United States

Department of

Agriculture

Agricultural

Marketing

Service

Fruit and

Vegetable

Division

Processed

Products

Branch

United States Standards

for Grades of

Canned Apple Juice

Effective date March 11, 1982
This is the third issue of the United States Standards for Grades of Canned Apple Juice

published in the FEDERAL REGISTER of February 9, 1982 (47 FR 5875) to become

effective March 11, 1982. This issue supersedes the second issue, which has been in

effect since July 1, 1971.

Voluntary U.S. grade standards are issued under the authority of the Agricultural

Marketing Act of 1946, which provides for the development of official U.S. grades to

designate different levels of quality. These grade standards are available for use by

producers, suppliers, buyers, and consumers. As in the case of other standards for grades

of processed fruits and vegetables, these standards are designed to facilitate orderly

marketing by providing a convenient basis for buying and selling, for establishing quality

control programs, and for determining loan values.

The standards also serve as a basis for the inspection and grading of commodities by the

Federal inspection service, the only activity authorized to approve the designation of U.S.

grades as referenced in the standards, as provided under the Agricultural Marketing Act

of 1946. This service, available as on-line (in-plant) or lot inspection and grading of all

processed fruit and vegetable products, is offered to interested parties, upon application,

on a fee-for-service basis. The verification of some specific recommendations,

requirements, or tolerances contained in the standards can be accomplished only by the

use of on-line inspection procedures. In all instances, a grade can by assigned based on

final product factors or characteristics.

In addition to the U.S. grade standards, grading manuals or instructions for inspection of

several processed fruits and vegetables are available upon request for a nominal

fee. These manuals or instructions contain detailed interpretations of the grade standards

and provide step-by-step procedures for grading the product.

Grade standards are issued by the Department after careful consideration of all data and

views submitted, and the Department welcomes suggestions which might aid in improving

the standards in future revisions. Comments may be submitted to, and copies of standards

and grading manuals obtained from:

Chief, Processed Products Branch

Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS

U.S. Department of Agriculture

P.O. Box 96456, Rm. 0709, So. Bldg.

Washington, D.C. 20090-6456
United States Standards for Grades of Canned Apple Juice

Section Page No.

52.301 Product description. 2

52.302 Styles of canned apple juice. 2

52.303 Definitions of terms. 2

52.304 Grades. 3

52.305 Fill of container. 3

52.306 Determining the grade. 3

52.307 Determining the rating for each factor. 4

52.308 Requirements for grades. 4

52.309 Determining the grade of a lot. 5

52.310 Score sheet for canned apple juice. 6

Authority: Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, Secs. 203, 205, 60 Stat. 1087, as

amended, 1090, as amended; (7 U.S.C. 1622, 1624).

......................................................................

Note: Compliance with the provisions of these standards shall not excuse failure to

comply with the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or with

applicable State laws and regulations
2

§52.301 Product description.

(a) Canned apple juice is the unfermented juice obtained from sound, ripe

apples, with or without parts. Concentrated apple juice may be added,

provided that any added apple juice concentrate shall not contribute more

than one-fourth of the total apple juice solids in the finished apple juice. No

water may be added directly to the finished food. Natural volatile apple juice

components (apple essence) may be restored to a level that provides a

natural apple juice flavor.

 (b) The apple juice may be processed with or without the addition of antioxidants

and is sufficiently processed to assure preservation of the product in

hermetically sealed containers.

§52.302 Styles of canned apple juice.

(a) Style I, Clear - typical of clarified apple juice.

(b) Style II, Cloudy - typical of non-clarified apple juice, but not a crushed or

disintegrated apple product.

§52.303 Definitions of terms.

(a) Absence of defects means the degree of freedom from sediment or other

residue, dark specks, particles of seeds, coarse particles of pulp, or other

defects.

(b) Acid means grams of acid calculated as malic acid, per 100 g of apple juice

determined by titration with standard sodium hydroxide solution, using

phenolphthalein as indicator.

(c) Brix means the percent, by weight, of natural apple soluble solids in the apple

juice, corrected to 20E C (68EF).

(d) Color means the apple juice is typical of freshly pressed juice.

(e) Flavor means the degree of excellence and palatability of the apple juice with

a distinct flavor and aroma typical of apple juice that has been properly

processed.
3

§52.304 Grades.

