This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

2356

Vol. 63, No. 10

Thursday, January 15, 1998

1Source—USDA, NASS, ASB.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned Beets, United States

Standards for Grades of Canned

Carrots and the United States

Standards for Grades of Canned White

Potatoes

[FV–97–329N]

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) of the Department of

Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting

comments on its proposal to change the

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned Beets, the United States

Standards for Grades of Canned Carrots,

and the United States Standards for

Grades of Canned White Potatoes

(canned root crop vegetables).

Specifically, USDA is proposing to

adjust the Recommended Minimum

Drained Weight Averages (RMDWA’s)

for all styles packed in No. 300 size cans

to be equivalent to the percent water

capacity corresponding to the closest

sized container, the No. 303 can, i.e.,

reduced by 9.02 percent. These changes

are being requested by industry in order

to improve the useability of the U.S.

standards for these canned root crop

vegetables. In addition, USDA will

further improve the standards and

promote consistency by changing the

format of the tables to incorporate a

column for the water capacity of each

container size and add metric system

tables to the canned beets and canned

carrots standards.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before March 16, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be

submitted to Chere L. Shorter, Processed

Products Branch, Fruit and Vegetable

Programs, Agricultural Marketing

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Room 0709, South Building; STOP

0247, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC

20090–6456; faxed to (202) 690–1087; or

e-mailed to

CherelLlShorter@usda.gov.

Comments should reference the date

and page number of this issue of the

Federal Register. All comments

received will be made available for

public inspection at the above address

during regular business hours (8 a.m.–

4:30 p.m.).

The current U.S. grade standards for

these canned root crop vegetables, along

with the proposed changes, are available

either through the above addresses or by

accessing AMS’s Home Page on the

Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/

standards/vegcan.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chere L. Shorter at (202) 720–4693.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act

of 1946, as amended, directs and

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture

‘‘to develop and improve standards of

quality, condition, quantity, grade, and

packaging and recommend and

demonstrate such standards in order to

encourage uniformity and consistency

in commercial practices * * *’’. AMS

is committed to carrying out this

authority in a manner that facilitates the

marketing of agricultural commodities

and makes copies of official standards

available upon request. The United

States Standards for Grades of Canned

Beets, the United States Standards for

Grades of Canned Carrots, and the

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned White Potatoes (canned root

crop vegetables) do not appear in the

Code of Federal Regulations but are

maintained by USDA.

AMS is proposing to change the

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned Beets, the United States

Standards for Grades of Canned Carrots,

and the United States Standards for

Grades of Canned White Potatoes using

the procedures it published in the

August 13, 1997, Federal Register and

that appear in part 36 of Title 7 of the

Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR part

36).

In November 1993, USDA received a

request to review the RMDWA’s for

these canned root crops in No. 300 size

containers from the National Food

Processors Association’s (NFPA)’s Grade

Standards Review Subcommittee. NFPA

requested the changes in the United

States Standards for Grades of Canned

Beets; Canned Carrots; and Canned

White Potatoes.

NFPA is a scientifically and

technically-based trade association

representing over 550 food industry

companies.1 NFPA requested that the

recommended drained weight of the No.

300 size container be reviewed for all

styles of canned root crop vegetables.

Within the last few years the canning

industry has been replacing production

of the No. 303 container size with the

No. 300 container. The total water

capacity for the No. 300 container is less

than the total water capacity for a No.

303 container. The percentage water

capacity, on which the recommended

minimum drained weight average is

based, is calculated by dividing the

RMDWA for a particular style of canned

root crop vegetable by the total water

capacity of the container. Studies done

by the USDA have found that for every

style of canned root crop vegetable

under consideration, in the current U.S.

standards, the drained weight as a

percentage of the water capacity is

significantly more for the No. 300

container than for No. 303 containers,

even though the available capacity of

the No. 300 container is 9.02 percent

less than that of the No. 303 container.

NFPA states that several companies

are noting difficulty in meeting the

RMDWA requirements for these

products in the No. 300 cans. In some

instances, critical fill weight maximums

have been exceeded, causing companies

to reevaluate their thermal processing

schedules to be sure their product is

sterile. Some companies are targeting

lower than the RMDWA’s. One effect of

targeting too low is that production may

not meet the buyers’ specifications for

the RMDWA’s because there may be a

high percentage of slack filled cans.

This situation may result in a demand

from buyers for a discount in price. To

meet USDA requirements for drained

weight, processors, by putting more

product into the can than may be

necessary, have sustained economic

hardship, damage to the product, and

sometimes loss of the integrity to the

can seal. When the seal’s integrity is lost

during processing, the product’s

wholesomeness is jeopardized.

The remedies recommended by NFPA

propose that the RMDWA’s in the U.S.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 1998 / Notices 2357

standards for grades of canned beets;

canned carrots; and canned white

potatoes be reduced to the same

percentage water capacity offered in the

No. 303 container size, i.e. lowered by

9.02 percent. The No. 303 can size was

chosen because the size relationship is

closest to the No. 300 can. In

consideration of this proposal, the

Standardization Section of the

Processed Products Branch, Fruit and

Vegetable Programs, AMS, initiated a

study to review the current grade

standards for canned root crop

vegetables packed in No. 300 containers.

