Our Winter 2010 

newsletter, which 

we’ve renamed 

AMS Fruit and Vegetable 

Programs News, focuses 

on several issues of key 

importance to the U.S. 

produce industry. We’re 

also bringing you up to date 

on some of our programs 

and services, especially the 

new initiatives that further 

enhance our support of 

your industry. 

First, I want to introduce 

you to the new Administrator 

of the Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS), Rayne 

Pegg. She has many years 

of agricultural marketing 

experience, and served 

as Deputy Secretary of 

Legislation and Policy for 

the California Department 

Fruit and Vegetable Programs Welcomes 

New AMS Administrator By Robert C. Keeney

1

Agricultural Marketing Service

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Inside this issue:

ፚ Welcome to New AMS 

 Administrator

ፚ Fresh-Cut Apple Pilot Program

ፚ PACA—Returning Value to the 

Produce Industry

ፚ Working to Ensure a 

Competitive Advantage for

the U.S. Produce Industry

ፚ Offering Customized Solutions – 

Quality Monitoring Program

ፚ U.S. Grade Standards

Robert C. Keeney 

is the Deputy 

Administrator 

of AMS Fruit 

and Vegetable 

Programs. He can 

be reached at 

robert.keeney@

ams.usda.gov

of Food and Agriculture 

(CDFA) before President 

Barack Obama asked her to 

join his administration. 

Pegg has a solid understanding of how our 

services support the fruit 

and vegetable and other 

agricultural industries. 

Many of you will have the 

opportunity to meet Pegg, 

as she plans to attend several 

produce industry conferences 

and events. 

Along with Secretary of 

Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Pegg 

is committed to supporting 

President Obama’s priorities 

for USDA. These priorities 

include policies and programs 

that ensure:

•	 Promotion of a safe,

sufficient, and nutritious 

food supply for all 

Americans and for people 

around the world;

•	 America leads the world

in sustainable production 

and biotechnology 

crop exports;

•	 Rural communities create

wealth so they are selfsustaining, repopulating, 

and thriving economically;

•	 National forests and

private working lands 

are conserved, restored, 

and made more resilient 

to climate change and 

managed to enhance water 

resources; and

•	 USDA’s constituents

understand and appreciate 

what the agency can do 

for them every day in 

every way because USDA 

employees are engaged, 

valued, and productively 

serving the people of 

America and the world.

The President’s goal to 

assure a safe, sufficient, and 

nutritious food supply for 

all Americans has particular 

meaning to the U.S. produce 

industry. We are proud to 

work with an industry known 

for providing healthy and 

nutritious products and are 

committed to helping you 

move your produce safely 

and efficiently through the 

entire supply chain, from 

field to fork. 

As always, I look forward 

to hearing from you about 

the topics covered in our 

newsletter and any thoughts 

you may about our services 

and programs. 

We want to hear from you. 

What topics would you like 

to see covered in future 

editions of the newsletter? 

Are there questions you 

can’t find answers to on 

our Web site? Send your 

questions and suggestions to 

FVInfo@ams.usda.gov.

Volume I, Issue 2 Winter 2010

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Marketing and 

Regulatory Programs

Agricultural Marketing Service

Fruit and Vegetable Programs

1400 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, D.C. 20250-0235

Telephone: (202) 720-4722

Fax: (202) 720-0016

Email: FVinfo@ams.usda.gov

www.ams.usda.gov/fv

FRUIT&VEGETABLE PROGRAMSNEWS
Recent news stories 

have reported on 

efforts by schools and 

nutrition advocates to get 

more fresh fruits and 

vegetables into the diets of 

young Americans. The Fruit 

and Vegetable Programs’ 

Commodity Procurement 

Branch (CPB) is doing its part 

to help make sure children 

will get types of fresh fruits 

and vegetables they’ll eat.

Two years ago, CPB started 

discussions with USDA’s 

Food and Nutrition Service 

(FNS), the agency that 

Fresh-Cut Apple Pilot Program–Off to a Great Start By David Tuckwiller

After some initial 

research, it became 

clear we were facing 

several obstacles. 

PACA—Returning Value to the Produce Industry By Karla Whalen 

2

administers the National 

School Lunch Program, and 

industry experts to develop a 

pilot program to purchase a 

fresh-cut apple product for 

distribution to schools. 

