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United States Standards

for Grades of 

Fresh Asparagus

Effective February 23, 2006
 1

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.

1

United States Standards for Grades of Fresh Asparagus1

Grades 

51.3720 U.S. No. 1.

51.3721 U.S. No. 2.

Application of Tolerances

51.3722 Application of tolerances.

Diameter Classification

51.3723 Diameter classification.

Amount of Color

51.3724 Amount of color.

Stalk Length

51.3725 Stalk length.

Definitions

51.3726 Fresh.

51.3727 Well trimmed.

51.3728 Damage.

51.3729 Diameter.

51.3730 Fairly well trimmed.

51.3731 Badly misshapen.

51.3732 Serious damage.

Metric Conversion Table

51.3733 Metric conversion table.

Grades

§51.3720 U.S. No. 1.

''U.S. No. 1'' consists of stalks of asparagus which are fresh, well trimmed, and fairly straight;

which are free from decay and free from damage caused by spreading or broken tips, dirt,

disease, insects, or other means. 

(a) Size. Unless otherwise specified, the diameter of each stalk is not less than one-half inch. 

(b) Color. Unless otherwise specified, not less than two-thirds of the stalk length shall be the

color of the lot. 

(c) Tolerances. In order to allow for variations incident to proper grading and handling, the

following tolerances, by count, are provided as specified: 

(1) For defects. 10 percent for stalks in any lot which fail to meet the requirements of this grade

other than for trimming, including therein not more than 5 percent for defects causing 

serious damage: Provided, That not more than one-fifth of this latter amount, or 1 percent, shall

be allowed for stalks affected by decay. In addition, not more than 10 percent of the stalks in any
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lot may fail to meet the trimming requirement. 

(2) For off-size. 10 percent for stalks in any lot which fail to meet the specified diameter or

length requirements. 

§51.3721 U.S. No. 2. 

''U.S. No. 2'' consists of stalks of asparagus which are fresh, fairly well trimmed, and not badly

misshapen; which are free from decay and free from serious damage caused by spreading or

broken tips, dirt, disease, insects or other means. 

(a) Size. Unless otherwise specified, the diameter of each stalk is not less than five-sixteenths

inch. 

(b) Color. Unless otherwise specified, not less than one-half of the stalk length shall be the color

of the lot. 

(c) Tolerances. In order to allow for variations incident to proper grading and handling, the

following tolerances, by count, are provided as specified: 

(1) For defects. 10 percent for stalks in any lot which fail to meet the requirements of this grade

other than for trimming, including therein not more than one-tenth of this tolerance, or 1 percent,

shall be allowed for stalks affected by decay. In addition, not more than 10 percent of the stalks

in any lot may fail to meet the trimming requirement. 

(2) For off-size. 10 percent for stalks in any lot which fail to meet the specified diameter or

length requirements. 

Application of Tolerances 

§51.3722 Application of tolerances. 

The contents of individual packages in the lot are subject to the following limitations: 

(a) Packages which contain more than 50 stalks shall have not more than 1-1/2 times a specified

tolerance of 10 percent or more, or not more than double a specified tolerance of less than 10

percent: Provided, That the averages for the entire lot are within the tolerances specified for the

grade. 

(b) Packages which contain 50 stalks or less shall have not more than 4 times the tolerance

specified, except that at least 2 defective and 2 off-size stalks may be permitted in any package:

Provided, That not more than 1 stalk which is affected by decay may be permitted in any

package: And provided further, That the averages for the entire lot are within the tolerances

specified for the grade. 

Diameter Classification 

§51.3723 Diameter classification. 

The following terms are provided for describing the diameters of any lot:

Very Small....................................... Less than 5/16 inch. 

Small................................................ 5/16 inch to less than 8/16 inch. 

Medium............................................ 8/16 inch to less than 11/16 inch. 

Large................................................ 11/16 inch to less than 14/16 inch. 

Very Large....................................... 14/16 inch and up.
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Amount of Color

§51.3724 Amount of color. 

When the asparagus in a lot has less or more color than is specified in the grade it may be

described as 1/4 stalk length green, 3/4 stalk length purple, etc., in accordance with the facts. 

Stalk Length 

§51.3725 Stalk length. 

There is no minimum stalk length specified in the grades but the minimum stalk length may be

stated in terms of whole inches or whole and half inches in connection with the grade

designation as ''U.S. No. 1, 8-1/2-inch minimum'', ''U.S. No. 1 Large, 7-inch minimum'', ''U.S.

No. 1 Large, 10-1/2-inch minimum'', etc., in accordance with the facts. 

Definitions 

§51.3726 Fresh. 

''Fresh'' means that the stalk is not limp or flabby. 

§51.3727 Well trimmed. 

''Well trimmed'' means that at least two-thirds of the butt of the stalk is smoothly trimmed in a

plane approximately parallel to the bottom of the container and that the butt is not stringy or

frayed. 

§51.3728 Damage. 

''Damage'' means any defect, or any combination of defects, which materially detracts from the

appearance, or the edible or marketing quality of the stalk. 

§51.3729 Diameter. 

''Diameter'' means the greatest thickness of the stalk measured at a point approximately 1 inch

from the butt. 

§51.3730 Fairly well trimmed. 

''Fairly well trimmed'' means that at least one-third of the butt of the stalk is smoothly trimmed in

a plane approximately parallel to the bottom of the container and that the butt is not badly stringy

or frayed. 

§51.3731 Badly misshapen

''Badly misshapen'' means that the stalk is so badly flattened, crooked or otherwise so badly

deformed that its appearance is seriously affected. 

§51.3732 Serious damage. 

''Serious damage'' means any defect, or any combination of defects, which seriously detracts

from the appearance, or the edible or marketing quality of the stalk. 
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Metric Conversion Table

§51.3733 Metric conversion table. 

Inches Millimeters

(mm)

1/8 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2

1/4 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4

5/16 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9

3/8 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.5

1/2 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.7

5/8 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.9

11/16 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.5

3/4 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.1

7/8 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.2

1 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.4

1-1/4 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.8

1-1/2 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.1

1-3/4 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.5

2 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.8 

3 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76.2 

4 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101.6 

5 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127.0

6 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152.4 

7 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177.8

8 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203.3

9 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228.7

10 equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254.1