United States

Department of

Agriculture

Agricultural

Marketing

Service

Fruit and

Vegetable

Division

Processed

Products 

Branch

United States

Standards for

Grades of

Concentrated Lemon

Juice for

Manufacturing

Effective August 1, 1959
This is the first issue of the United States Standards for Grades of Concentrated Lemon Juice for

Manufacturing published in the FEDERAL REGISTER of June 30, 1959 (24 FR 5278) to become effective

August 1, 1959.

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

CONCENTRATED LEMON JUICE FOR MANUFACTURING

EFFECTIVE AUGUST 1, 1959

Section Page No.

§52.3951 Product description. ....................................... 2

§52.3952 Grades of concentrated lemon juice for manufacturing. ............ 2

§52.3953 Recommended fill of container. ............................... 2

§52.3954 Pulp. ................................................... 2

§52.3955 Degree of concentration. .................................... 3

§52.3956 Ascertaining the grade of a sample unit. ........................ 3

§52.3957 Ascertaining the rating for the factors which are scored. ........... 3

§52.3958 Color. .................................................. 4

§52.3959 Defects. ................................................. 4

§52.3960 Flavor. .................................................. 5

§52.3961 Definition of terms. ........................................ 5

§52.3962 Ascertaining the grade of a lot. ............................... 8

§52.3963 Score sheet for concentrated lemon juice for manufacturing. ........ 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

§52.3951 Product description.

Concentrated lemon juice for manufacturing is the concentrated product obtained from sound,

mature lemons. The fruit is prepared by sorting and by washing prior to extraction of the

juice. The concentrated lemon juice is prepared and concentrated in accordance with good

commercial practice. It may or may not require processing by heat, subsequent refrigeration,

or freezing to assure preservation of the product. The finished product may contain added pulp,

lemon oil to standardize flavor, and/or chemical preservatives permissible under provisions of

the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

§52.3952 Grades of concentrated lemon juice for manufacturing.

(a) U.S. Grade A for Manufacturing(or U.S. Fancy for Manufacturing) is the quality

of concentrated lemon juice which shows no material gelation and reconstitutes

properly, of which the reconstituted juice possesses a reasonably good color and

is practically free from defects; when prepared for flavor evaluation, possesses

a reasonably good flavor; and scores not less than 85 points when scored in

accordance with the scoring system outlined in this subpart.

(b) U.S. Grade C for Manufacturing(or U.S. Standard for Manufacturing) is the quality

of concentrated lemon juice which shows no serious gelation and reconstitutes

properly, of which the reconstituted juice possesses a fairly good color and is

fairly free from defects; when prepared for flavor evaluation, possesses a fairly

good flavor; and scores not less than 70 points when scored in accordance with the

scoring system outlined in this subpart.

(c) Substandard for Manufacturing is the quality of concentrated lemon juice that

fails to meet the requirements of U. S. Grade C for Manufacturing.

§52.3953 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 for the purposes of these grades. It is

recommended that each container be filled with concentrated lemon juice as full as practicable

without impairment of quality.

§52.3954 Pulp.

(a) Pulp is not consider a factor of quality for the purposes of these standards. It

is recommended that purchase contracts specify the type and amount of pulp desired

in the product. The amount of pulp in the concentrate may be determined by the

methods outlined in this subpart.
3

§52.3955 Degree of concentration.

The degree of concentration of the lemon juice is not considered a factor of quality for the

purposes of these standards. It is recommended that the degree of concentration be indicated by

the number of grams of anhydrous citric acid contained in each liter of the concentrate.

§52.3956 Ascertaining the grade of a sample unit.

(a) General. The grade of a sample unit of concentrated lemon juice for manufacturing

is ascertained by examining the concentrate, the reconstituted juice, and a

sweetened product prepared therefrom; and in addition to considering other

requirements outlined in the standards, the following quality factors are

evaluated:

(1) Factors not rated by score points.

(i) Degree of gelation;

(ii) Faculty of reconstituting properly.

(2) Factors rated by score points. The relative importance of each factor

which is scored is expressed numerically on the scale of 100. The maximum

number of points that may be given such factors are:

Factors Points

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

Defects .......................... 20

Flavor ........................... 40

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

§52.3957 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

which is scored is inclusive. (For example, 17 to 20 points means 17, 18, 19, or 20 points.)
4

§52.3958 Color.

(a) Color of the product is evaluated by observing the reconstituted juice in a glass

test tube one inch in diameter by six inches deep; observation to be made through

the side of the tube.

(b) "A-Mfg." classification. Concentrated lemon juice of which the reconstituted

juice possesses a reasonably good color may be given a score of 34 to 40

points. Reasonably good color means that the color is reasonably bright and

typical of properly processed lemon juice and is practically free from browning

caused by scorched, oxidation, storage conditions, or other causes.

(c) "C-Mfg." classification. If the reconstituted juice possesses a fairly good color

a score of 28 to 33 points may be given. Concentrated lemon juice that falls into

this classification shall not be graded above U.S. Grade C for Manufacturing,

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

good color means a color that may be only fairly bright and is typical of

reconstituted lemon juice that is reasonably free from browning due to scorching,

oxidation, improper storage, or other causes.

(d) "SStd-Mfg." classification. Concentrated lemon juice that fails to meet the

requirements of paragraph (c) of this section may be given a score of 0 to 27 points

and shall not be graded above Substandard for Manufacturing, regardless of the

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

§52.3959 Defects.