After some initial research, 

it became clear we were 

facing several obstacles. A 

vast majority of CPB 

procurements are for shelfstable products that ship well, 

yet the typical shelf life of a 

fresh-cut apple slice product 

is only 15 days from the date 

of manufacture.

We resolved these and other 

challenges, and last March 

CPB announced a purchase 

of fresh-cut apple slices: 

AMS awarded contracts to 

five vendors totaling $4.1 

million for 3.3 million 

pounds to deliver the 

product to school systems 

in California, Michigan, 

North Carolina, New York, 

and Pennsylvania. 

Preliminary reports from 

both FNS and the schools are 

very encouraging, and CPB 

plans to expand the fresh-cut 

apple pilot program to more 

States and schools in the 

The Perishable 

Agricultural 

Commodities Act 

(PACA) proactively works 

for the fruit and vegetable 

industry to promote interstate 

and foreign commerce 

through mediation, 

arbitration, licensing, and 

outreach programs facilitating 

fair trade in produce. 

With a modest budget, 

PACA helps to safeguard an 

industry worth billions of 

dollars. For example:

David Tuckwiller 

is Chief of the 

Commodity 

Procurement 

Branch. He can be 

reached at (202) 

720-4517 or david.

tuckwiller@ams.

usda.gov

Karla Whalen 

is the Chief of the 

PACA Branch. She 

can be reached 

at (202) 720-2272 

or karla.whalen@

ams.usda.gov

•	 Since 2000, PACA has

handled more than 7,600 

contract dispute matters 

among members of the 

produce industry at a 

fraction of the cost of 

private litigation;

•	 From 2004 to 2008,

PACA resolved 91 percent 

of informal contract 

disputes (involving claims 

totaling more than $132 

million) within 4 months 

from the date filed; and 

next school year. We are 

also looking at including 

fresh-cut baby carrots in the 

near future.

CPB purchases fruits and 

vegetables from industry 

vendors for distribution to 

schools and other Federal 

domestic feeding programs. 

More than $478 million is

spent on close to 1 billion 

pounds of product per year. 

In addition to helping feed 

hungry Americans, these 

purchases support the 

economic vitality of U.S. 

farmers by removing excess 

supplies from the market.

For additional information 

about the Commodity 

Procurement Branch, visit our 

Web site at www.ams.usda.

gov/fvprocurement. 

•	 From 2000 to 2008,

PACA’s law enforcement 

investigations and 

enforcement efforts 

returned more than $18

million to the produce 

industry and assessed an 

additional $705,000 in 

civil penalties.

For additional information 

about PACA, please feel free 

to contact me directly or visit 

our Web site at www.ams.

usda.gov/paca. 
3

Bruce Summers 

 is the Associate 

Deputy Administrator 

of AMS Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs. 

He can be reached 

at (202) 690-0262 or 

bruce.summers@

ams.usda.gov

Asmall office within 

AMS Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs 

delivers a lot of value to the 

U.S. produce industry. With 

one full-time staff member, 

the mission of the Office 

For example, LaFond works 

in partnership with industry 

groups and other government 

agencies to support initiatives 

of the Codex Alimentarius 

Commission (CODEX) and 

the United Nations Economic 

Commission for Europe 

(UNECE), organizations 

dedicated to developing food 

safety codes and to gaining 

greater economic cooperation 

among member nations.

Closer to home, from 

August 24 to 28, 2009, the

Fruit and Vegetable Programs 

and the OISC served as hosts 

for the 2009 International 

Standardization Annual 

Meeting, held at our training 

facility in Fredericksburg, 

Va. The gathering attracted 

leadership from more than 30 

foreign inspection agencies 

and others that participate in 

the development of CODEX 

and UNECE standards. The 

meeting focused on fostering 

a greater international 

understanding of the USDA 

agricultural standards and 

inspection system and helping 

to lay the foundation for 

streamlining the development 

of international fresh fruits 

and vegetable standards.

For more information about 

the OISC and LaFond’s work, 

feel free to contact him at 

(202) 690-4944 or dorian.

lafond@ams.usda.gov

Working to Ensure a Competitive Advantage for the 

U.S. Produce Industry By Bruce Summers 

Picture this: You are 

an importer of fine 

fresh produce and a 

container ship arrives in port 

with a variety of produce 

destined for your warehouse. 

Offering Customized Solutions–Quality Monitoring Program By Christopher Purdy 

Can your quality control staff 

alone handle the sudden surge 

in inbound volume? How 

do you know the produce 

meets your specifications? 

