United States

Department of

Agriculture

Agricultural

Marketing

Service

Fruit and

Vegetable

Division

Processed

Products

Branch

United States Standards

for Grades of

Canned Lemon Juice

Effective date December 8, 1962
This is the second issue, as amended, of the United States Standards for Grades of

Canned Lemon Juice published in the FEDERAL REGISTER of October 23, 1962 (27 FR

10315) to become effective December 8, 1962. This issue supersedes the second issue,

which has been in effect since July 1, 1941.

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 be 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 Lemon Juice

Section Page No.

§52.5481 Product description. ........................................ 2

§52.5482 Grades of canned lemon juice. ................................ 2

§52.5483 Recommended fill of container. ................................ 2

§52.5484 Ascertaining the grade of a sample unit. ......................... 3

§52.5485 Ascertaining the rating for the factors which are scored. ............ 3

§52.5486 Color. ................................................... 3

§52.5487 Defects. .................................................. 4

§52.5488 Flavor. ................................................... 5

§52.5489 Definition of terms. ......................................... 5

§52.5490 Methods od analysis. ....................................... 6

§52.5491 Ascertaining the grade of a lot. ................................ 8

§52.5492 Score sheet for canned lemon juice. ............................ 8

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

§52.5481 Product description.

Canned lemon juice is the undiluted, concentrated, unfermented juice obtained from sound

mature lemons of one or more of the high acid varieties, which fruit is prepared by sorting,

and by washing prior to extraction of the juice to assure a clean and sanitary product. The

product is sufficiently processed with heat to assure preservation in hermetically sealed

containers.

§52.5482 Grades of canned lemon juice.

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

(1) Has good color;

(2) is practically free of defects;

(3) has good flavor; and

(4) scores not less than 90 points when scored in accordance with the

scoring system outlined in this subpart.

(b) U.S. Grade C (or U.S. Standard) is the quality of canned lemon juice that:

(1) Has fairly good color;

(2) is fairly free of defects;

(3) has fairly good flavor; and

(4) scores not less than 80 points when scored in accordance with the

scoring system outlined in this subpart.

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

requirements of U.S. Grade C.

§52.5483 Recommended fill of container.

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

since fill of container, as such, is not a factor of quality. It is recommended that the

container be as full of lemon juice as practicable and that the product occupy not less than

90 percent of the water capacity of the container.
3

§52.5484 Ascertaining the grade of a sample unit.

The grade of canned lemon juice is ascertained by considering the respective ratings for

the factors of color, defects, and flavor (and aroma). The relative importance of each

factor is expressed, numerically, on the scale of 100. The maximum number of points that

may be given each factor are:

Factors Points

Color ................................ 40

Defects .............................. 30

Flavor ............................... 30

Total score ...................... 100

§52.5485 Ascertaining the rating for the factors which are scored.

The essential variations within each factor which is scored are so described that the value

may be ascertained for each factor and expressed numerically. The numerical range

within each factor is inclusive (for example, 27 to 30 points means 27, 28, 29, or 30

points).

§52.5486 Color.

(a) "A" classification. Canned lemon juice that has good color may be given

a score of 36 to 40 points. Good color means that the color is bright and

typical of fresh, properly processed lemon juice that is practically free of

browning caused by scorching, oxidation, storage conditions, or any other

causes.

(b) "C" classification. Canned lemon juice that has fairly good color may be

given a score of 32 to 35 points. Canned lemon juice that is scored into this

classification shall not be graded above U. S. Grade C, regardless of the

total score for the product ( this is a limiting rule). Fairly good color means

that the color may be only fairly bright, but is not off-color, and is typical of

properly processed lemon juice that is reasonably free of browning due to

scorching, oxidation, improper storage, or any other causes.

(c) "SStd" classification. Canned lemon juice that fails to meet the

requirements of paragraph (b) of this section may be given a score of 0 to 31

points and shall not be graded above Substandard regardless of the total

score for the product (this is a limiting rule).
4

§52.5487 Defects.

