**United States**

**Department of Agriculture**  **Agricultural Marketing**  **Service Fruit and**  **Vegetable Division**  **Processed Products**  **Branch** 

# United States Standards **for Grades of Maple Sirup** 

**Effective date January 14, 1980**This is the second issue of the U.S. Standardsfor Grades of Maple Sirup. This issue was

publi shed in the FEDERAL REGISTER of December 14, 1979, to become effectiv e January 14, 1980. The previous issues of these standards were: Maple Sirup for Reprocessing First Issue: Effective February 15, 1940 Amended: Effective May 24, 1967 Table Sirup First Issue: Effective February 15, 1940 Amended: Effective May 24, 1967 Volu ntaryU.S. grade standards are issued under the authority of the Agricultura l Marketing Act of 1946, which provides for the development of official U.S. grades t o designate d ifferent levels of quality. These grade standards are available for use b y producers, suppliers, buyers, and consumers. As in the case of other sta ndards for grades of proces sed fruits and vegetables, these standards are designed to facilitate orderl y 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 fo r the inspection and grading of commodities by the Federal inspection service, the only a ctivity authorized to approve the designation of U.S. grad es as referenced in the standards, as provided under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 19 46. This service, available as on-line (in-plant) or lot inspection and grading of al l processed fruit and vege table 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. I n all instances, a grade can be assigned based on final product factors or characteristics. In addition t o the U.S. grade standards, grading manuals or instructions for inspection of sev eral processed fruits and vegetables are available upon request for a nomina l fee. These manuals or instructions contain detailed int erpretations 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 welco mes suggestions which might aid in improving the standards in future revisions. Comments may be submitted to, and copi es 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. 20090-6456United States Standards for Grades of Maple Sirup

Section Page No.
§52.5961 Product description.

........................................ 2 §52.5962 Grades.

.................................................. 2 §52.5963 Recommended Fill of Container.

............................... 3 §52.5964 Color.

................................................... 3 §52.5965 Classification of Requirements.

............................... 3 §52.5966 Explanation of Terms.

....................................... 4 §52.5967 Determining the Grade of a Lot.

............................... 5 §52.5968 Reserved.

................................................ 5

Authority: Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, Secs. 203, 205, 60 Stat. 1087, a s

amended, 1090, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1622, 1624).

Note: Compli ance with the provisions of these standards shall not excuse failure t o comply with the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or wit h applicable State laws and regulations.2

§52.5961 Product description. (a) Maple sirupmeans maple si rup represented as defined in the Standards of Identityfor Maple Sirup (21 CFR 168.140) issued under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The solids content of the finished maple sirup shall be not less than 66 percent by weight (Brix). (b) Feder al inspection certificates shall limit U.S. Grade B maple sirup to a qu alitysuitable for reprocessing only. U.S. Grade B maple sirup shall b e considered unsuitable for consumer labeling. §52.5962 Grades. (a) U.S. Grade Ais the quality of maple sirup that: (1) Has good color; (2) Has good flavor and odor; (3) Is practically free from defects; and (4) Is practically clear. (b) U.S. Grade B for Reprocessing is the quality of maple sirup that: (1) Has fairly good color; (2) Has fairly good flavor and odor; (3) Is fairly free from defects; (4) Is fairly clear; and (5) Is suitably designated or labeled as a reprocessing grade to qualif y for Federal gra ding, inspection, or certification. Reprocessing grade maple sirup shall not be packaged in consumer size containers. (c) Substandard is the quality of maple sirup that fai ls to meet the requirements for U.S. Grade B for Reprocessing.3

