United States

Department of

Agriculture

Agricultural 

Marketing

Service

Fruit and

Vegetable

Division

Fresh

Products

Branch

United States Standards

for Grades of

Sweetpotatoes for Dicing

or Pulping

Effective July 23, 1951

(Reprinted - January 1997)
Packing of the product in conformity with the requirements of these standards shall not excuse failure to comply with 1

the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or with applicable State laws and regulations.

1

United States Standards for Grades of Sweetpotatoes

for Dicing or Pulping 1

Grades 

51.1685 U.S. No. 1.

51.1686 U.S. No. 2.

Culls

51.1687 Culls.

Size

51.1688 Size.

Tolerances

51.1689 Tolerances.

Definitions

51.1690 Similar type.

51.1691 Firm.

51.1692 Badly misshapen.

51.1693 Cull material.

51.1694 Damage.

51.1695 Serious damage.

51.1696 Diameter.

Grades 

§51.1685 U.S. No. 1.

U.S. No. 1 consists of sweetpotatoes of similar type which are firm, not badly misshapen, free

from soft rot, black rot, cull material, freezing injury, scald, cork or other internal discoloration,

and free from damage, caused by dry rot other than black rot, other diseases, bruises, cuts,

growth cracks, pithiness, wireworm, weevil, other insects, stringiness, sunburn, mechanical or

other means. (See §§51.1688 and 51.1689.) 

§51.1686 U.S. No. 2. 

U.S. No. 2 consists of sweetpotatoes of similar type which are firm, free from soft rot, black rot,

cull material, freezing injury, and free from serious damage caused by dry rot other than black rot,

other diseases, bruises, cuts, cork or other internal discoloration, growth cracks, pithiness, scald,

wireworm, weevil, other insects, stringiness, sunburn, mechanical or other means. (See

§§51.1688 and 51.1689.) 

Culls 

§51.1687 Culls.

Culls consist of sweetpotatoes which fail to meet the requirements of either U.S. No. 1 or U.S.

No. 2 grades. 
2

Size 

§51.1688 Size. 

The minimum or the minimum and maximum sizes for the foregoing grades may be specified by

agreement between buyer and seller. Size shall be stated in terms of diameter. 

Tolerances 

§51.1689 Tolerances. 

In the application of these standards, it is assumed that in most instances sellers will not sort their

sweetpotatoes into separate lots of U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 grades before delivery to the buyer. 

In such cases there is no need for tolerances. If the contract between buyer and seller calls for the

delivery of lots containing only one grade, such as U.S. No. 1 or U.S. No. 2, or a combination of

U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 grades, then unless otherwise specified, a tolerance of 10 percent, by

weight, shall be allowed for sweetpotatoes which fail to meet the requirements of the grade, other

than for size and cull material: Provided, That, not more than one-fifth of this amount or 2

percent, shall be allowed for sweetpotatoes affected by soft rot or black rot. In addition, not

more than 2 percent, by weight, shall be allowed for cull material. An additional tolerance of 15

percent, by weight, shall be allowed for sweetpotatoes which fail to meet the specified size

requirements: Provided, That, not more than one-third of this amount, or 5 percent, shall be

allowed for sweetpotatoes below the specified minimum diameter. 

Definitions 

§51.1690 Similar type.

"Similar type" means that the sweetpotatoes have the same type of flesh and that the flesh of the

sweetpotatoes does not show material variation in color. For example, dry type shall not be

mixed with moist type and white-fleshed varieties shall not be mixed with yellow- or

orange-fleshed varieties. 

§51.1691 Firm. 

"Firm" means that the sweetpotato is not soft, flabby, or excessively shriveled. 

§51.1692 Badly misshapen.

"Badly misshapen" means that the sweetpotato is so curved, crooked, grooved, constricted,

flattened, or otherwise misshapen that, in the ordinary process of trimming, a waste of over 10

percent, by weight, is incurred in excess of that which would occur if the sweetpotato were

perfect. 

§51.1693 Cull material.

"Cull material" means pieces of sweetpotatoes, vines, root crowns, sprouts, secondary rootlets,

loose dirt, adhering caked dirt or other foreign matter. Sweetpotatoes with attached vines, root

crowns, sprouts, secondary rootlets, and adhering caked dirt shall not be scored against U.S. No.

1 or U.S. No. 2 grades, but such vines, root crowns, sprouts, secondary rootlets, and adhering

caked dirt shall be removed from the sweetpotato and scored as cull material. 

§51.1694 Damage. 

"Damage" means any injury or defect which materially affects the edible or processing quality, or

which cannot be removed in the ordinary process of trimming without a loss of more than 10

percent of the total weight of the sweetpotato, including peel covering the defective area. 

§51.1695 Serious damage. 

"Serious damage" means any injury or defect which seriously affects the edible or processing
3

quality, or which cannot be removed in the ordinary process of trimming without a loss of more

than 25 percent of the total weight of the sweetpotato, including peel covering the defective area. 

§51.1696 Diameter. 

"Diameter" means the greatest dimension of the sweetpotato measured at right angles to the

longitudinal axis.