United States Standards for Grades of Potatoes

This rule revises the United States Standards for Grades of Potatoes. These standards are issued under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is amending the similar varietal characteristic requirement to allow mixed colors and/ or types of potatoes when designated as a mixed or specialty pack. Additionally, AMS is adding restrictive tolerances for permanent defects in the en route/at destination tolerances, removing the unneeded definition for injury, and clarifying the scoring guide for sprouts. AMS is also adding table numbers to the definitions of "Damage," "Serious Damage," and "External Defects," amending table headings, replacing omitted language in the definition for bruises and amending language in the tolerance section to ensure soft rot tolerances are applied correctly. The purpose of this revision is to update and revise the standards to more accurately represent today's marketing practices and to clarify existing language.