§52.5963 Recommended Fill of Container.
T h e recommended fill of container is not incorporated in the grades of the product since fill of container, as such, is not a factor of quality for the purpose of these grades. It i s recom mended that each container be filled with sirup as full as practicable and that th e product occupy not less than 90 percent of the volume of the container. §52.5964 Color. (a) General. Color has reference to the co lor of maple sirup when examined by means of the USDA permanent glass color standards for maple sirup. (b) Ava ilabilityof color standards. The color standards referred to in thi s section are available only from the approved supplier under a license from the U.S . Department of Agriculture. Information regarding these colo r standards may be obtained by writing to: 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 §52.5965 Classification of Requirements. (a) "A" classification. (1) Good color means that the sirup color is bright and typical of maple si rup prepared from sound, properly gathered sap; and, in addition , meets the following spectral requirements: (i) U.S. Grade A light amber is as light, or lighter, in color than the USDA Light Amber Glass Color Standard. (ii) U.S. G rade A medium amberis darker in color than ligh t amb er, but is no darker than the USDA Medium Amber Glass Color Standard. (iii) U.S. Grad e A dark amberis darker in color than mediu m amber, b ut is no darker than the USDA Dark Amber Glas s Color Standard.4 (2) The sirup shall have a good maple flavor characteristic of the color; shall be clean; practically clear; practically free from damage; an d shall be free from serious damage. (b) "B" classification. (1) Fairlygood colormeans that the sirup color is darker in color than the USDA Dark Amber Glass Color Standard, but is not off-color for any reason. (2) The sirup has a fairly good characteristic maple flavor; is fairly fre e from damage; is fairly clear; and is free from serious damage. (c) Substandard classification. Maple sirup that fails to meet the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section shall not be graded above Substandard. §52.5966 Explanation of Terms. (a) Cloudinessmeans the presence, in suspension, of fine particles of mineral matter, such as malate of lime, niter, sugar sand, calcium malate, or other substances that detract from the clearness of the sirup. (b) Cl ean means that the sirup shall be practically free from foreign materia l such as pieces of bark, soot, dust, or dirt. (c) Damagemeans an y defect that materially affects the appearance, edibility, or shipping quality of the sirup. (d) Serious damage means any defect that seriously affects the edibility o r market va lue of the sirup. Badly scorched sirup, buddy sirup, fermente d sirup, or sirup that has any distasteful foreign flavor or disagreeable odo r shall be considered as seriously damaged. (e) Buddy flavor, buddiness is an unpleasant flavor characteristic of siru p made from sap collected from maple trees as they come out of dormancy. (f) U.S. D epartment of Agriculture Color Standard means the official U.S

. Departmentof Agriculture Permanent Glass Color Standards for Mapl e Sirup.5

§52.5967 Determining the Grade of a Lot. The g rade of a lot of maple sirup covered by these standards is determined by th e proc edures set forth in the Regulations Governing Inspection and Certification o f Processed Fruits and Vegetables, Processed Products Thereof, and Certain Other Processed Food Products (7 CFR 52.1 through 52.83); Provided that: (a) When certifying the color of a sample that has been officially drawn an d which represents a specific lo t of maple sirup, the lot shall be considered as being of one color if the number of color deviants does not exceed th e acceptance number in the appropriate sampli ng plan. Any lot of maple sirup in which the number of color dev iants exceeds the acceptance number shall be designated as a lot of mixed color. (b) No d eviants for serious damage shall be allowed in grades abov e Substandard. §52.5968 Reserved. Effec tive date: The United States Standards for Grades of Maple Sirup shall becom e effecti ve January 14, 1980, and thereupon will supersede United States Standards fo r Grades of Table Maple Sirup an United States Standards for Grades of Maple Sirup for Reprocessing which have been in effect since May 24, 1967. NOTE: This fi nal rule has been reviewed under the USDA criteria established t o

im plementExecutive Order 12044, Improving Government Regulations
. Adetermin ation has been made that this action shall not be classifie d sig nificantunder those criteria. A Final Impact Statement has bee n prepared and is available 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 Done at Washington, D.C., on: December 14, 1979

/s/ Donald L. Houston Administrator Food Safety and Quality Service