FROM

Mr. Andrew Dillon

andrewjdillon@yahoo.com

Mr. C. David Trivino

davidtrivino@gmail.com

Walter F. George School of Law

Mercer University

5105 Nisbet Drive

Macon, GA 31206

\(404\) 547-3283

TO:

Mr. Gabriel W. Mangino

Inspection and Standardization Section

Processed Products Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural
Marketing Service U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 0247 1400
Independence Avenue, SW Washington DC 20250-0247

E-mailed to: gabriel.mangino@usda.gov

Copy sent via US Postal Service February 11, 2008

RE: United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Okra

Docket No. AMS?FV?07?0100; FV?06?334

This comment is in regards to the proposed changes to the U.S. Standards
for Grades of Frozen Okra that appear in Part 36 of Title 7 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (7 CFR Part 36).

This comment is from Andy Dillon and C. David Trivino, individually and
together.

We are second year law students at the Walter F. George School of Law at
Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Both of our families are from the
southern part of the United States and are familiar with the use of okra
in cooking traditional southern cuisine. These okra dishes include fried
okra, gumbo, okra with tomatoes, and others that use fresh frozen okra.
In our opinion okra is a wonderful vegetable and complements many other
types of food.

We both have fond memories of okra being prepared at home and
experiencing the quality of the frozen okra available in supermarkets.

We come forward now because we have a few concerns regarding the
proposed changes to the frozen okra standards as proposed by the
American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) and the Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS).

First Concern: Decline in quality of frozen okra available to U.S.
Consumers.

The petitioner is proposing that extraneous vegetable material would be
modified to include ??detached stems of any length.?? ??Small piece in
whole style?? would be modified and no longer include ??very small tip
ends?? as part of the definition. The term ??small or damaged piece in
cut style,??

would be changed and separated into two unique definitions. The
suggestion for the new terms to be used are ??small piece in cut style??
and ??mechanical damage?? respectively.

We believe that this change would affect the quality of okra being
delivered to U.S. consumers.

Detached stems, small tips and damaged pieces are not part of okra as
used in traditional dishes. The modification proposed would allow for
smaller okra to be introduced into frozen packages.

We interviewed community members on the proposed changes. A concern is
that future okra will not be as ?pretty? as it is now. This new standard
will result in more crumbs and stems.

Second Concern: Consumers familiarity with ?U.S. Fancy? and ?U.S. Extra
Standard.

The AMS is also proposing to replace the dual grade nomenclature with
single letter grade designations. ??U.S. Grade A?? (or ??U.S. Fancy??)
and ??U.S.

Grade B?? (or ??U.S. Extra Standard??) would become ??U.S. Grade A?? and
??U.S. Grade B?? respectively. The proposed revisions to the frozen okra
standards would provide both a common language for trade and a means of
measuring value in the marketing of frozen okra.

The standard that has been used for many years is that of ?fancy? and of
?extra standard,? which proudly set apart the quality of the okra. The
new designations of ?Grade A? and ?Grade B? does not lend itself to
demonstrate the quality of U.S. produced okra.

The standard should remain the same.

Third Concern: Country of origin labeling should be more prominent so as
to inform consumers.

According to an article in the New York Times, many imported frozen
vegetables minimally mark the country of origin on its packaging. The
lettering meets the minimal requirements for the labeling in attempts to
keep from consumers the exact origins of the packages. The proposed
changes would be another method that imported okra may be confused for
domestic okra.

The USDA should also place in commentary of the proposed changes that
country of origin be more prominent on packages of frozen okra.

Fourth Concern: Adverse effect on U.S. farmers and the U.S. economy
which would result from changing grade standards of frozen okra.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(AMS No.

234-07), the proposed revision of U.S. Grade standards would impact more
the

79 million pounds of U.S. frozen okra product per year. From 2000 to
2004, the reported yearly average of domestically packed frozen okra was
66.2 million pounds while imported frozen okra was 13.3 million pounds.

The loosening of current okra standards may result in a significant
economic impact to U.S. okra producers. The proposed standards would
allow for more international okra to flood the U.S. market and lower the
current prices of okra at the wholesale level. This in turn would mean
that farmers receive less revenue from sales of okra, which may require
the reduction of labor. U.S.

okra farmers may be forced to look for alternative products to produce
besides okra. The total effect would be a slow down for the agriculture
economy.

Keeping the standards at the current level would keep the U.S. economy
stable.

Conclusion:

Both Andy Dillon and C. David Trivino pray that this comment will be
used to motivate the USDA to consider the broader impact the proposed
regulation will have on okra in the areas of quality, labeling and the
U.S. Economy.

Respectfully submitted February 11, 2008.

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C. David Triviño

Candidate J.D. 2009

Walter F. George School of Law

Mercer University \* Macon, GA

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