Several companies were asked to submit

data on drained weight for the two most

prevalent styles of each canned root

crop vegetable under consideration,

mainly sliced and whole beets, diced

and sliced carrots and sliced and whole

potatoes. Seven PPB area field offices

also collected samples and determined

drained weight measurements for these

commodities. The independent findings

provided a cross-sectional

representation of the marketplace and

served as a benchmark for industry data.

The drained weight data provided by

the industry and by AMS for the No.

300 containers were then combined and

examined. In 1996 the data and

conclusions were published in a report

on file with USDA titled, ‘‘Drained

Weight Study, 1995 Report on Proposal

to Lower Recommended Minimum

Drained Weights for Root Vegetables

Packed in No. 300 Containers.’’

The conclusions of the report do

substantiate that there is some merit in

the industry proposal to decrease the

recommended minimum drained

weights in the U.S. grade standards for

canned beets; carrots; and white

potatoes packed in No. 300 containers.

Currently, the percentage water

capacity, which is the ratio of the

RMDWA and the water capacity of a

container, is significantly higher in all

cases for the smaller No. 300 container

than for the No. 303 containers. For

example, in diced beets, the RMDWA

for the No. 300 container is 10.0 ounces,

and the RMDWA for the No. 303

container is 10.5 ounces. The percent

water capacity represented by 10.0

ounces is 65.8 percent, while 10.5

ounces represents a percent water

capacity of only 62.3 percent.

Based on this information USDA has

found that new RMDWA’s for No. 300

containers, making the percentage water

capacities more consistent with those of

the No. 303 containers, should be

considered.

Based on these findings, AMS agrees

with the recommendations from NFPA

and proposes to improve the United

States Standards for Grades of Canned

Beets; Canned Carrots; and Canned

White Potatoes by making changes to

and adding the following tables: Canned

Beets, Table I, adding Table IA, Canned

Carrots, Table I, adding Table IA, and

Canned White Potatoes, Table I and

Table IA. Specifically, the changes will:

(1) adjust the RMDWA’s for No. 300

containers which were calculated using

the percentage water capacity

corresponding to No. 303 containers and

lowered accordingly by 9.02 percent of

the RMDWA of the 303 size container;

and further improve the standards and

promote consistency by (2) changing the

format to include tables that will

incorporate the water capacity of each

container size; and (3) adding metric

system tables to the canned beet and

canned carrot standards.

These changes, if adopted, would

improve the grade standards by making

RMDWA’s proportional for the No. 300

can size, ensure safety of the product,

and help to facilitate the marketing of

canned beets, carrots and white

potatoes, allowing a more equitable

marketing environment for the canning

industry. The affected trade has

recommended and reviewed these

changes, therefore AMS is publishing

this notice with a 60 day comment

period which will provide sufficient

amount of time for interested persons to

comment on changes to the standards.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.

Dated: January 9, 1998.

Robert C. Keeney,

Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable

Programs.

[FR Doc. 98–1053 Filed 1–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[FV–97–328N]

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned Sweetpotatoes

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) is soliciting comments

on its proposal to change the voluntary

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned Sweetpotatoes. Specifically,

AMS proposes to lower the

recommended drained weights for

canned sweetpotatoes packed in retail

size cans by two percent. AMS has

received petitions to revise the United

States Standards for Grades of Canned

Sweetpotatoes. The petitioners are

requesting a decrease in the

recommended drained weight for

sweetpotatoes packed in retail size cans

including No. 10 cans. The drained

weight recommendations would also

add No. 300 cans, a size pack which has

been increasingly utilized in the

industry. These changes would allow

more equitable utilization of processed

sweetpotatoes across domestic growing

regions and will help the sweetpotato

industry to meet its market needs.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before March 16, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit their written

comments to Karen L. Kaufman,

Processed Products Branch, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, Agricultural

Marketing Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, STOP 0247, P.O. Box

96456, Washington, D.C. 20090–6456;

faxed to (202) 690–1087; or e-mailed to

KarenlLlKaufman@usda.gov.

Comments should reference the date

and page number of this issue of the

Federal Register. The petitions and

comments will be made available for

public inspection at the above address

during regular business hours.

The current United States Standards

for Grades of Canned Sweetpotatoes,

along with the proposed changes, are

available through the above addresses or

by accessing AMS’s Home Page on the

Internet at: www.ams.usda.gov/

standards/vegcan.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karen L Kaufman at (202) 720–5021.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act

of 1946, as amended, directs and

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture

‘‘to develop and improve standards of

quality, condition, grade, and packaging

and recommend and demonstrate such

standards in order to encourage

uniformity and consistency in

commercial practices * * *’’ The

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is

committed to carrying out this authority

in a manner that facilitates the

marketing of agricultural commodities.

The United States Standards for Grades

of Canned Sweetpotatoes do not appear

in the Code of Federal Regulations but

are maintained by the U.S. Department

of Agriculture. Copies of official

standards are available upon request.

AMS is proposing to change the

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned Sweetpotatoes using the

procedures it published in the August

13, 1997, Federal Register and that

appear in part 36 of title 7 of the Code

of Federal Regulations (7 CFR part 36).

Specifically, AMS is proposing to lower

the recommended drained weight for