(a) General. The factor of defects refers to the degree of freedom from particles

of membrane, core or skin; from seeds or seed particles; and any other

defects that affect the wholeness or detract from the appearance or utility of

the product.

(b) "A" classification. Canned lemon juice that is practically free of defects

may be given a score of 27 to 30 points. Practically free of defects means

that there may be present:

(1) Small seeds or portions thereof that are of such size that they could

pass through round perforations not exceeding 1/8 inch in diameter,

provided such seeds or portions thereof do not affect the appearance

or drinking quality of the juice;

(2) not more than 13 percent, by volume, of fine centrifuged pulp

calculated as outlined in §52.5490;

(3) no coagulated pulp; and

(4) and that the juice does not contain peel, core, seeds, seed particles

or other defects that detract from the appearance or utility of the

product.

(c) "C"classification. Canned lemon juice that is fairly free of defects may be

given a score of 24 to 26 points. Canned lemon juice that is scored into this

classification shall not be graded above U.S. Grade C regardless of the total

score for the product (this is a limiting rule). Fairly free of defects means

that there may be present:

(1) Small seeds or portions thereof that are of such size that they could

pass through round perforations not exceeding 1/8 inch in diameter,

provided such seeds or portions thereof do not affect the appearance

or drinking quality of the juice;

(2) not more than 16 percent, by volume, of fine centrifuged pulp

calculated as outlined in §52.5490; and

(3) and that the juice does not contain coagulated pulp, peel, core, seeds,

seed particles, or other defects that more than slightly detract from the

appearance or utility of the product.
5

(d) "SStd" classification. Canned lemon juice that fails to meet the

requirements of paragraph (c) of this section may be given a score of 0 to 23

points and shall not be graded above Substandard regardless of the total

score for the product ( this is a limiting rule).

§52.5488 Flavor.

(a) The flavor of the product is evaluated after preparing as follows:

Lemon juice ...................... 30 ml.

Sugar ........................... 26 gm.

Water ........................... 160 ml.

(b) "A"classification. Canned lemon juice that has good flavor may be given

a score of 27 to 30 points. Good flavor means that the product has the

distinct flavor of properly prepared, freshly extracted canned lemon juice that

is free of any trace of terpenic, oxidized, scorched, or caramelized flavors

and is free of any other abnormal flavors. In addition, there is not less than

5.0 grams nor more than 7.0 grams of acid per 100 ml. of juice.

(c) "C"classification. Canned lemon juice that has fairly good flavor may be

given a score of 24 to 26 points. Canned lemon juice that is scored into this

classification shall not be graded above U.S. Grade C regardless of the total

score for the product (this is a limiting rule). Fairly good flavor means that

the product may have a slightly caramelized or slightly oxidized flavor, but

is free of off - flavors of any kind. In addition, there is not less than 4.5

grams nor more than 7.5 grams of acid per 100 ml. of juice.

(d) "Sstd" classification. Canned lemon juice that fails to meet the

requirements of the paragraph (c) of this section may be given the score of

0 to 23 points and shall not be graded above Substandard regardless of the

total score of the product ( this is a limiting rule).

§52.5489 Definition of terms.

(a) Acid. Acid means the number of grams of total acidity, calculated as

anhydrous citric acid, per 100 ml. of canned lemon juice. Total acidity is

determined by titration with standard sodium hydroxide solution, using

phenolphthalein indicator.

(b) Fine centrifuged pulp. Fine centrifuged pulp means pulp, referred to in

§52.5487 Defects, that settles on centrifuging by the method outlined in

§52.5490.
6

(c) Light membranous materials. Light membranous materials means pulp

including juice sacs but exclusive of peel particles, that is recoverable as

outlined in §52.5490. This material, in normal amounts, is not a defect for

the purposes of these standards. The amount of such pulp in the juice may

be determined by the method outlined in this subpart.

§52.5490 Methods od analysis.