(a) The factor of defects refers to the degree of freedom from particles of seed, dark

specks, particles of peel and other defects which affect the utility of the

product.

(b) "A-Mfg." classification. Concentrated lemon juice of which the reconstituted

juice is practically free from defects may be given a score of 17 to 20

points. Practically free from defects means that any defects present do not more

than slightly affect the appearance or utility of the product.

(c) "C-Mfg." classification. If the reconstituted juice is fairly free from defects

a score of 14 to 16 points may be given. Concentrated lemon juice that falls into

this classification shall not be graded above U.S. Grade C for Manufacturing,

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

free from defects means that any defects present do not seriously affect the

appearance or utility of the product.
5

(d) "SStd-Mfg." classification. Concentrated lemon juice that fails to meet the

requirements of paragraph (c) of this section may be given a score of 0 to 13 points

and shall not be graded above Substandard for Manufacturing, regardless of the

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

§52.3960 Flavor.

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

Concentrated lemon juice diluted to 5.7 grams acid/100 ml. . . 30 ml.

Sugar ............................................ 26 ml.

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

(b) "A-Mfg." classification. Concentrated lemon juice of which the prepared product

possesses a reasonably good flavor may be given a score of 34 to 40

points. Reasonably good flavor means that the flavor is typical of such a product

prepared from properly processed concentrated lemon juice and is free from

terpenic, oxidized, rancid or other similar flavors and is free from abnormal

flavors of any kind.

(c) "C-Mfg." classification. If the prepared product possess a fairly good flavor a

score of 28 to 33 points may be given. Concentrated lemon juice that falls into

this classification shall not be graded above U.S. Grade C for Manufacturing,

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

good flavor means a normal lemon flavor which is fairly free from terpenic,

oxidized or other similar flavors and is free from abnormal flavor of any kind.

(d) "SStd-Mfg." classification. Concentrated lemon juice that fails to meet the

requirements of paragraph (c) of this section may be given a score of 0 to 27 points

and shall not be graded above Substandard for Manufacturing, regardless of the

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

§52.3961 Definition of terms.

(a) Reconstituted juice. Reconstituted juice means the product obtained by

thoroughly mixing the concentrated lemon juice with a volume of distilled water

so that the concentration is reduced to approximately 5.7 grams acid per 100 ml.

(b) Acid. Acid means the number of gram of total acidity, calculated as anhydrous

citric in a specified volume of concentrated lemon juice or reconstituted

juice. Total acidity is determined by titration with standard sodium hydroxide

solution, using phenolphthalein as indicator.
6

(c) Reconstitutes properly. Reconstitutes properly means that the concentrate

dissolves readily in water.

(d) Pulp. Pulp means light membranous materials and fine centrifuged pulp and other

similar lemon fruit material, defined and ascertained as follows:

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

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

by the following method:

(i) Equipment. United States Standard No. 20 Circular Sieve 8-inches

in diameter containing 20 meshes to the inch (0.0331 inch +5

percent) square openings; graduated cylinder or centrifuge tube;

spatula.

(ii) Procedure.

(a) Pour one liter of the product through the sieve with the aid

of a gentle stream of tap water;

(b) Rinse the retained pulp with a gentle stream of tap water

only until all of the product is removed from the pulp;

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

and forth;

(d) 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;

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

percent by volume of light membranous material;

(f) If the light membranous material so removed exceeds 100

milliliters or will not dry and gather into a small ball,

discard results and repeat the test using a 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
7

(2) Fine centrifuged pulp. Fine centrifuged pulp means pulp that settles out

on centrifuging by the following method:

(i) Remove the light membranous material from the sample of

reconstituted juice by pouring it through a No. 20 sieve, and

(ii) Fill graduated centrifuge tubes, of a capacity 50 ml., with the

sieved reconstituted 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 for exactly 10

minutes. As used herein, diameter means the overall distance

between the bottoms of opposing centrifuge tubes in operating

position. After centrifuging, milliliter reading at top of the

layer of pulp in the tube is multiplied by two to give the

percentage of pulp.

Table I1

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

This table, calculated from the formula R.C.F.=0.00001118 N r, 1 2

Provides a Relative centrifugal Force of 364.6 times gravity.
8

§52.3962 Ascertaining the grade of a lot.

The grade of a lot of concentrated lemon juice for manufacturing 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 (§52.1 to §52.83).

§52.3963 Score sheet for concentrated lemon juice for manufacturing.

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

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

Label (including concentration) .........................................

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

Net weight ..........................................................

Anhydrous citric acid in concentrate (grams/liter) ...........................

Reconstitutes properly: (Yes) (No) .....................................

Factors Score points

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

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

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

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

40

20

40

100

"A-Mfg." 34 - 40

"C-Mfg." 28-33 _1/

"SStd-Mfg." 0-27 _1/

"A-Mfg." 17-20

"C-Mfg." 14-16 _1/

"SStd-Mfg." 0-13 _1/

"A-Mfg." 34-40

"C-Mfg." 28-33 _1/

"SStd-Mfg." 0-27 _1/

Percent of light membranous materials ...................................

Percent of fine centrifuged pulp .........................................

U.S. Grade for manufacturing ...........................................

_1/ Indicates limiting rule.
9

Effective time: The United States Standards for Grades of Concentrated Lemon Juice for

Manufacturing (which is the first issue) contained in this subpart will become effective on

August 1, 1959.

Dated: June 25, 1959

Roy W. Lennartson

Deputy Administrator

Marketing Services.

Published in the Federal Register of June 30, 1959 (24 FR 5278)