For these and other 

challenges, the produce 

industry turns to AMS’s Fruit 

and Vegetable Programs for 

solutions. In collaboration 

with our clients and utilizing 

our nationwide network of 

trained and licensed Federal 

or Federal-State inspectors, we 

have developed the Quality 

Monitoring Program (QMP). 

While each QMP is 

adapted to our clients needs, 

fundamentally Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs staff act 

as in-house inspectors for 

our clients. Our staff perform 

unbiased, independent 

third-party evaluations 

of fresh and processed 

product to assure they 

meet U.S. grade standards 

and client specifications.

In the actual client example 

above, we serve as extra 

quality assurance staff to 

handle the immediate influx 

of produce when a ship docks 

and unloads. We review 

product samples submitted by 

clients to determine whether 

the delivery meets their 

customized specifications. If 

the product does not meet 

their specifications, clients can 

request an official inspection. 

USDA assigns a grade or 

issues a certificate under the 

program only when an official 

inspection is requested. 

By offering QMP and 

other services, we provide 

customized solutions that 

help our clients solve 

their unique supply chain 

marketing challenges. 

For additional details 

about how QMP is working 

for our clients, please feel 

free to contact John Lund 

for processed fruits and 

vegetables at (202) 690-

4938 john.lund@ams.usda.

gov or Vinny Fusaro for 

fresh fruits and vegetables 

at (202) 720-0298 or vinny.

fusaro@ams.usda.gov

Christopher Purdy 

is the Business 

Development 

Specialist for AMS 

Fruit and Vegetable 

Programs. He can 

be reached at (202) 

720-3209 or christopher.purdy@ams.

usda.gov

of International Standards 

Coordinator (OISC) is 

to ensure that international 

standards do not deny 

access to the U.S. produce 

industry as it seeks to sell 

its products overseas. 

The OISC is currently 

headed by Dorian LaFond, a 

veteran of the international 

produce business. To help 

achieve his office’s mission, 

LaFond believes it’s important 

to build goodwill among 

our trading partners and to 

provide input during various 

stages of the standards 

development process for 

the global trade of fresh 

and processed produce. 
Serving the produce industry since the early 1900s, the AMS Fruit 

and Vegetable Programs fee-for-service programs are delivered 

via a network of trained and experienced staff. Our clients include 

growers, shippers, brokers, receivers, distributors, processors, 

retailers, and restaurants, among others. Our services include:

Our services include:

Audit-based programs

International representation

Commodity purchases 

Market News reports and information 

Establishment of U.S. Grade Standards

Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA)

Inspection and grading 

Self-help marketing programs

Industry training

Specialty Crop Block Grants

Additional information about AMS Fruit and Vegetable Programs can 

be found at www.ams.usda.gov/fv or by contacting Christopher Purdy 

at 202-720-3209 or christopher.purdy@ams.usda.gov

USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service

Fruit and Vegetable Programs

1400 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, DC 20250-0235

PRESORTED STANDARD

 POSTAGE & FEES PAID

USDA-AMS

PERMIT NO. G-297

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its 

programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, 

and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, 

sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or 

part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not 

all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice 

and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of 

Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250–9410, or 

call (800) 795–3272 (voice) or (202) 720–6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider and employer.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Marketing and Regulatory Programs

Agricultural Marketing Service

Fruit and Vegetable Programs

1400 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, D.C. 20250-0235

Telephone: (202) 720-4722

Fax: (202) 720-0016

Email: FVinfo@ams.usda.gov

U.S. Grade Standards For the Produce Industry – 

Living Documents for Today’s Business

U.S. grade standards offer the produce industry a uniform

language for describing the quality and condition of 

commodities in the marketplace. AMS developed the 

grades in partnership with industry members and works with 

industry when revisions are needed to assure the grades reflect 

modern business practices. To recommend developing or revising 

a U.S. grade standard, an industry member should contact AMS 

to discuss the most appropriate means of accomplishing its goals. 

Currently there are more than 300 U.S. grade standards 

representing a variety of fresh and processed fruit, vegetable, and 

specialty products. 

Copies of U.S. grade standards documents are available free on 

the Internet. Standards for processed produce can be accessed at 

www.ams.usda.gov/processedinspection, followed by clicking on 

“Find a Standard or CID” in the right hand column of the Web 

page. To access standards for fresh produce, go to www.ams.usda.

gov/freshinspection and click on “U.S. Grade Standards” in the 

right hand column of the Web page.