Agricultural Marketing Service March 21, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Regulations Under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930; Section 610 Review
Document Number: E8-5750
Type: Notice
Date: 2008-03-21
Agency: Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture
This notice announces that the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) plans to review the Regulations (Other than Rules of Practice) under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930, as amended, under the criteria contained in section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).
Notice of Request for a New Information Collection
Document Number: E8-5749
Type: Notice
Date: 2008-03-21
Agency: Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intention to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a new information collection survey of customers, related to the delivery of services by AMS under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930, as amended (PACA). This voluntary survey would give customers of the PACA program an opportunity to provide feedback to AMS on the quality of the service they receive via the PACA Customer Service Line. It would also give them an opportunity to indicate what new PACA services, if any, that they would like to receive.
Potatoes; Grade Standards
Document Number: 08-1058
Type: Rule
Date: 2008-03-21
Agency: Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture
This rule revises the United States Standards for Grades of Potatoes. These standards are issued under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. The rule provides en route or at destination tolerances for the U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 grades, revises current tolerances in all grades, deletes the U.S. Extra No. 1 grade and ``Unclassified'' section, and defines damage and serious damage by the following defects which will be added to Table III of the External Defects section: Cuts, Clipped Ends, Elephant Hide, Flattened or Depressed Areas/Pressure Bruises, Grub Damage, Nematode (Root Knot), Rodent or Bird Damage, Russeting, Silver Scurf, Sunken Discolored Areas, and Surface Cracks. The following defects and scoring guidelines that are currently listed in Table III of the External Defects section are also revised to reflect current inspection instructions: Air Cracks, Bruises, External Discoloration, Flea Beetle Injury, Greening, Growth Cracks, Rhizoctonia, Pitted Scab, Russet Scab, Surface Scab, and Wireworm or Grass Damage. Also, changes to the current scoring guide for sprouts are being made. In the Internal Defects section, Internal Black Spot is revised by implementing a color chip to assist in the scoring of this defect. Also, Table IV in this section is redesignated as Table I. Additionally, a revised large size is added as well as the inclusion of Chef and Creamer sizes. Most of the changes were the result of the detailed work performed by the Joint U.S./Canadian Potato Council that was charged with harmonizing the U.S. and Canadian Potato Grade Standards. This rule updates and revises the standards to more accurately reflect today's marketing practices.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.