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 1647-S, Washington, DC
20250-3604.
Fax: Send comments by facsimile transmission to: (202)
690-2755.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver comments to: Tess
Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 1647-S,
Washington, DC, 20250-3604.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Instructions: All comments should refer to the date and
page number of this issue of the Federal Register.
Read Comments: All comments will be available for public
inspection in the above office during regular business hours (7 CFR
1.27 (b)).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly A. Whalen at USDA, GIPSA,
FGIS, FMD, Suite 180, STOP 1404, 6501 Beacon Drive, Kansas City,
Missouri 64133; Telephone (816) 823-4648; Fax Number (816) 823-4644; e-
mail Beverly.A.Whalen@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (AMA), directs
and authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and improve
standards for agricultural products (7 U.S.C. 1622). These are
standards of quality, condition, quantity, grade, and packaging. The
intent of such standards is to encourage uniformity and consistency in
commercial practices.
We establish and maintain a variety of quality and grade standards
for agricultural commodities. These standards serve as the fundamental
starting point to define commodity quality in the domestic and global
marketplace. We provide official procedures for how inspectors
determine the various grading factors in supporting handbooks, such as
the Pea and Lentil Handbook. The AMA standards and supporting
procedures are voluntary and widely used in private contracts,
government procurement, marketing communication, and, for some
commodities, consumer information.
Standards developed under the AMA include 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 do not appear in
the Code of Federal Regulations (although the process by which we
develop these standards is specified through the regulations in 7 CFR
868.102, Procedures for establishing and revising grade standards);
however, the standards are available on the GIPSA Web site at http://www.gipsa.usda.gov/GIPSA/webapp?area=home&subject=grpi&topic=sq-ous
and
by contacting the Field Management Division (FMD) at the above address.
We provide the official procedures for how inspectors determine the
various grading factors in various supporting handbooks, such as the
Pea and Lentil Handbook, which you may view and print from the GIPSA
Web site at http://www.gipsa.usda.gov/GIPSA/webapp?area=home&subject=lr&topic=hb-pl
.
Optional Grade Designation and Certification Procedures
We work closely with the U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council (USDPLC)
and others in the pea and lentil industries to examine the
effectiveness of the U.S. standards in today's marketing environment.
It appears that the current standards continue to meet consumer and
processor needs; however, both the rice and grain industries have
optional certification procedures. We have determined that these
certification procedures could be beneficial to the pea and lentil
industries, as well.
Currently, inspectors certify peas and lentils offered for
inspection as a specific quality (U.S. grade), such as U.S. No. 2
Smooth Green Dry Peas. Certifying a specific grade is commonly referred
to in the rice and grain industries as ``Option 1'' grade designation.
This works well most of the time, however, there are exceptions. At
times, sellers find when preparing to load peas or lentils for shipment
that the supply of a particular grade of pea or lentil may be
insufficient to meet the quality and quantity requirements specified in
the sales contract. When this happens, the seller may find it necessary
to ship peas or lentils of a better quality. However, current
inspection procedures do not allow the flexibility to describe or
certify superior quality peas or lentils as being of a lower quality.
If the lot presented for inspection is not uniform in quality for the
declared grade, the inspector
[[Page 19170]]
certifies each portion separately according to quality. That is, if a
consignment consists of both U.S. No. 1 and 2 Smooth Green Dry Peas,
current procedure requires that the quantity representing each of the
different qualities receive separate certification. Such certification
may not meet the terms of sale for the contract.
The U.S. standards for rice and grains offer an alternative
approach that is termed ``Option 2'' grade designation. When a contract
specifies an Option 2 grade designation, the applicant may specifically
request Option 2 certification. Under Option 2 certification, there is
no limitation placed on the amount of better quality grain in the lot.
When a lot meets or is of better quality than the declared grade,
inspectors include the term ``or better'' immediately following the
numerical or sample grade designation.
We would like to offer the Option 2 grade designation and
certification approach for peas and lentils. Under such an approach,
peas or lentils that are a better quality than that specified by the
contract would be certified as a specific grade ``or better;'' (for
example, U.S. No. 2, or better, Smooth Dry Peas). The applicant for
inspection can obtain the optional certification procedure by
requesting it on the application for inspection. The applicant would
file the request for the optional certification prior to the beginning
of inspection so the inspector knows how to certify the lot. We believe
that Option 2 grade designation and certification will better align the
pea and lentil industries with the rice and grain industries, provide
sellers with the flexibility to ship peas and lentils of better
quality, and provide buyers with the desirable option of receiving
better quality.
Mixed Whole Dry Peas
We also intend to eliminate the requirement that certain grade
related information be shown on the grade line of the certificate for
the class of Mixed Whole Dry Peas. Currently, the U.S. standards for
Whole Dry Peas require a breakdown of the different classes, in order
of predominance, be shown on the grade line of the certificate, in
addition to the regular grade designation information, when the peas
are classed as Mixed peas. Instead of showing this information on the
grade line, we plan to enter such information in the ``Results''
section of the certificate. This approach will not change the grade of
the product. We intend for the change to improve the readability of the
certificate. The grade line will provide the grade designation and
other related information will be provided in the ``Results'' section
of the certificate. Further, this change in the U.S. standards for
Whole Dry Peas will better align certification requirements in peas
with other graded commodities such as rice, beans, and lentils.
Comments
We are requesting comments for 30 days. All comments received
within the comment period will be made part of the public record we
maintain, will be available to the public for review, and will be
considered before we take final action.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621-1627.
James E. Link,
Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-7241 Filed 4-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-KD-P