United States

Department of

Agriculture

Agricultural

Marketing

Service

Fruit and

Vegetable

Division

Processed

Products

Branch

United States Standards

for Grades of

Frozen Brussels Sprouts

Effective date March 30, 1981
This is the third issue of the United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Brussels

Sprouts. This issue was published in the FEDERAL REGISTER of January 16, 1981, to

become effective March 30, 1981.

First Issue: Effective June 15, 1945

Second Issue: Effective May 11, 1951

As Amended: Effective May 22, 1957

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 Frozen Brussels Sprouts

Section Page No.

§52.651 Product description. ........................................ 2

§52.652 Definitions of terms. ........................................ 2

§52.653 Recommended sample unit size. .............................. 3

§52.654 Grades. .................................................. 4

§52.655 Factors of quality. .......................................... 5

§52.656 Classification of defects. ..................................... 6

§52.657 Tolerances for defects. ...................................... 7

§52.658 Sample size. .............................................. 7

§52.659 Quality requirements. ....................................... 7

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

§52.651 Product description.

Frozen Brussels Sprouts means the frozen product prepared from the clean, sound

succulent heads of the Brussels sprouts plant (Brassica oleracea L. var. gemmifera) by

trimming, washing, blanching, and properly draining. The product is frozen in accordance

with good commercial practice and maintained at temperatures necessary for its

preservation.

§52.652 Definitions of terms.

(a) Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) means the maximum percent of defective

units or the maximum number of defects per hundred units of product that, for

the purpose of acceptance sampling, can be considered satisfactory as a

process average.

(b) Blemished means a unit affected by surface or internal discoloration,

pathological injury, insect injury, or by other means to the extent that the

appearance or eating quality is affected:

(1) Slightly;

(2) Materially; or

(3) Seriously.

(c) Character.

(1) Good character means the individual heads are well formed, compact

or very compact, and reasonably firm.

(2) Reasonably good character means the individual heads are

reasonably well formed, reasonably compact, and fairly firm.

(3) Fairly good character means the individual heads are fairly well

formed.

(4) Poor character means the individual heads fail the requirements for

fairly good character.

(d) Color (individual units).

(1) Well colored means the individual units have a color ranging from a

distinct dark green to a lighter predominating characteristic green color

with a definite yellow cast.
3

(2) Fairly well colored means the individual units have a predominating

characteristic yellow color with or without slight tinges of green color.

(e) Defect (or defective) means any nonconformance of a unit(s) of product from

a specified requirement of a single characteristic.

(f) Extraneous vegetable material means harmless vegetable substances other

that from Brussels sprouts.

(g) Flavor and odor. Normal flavor and odor means that the product, after

cooking, is free from objectionable flavors or odors of any kind.

(h) Loose leaves and loose small pieces means Brussels sprouts leaves,

pieces of leaves or small pieces of edible stalk or stems not attached to a

unit.

(i) Sample unit means the amount of product specified to be used for grading.

It may be:

(1) The entire contents of a container;

(2) A portion of the contents of a container; 

(3) A combination of the contents of two or more containers; or

(4) A portion of unpacked product.

(j) Trim.

(1) Well trimmed means the appearance of the unit is not materially

affected by mechanical damage or by cutting into the head or by

cutting of the stalk or stem.

(2) Poorly trimmed means the appearance of the unit is materially

affected by mechanical damage or by excessive cutting into the head,

or by insufficient cutting of the stalk or stem.

(k) Unit means a Brussels sprout or portion thereof other than loose leaves and

loose small pieces.

§52.653 Recommended sample unit size.

Meeting the requirements for factors of quality is based on a sample unit size of 50 units.
4

§52.654 Grades.

(a) U.S. Grade A is the quality of frozen Brussels sprouts that:

(1) Meets the following prerequisites in which the sprouts:

(i) Have similar varietal characteristics; 

(ii) Have a normal flavor and odor;

(iii) Have a good overall brightness; 

(iv) Are free from grit or silt that affect the appearance or

eating quality; and

(v) Have loose leaves and loose small pieces that may

slightly affect the appearance or eating quality.

(2) Is within the limits for defects as classified in Tables I and II and

specified in Tables III and IV, as applicable.

(b) U.S. Grade B is the quality of frozen Brussels sprouts that:

(1) Meets the following prerequisites in which the sprouts:

(i) Have similar varietal characteristics; 

(ii) Have a normal flavor and odor;

(iii) Have a reasonably good overall brightness; 

(iv) Are free from grit or silt that affect the appearance or

eating quality; and

(v) Have loose leaves and loose small pieces that may

materially affect the appearance or eating quality.