(a) U.S. Grade A is the quality of canned apple juice that:

(1) Meets the applicable requirements of Table I or Table II; and

(2) Scores not less than 90 points.

(b) U.S. Grade B is the quality of canned apple juice that:

(1) Meets the applicable requirements of Table I or Table II; and

(2) Scores not less than 80 points.

(c) Substandard is the quality of canned apple juice that fails to meet the

requirements for U.S. Grade B.

§52.305 Fill of container.

The recommended fill of container is not incorporated in the grades of the finished product

since fill of container is not a factor of quality for the purposes of these standards. It is

recommended that each container be filled as full as practicable with apple juice and that

the product occupies at least 90 percent of the volume of the container.

§52.306 Determining the grade.

(a) The grade of canned apple juice is determined by considering the

requirements of each grade with respect to the factors of color, absence of

defects, and flavor.

(b) The relative importance of each factor is expressed numerically on the

scale of 0 to 100 points. The maximum number of points that may be given

each factor is:

Factors: Points

Color ...................................................... 20

Absence of defects ........................................... 20

Flavor ..................................................... 60 

Total Score ....................................... 100 
4

§52.307 Determining the rating for each factor.

The essential variations within each factor are so described that the value may be

determined for each factor and expressed numerically. The numerical range within each

factor is inclusive (for example, "18 to 20 points" means 18, 19, or 20 points).

§52.308 Requirements for grades.

TABLE I

STYLE I, CLEAR

Factors Grade A Grade B

Color: Good Reasonably good

Bright, Sparkling Slightly translucent

Score Points 18 - 20 16 - 17

Absents of Defects:

Amorphous sediment or residue Slight Moderate

Nonamorphous sediment or residue, dark specks Trace Moderate

Particles of seeds, pulp or other defects None Slight

Score Points 18 - 20 16 - 17

Flavor: Good Reasonably good

Score Points 54 - 60 48 - 53

Total Score 90 - 100 80 - 89

Analytical

Brix (Minimum) 11.0 degrees 10.5 degrees

Acid (calculated as malic) 

Minimum 0.24 g/100 g 0.19 g/100 g

Maximum 0.67 g/100 g 0.77 g/100 g
5

TABLE II

STYLE II, CLOUDY

Factors Grade A Grade B

Color Good Reasonably good

Slightly translucent to Typical but not off-color

definitely cloudy

Score Points 18 - 20 16 - 17

Absence of Defects

Amorphous and non-amorphous sediment or Normal Normal

residue

Dark specks Trace Moderate

Particles of seeds, coarse particles of pulp or other None Slight

defects

Score Points 18 - 20 16 - 17

Flavor Good Reasonably good

Score Points 54 - 60 48 - 53

Total Score 90 - 100 80 - 89

Analytical

Brix (Minimum) 11.0 degrees 10.5 degrees

Acid (calculated as malic)

Minimum 0.24 g/100 g 0.19 g /100 g

Maximum 0.67 g/100 g 0.77 g/100 g

§52.309 Determining the grade of lot.

The grade of a lot of canned apple juice covered by these standards is determined by the

procedures found in the "Regulations Governing Inspection and Certification of Processed

Fruits and Vegetables, Processed Products Thereof, and Certain Other Processed Food

Products" (7 CFR 52.1 through 52.83).
6

§52.310 Score sheet for canned apple juice.

Size and kind of container ...............................................................

Container mark or identification ..........................................................

Label ...............................................................................

Liquid measure (fl oz and/or mL ..........................................................

Vacuum (in inches) ....................................................................

Brix (degrees) ........................................................................

Acid (malic: g/100g) ...................................................................

Factors Score points

"A" 18 - 20 

Color ............................................... 20 "B" 16 - 17 _1/

"SStd" 0 - 15 _2/

"A" 18 - 20 

Absence of defects .................................... 20 "B" 16 - 17 _1/

"SStd 0 - 15 _2/

"A" 54 - 60 

Flavor .............................................. 60 "B" 48 - 53 _1/

"SStd" 0 - 47 _2/

Total Score 100 

Grade ..............................................................................

_1/ May not be graded above Grade B.

_2/ May not be graded above Substandard.

Done at Washington, D.C. on: February 3, 1982

/s/ 

William T. Manley

Deputy Administrator

Marketing Program Operations