(a) Fine centrifuged pulp is calculated by:

(1) removing the light membranous material from the sample by pouring

it through a No. 20 sieve, and

(2) fill graduated centrifuge tubes of 50 ml. capacity with sieved lemon

juice, and place in a suitable centrifuge. Adjust the speed as nearly

as possible, according to diameter, as indicated in Table I and

centrifuge as indicated in Table I for exactly ten minutes. As used in

this part, diameter means the overall distance between the bottoms

of opposing centrifuge tubes in operating position. After centrifuging,

the milliliter reading at the top of the layer of pulp in the tube is

multiplied by two to give the percentage of pulp.

(b) Light membranous materials are recoverable by:

(1) Pouring one liter of product through a U. S. Standard No. 20 circular

sieve 8 inches in diameter with 20 meshes to the inch (0.0331 inch +5

percent square openings) with the aid of a gentle stream of tap water;

(2) Rinse the retained pulp with a gentle stream of tap water only until all

of the product is removed from the pulp;

(3) Dry and gather the pulp into a ball by shaking the sieve back and

forth;

(4) As soon as the pulp has been gathered into a ball, place it into a

suitable dry graduated cylinder or centrifuge tube and settle by

tapping lightly in the palm of one's hand. If air pockets remain a thin

spatula may be used to effect their removal;

(5) The number of milliliters of pulp divided by ten is the percent by

volume of light membranous material; and
7

(6) If the light membranous material so recovered exceeds 100 milliliters

or will not dry and gather into a small ball, discard results and repeat

the test using sample so reduced in size as to yield less than 100

milliliters of such material which will so dry and gather. Calculate the

percent of light membranous materials as follows:

Percent of light membranous materials by volume=

Ml. recovered material X 100

Ml. of sample

Table I _1/

Diameter (inches) Revolutions per minute

10 ............ 1,609

10-1/2 ......... 1,570

11 ............ 1,534

11-1/2 ......... 1,500

12 ............ 1,468

12-1/2 ......... 1,438

13 ............ 1,410

13-1/2 ......... 1,384

14 ............ 1,359

14-1/2 ......... 1,336

15 ............ 1,313

15-1/2 ......... 1,292

16 ............ 1,271

16-1/2 ......... 1,252

17 ............ 1,234

17-1/2 ......... 1,216

18 ............ 1,199

18-1/2 ......... 1,182

19 ............ 1,167

19-1/2 ......... 1,152

20 ............ 1,137

_1/ This table, calculated from the formula R.C.F.=0.00001118 N2r, provides a Relative

Centrifugal Force of 364.6 times gravity.
8

§52.5491 Ascertaining the grade of a lot.

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

procedures set forth in the Regulations Governing Inspection and Certification of

Processed Fruit and Vegetables, Processed Products Thereof, and Certain other

Processed Food Products (7 CFR 52.1 to 52.83).

§52.5492 Score sheet for canned lemon juice.

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

Container mark or identification:

Cans ..........................................................

Cases .........................................................

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

Liquid measure (fluid ounces) ..........................................

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

Acid (grams/100ml.: calculated as anhydrous citric acid) ......................

Factors Score points

Color ........................

Defects ......................

Flavor .......................

Total score ...............

40 "C" 32-35 _1/

30 "C" 24-26 _1/

 30 "C" 24-26 _1/

100

"A" 36-40

"SStd" 0-31 _1/

"A" 27-30

"SStd" 0-23 _1/

"A" 27-30

"SStd" 0-23 _1/

U.S. Grade .........................................................

_1/ Indicated limiting rule.
9

The United States Standards for Grades of Canned Lemon Juice (which is the second

issue) contained in this subpart shall become effective 45 days after the date of publication

hereof in the FEDERAL REGISTER, and thereupon will supersede the United States

Standards for Grades of Canned Lemon Juice which have been in effect since

July 1, 1941.

Dated: October 18, 1962.

G.R. Grange,

Deputy Administrator,

Marketing Services.

Published in the Federal Register of October 23, 1962 (27 F.R. 10315)