(2) Is within the limits for defects as classified in Tables I and II and

specified in Tables III and IV, as applicable.

(c) U.S. Grade C is the quality of frozen Brussels sprouts that:

(1) Meets the following prerequisites in which the sprouts:
5

(i) Have similar varietal characteristics; 

(ii) Have a normal flavor and odor;

(iii) Have a fairly good overall brightness; 

(iv) Have no more than a slight trace of grit or silt; and

(v) Have loose leaves and loose small pieces that may

seriously affect the appearance or eating quality.

(2) Is within the limits for defects as classified in Tables I and II and

specified in Tables III and IV, as applicable.

(d) Substandard is the quality of frozen Brussels sprouts that fails to meet the

requirements of U.S. Grade C.

§52.655 Factors of quality.

The grade of frozen Brussels sprouts is based on meeting the requirements for the

following quality factors:

(a) Prerequisite quality factors:

(1) Varietal characteristics;

(2) Flavor and odor;

(3) Brightness;

(4) Grit or silt; and

(5) Loose leaves and loose small pieces.

(b) Classified quality factors:

(1) Individual unit color in U.S. Grades A and B only;

(2) Blemish;

(3) Trim;

(4) Extraneous vegetable material; and
6

(5) Character.

§52.656 Classification of defects.

All defects, other than character defects, are classified as minor, major, severe, or critical.

All character defects are classified as reasonably good, fairly good, or poor. Each X in

Tables I and II represents one (1) defect.

Table I

Classification of Defects (Other than Character)

Quality Factor Defects

Classification

Minor Major Severe Critical

Individual Unit U.S. Grades A & B only

Color (each unit) .........

Fairly well colored in

X

Blemished

Slightly (each unit) ... X

Materially (each unit) . X

Seriously (each unit) . . X

Trim Poor (each unit) ..... X

Extraneous

Vegetable Material Each piece ......... X

Table II

Classification of Character Defects

Quality Factor Defects Reasonably Fairly Good Poor

Good

Character

B (each unit) ........ X

C (each unit) ........ X

Substandard (each X

unit) ..............
7

§52.657 Tolerances for defects.

Table III

All Classified Defects Except Character

Grade A Grade B Grade C

Total Maj Sev Crit Total Maj Sev Crit Total Maj Sev Crit

_3/ _3/ _3/

AQL _2/ 20.0 12. 4.0 0.15 40.0 33.0 8.5 1.5 50.0 33.0 10.0 2.5

5

_2/ AQL expressed as defects per hundred units.

_3/ Total = Minor + Major + Severe + Critical.

Table IV

Classified Defects for Character Only

Grade A Grade B Grade C

Total 5/ Fairly Good Poor Total 6/ Poor Poor

AQL 4/ 15.0 5.0 1.5 40.0 8.5 40.0

4/ AQL expressed as percent defective.

5/ Total = Reasonably Good + Fairly Good + Poor.

6/ Total = Fairly Good + Poor.

§52.658 Sample size.

The sample size to determine meeting the requirements of these standards shall be as

specified in the sampling plans and procedures 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 - 52.83), for lot grading and

on-line grading, as applicable.

§52.659 Quality requirements.

(a) Lot grading. A lot of frozen Brussels sprouts is considered as meeting the

requirements for quality if:

(1) The prerequisite requirements specified in §52.654 are met; and
8

(2) The Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) in Tables III and IV, as

applicable, are not exceeded.

(b) On-Line grading. A portion of production is considered as meeting the

requirements for quality if:

(1) The prerequisite requirements specified in 52.654 are met; and

(2) The Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) in Tables III and IV, as

applicable, are not exceeded.

(c) Single sample unit. Each single sample unit submitted for quality evaluation

will be treated individually and is considered as meeting the requirements for

quality if:

(1) The prerequisite requirements specified in 52.654 are met; and

(2) The Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) in Tables III and IV, as

applicable, are not exceeded.

Effective date: The United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Brussels Sprouts shall

become effective March 30, 1981, and thereupon will supersede United States Standards

for Grades of Frozen Brussels Sprouts which have been in effect since May 11, 1951.

Done at Washington D.C., on: January 12, 1981.

/s/

Donald L. Houston

Administrator

Food Safety and Quality Service