39658 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 22, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

§ 51.2951 [Removed and reserved] 

■ 13. Section 51.2951 is removed and 

reserved. 

■ 14. In § 51.2954, the table is revised to 

read as follows: 

§ 51.2954 Tolerances for grade defects. 

* * * * * 

TOLERANCES FOR GRADE DEFECTS

Grade External (shell) defects Internal (kernel) defects Kernel color based on USDA 

Walnut Color Chart 

Kernel color 

based on red 

U.S. No. 1 ...... 10%, by count, for splits. 5%, 

by count, for other shell 

defects, including not more 

than 3% seriously damaged.

10% total, by count, including not more than 

6% which are damaged by mold or insects or seriously damaged by other 

means, of which not more than 5⁄6 or 5% 

may be damaged by insects, but no part 

of any tolerance shall be allowed for walnuts containing live insects.

No tolerance to reduce the 

required 70% of ‘‘light 

amber’’ kernels or the required 40% of ‘‘light’’ kernels or any larger percentage of ‘‘light amber’’ or 

‘‘light’’ kernels specified.

U.S. No. 2 ...... 10%, by count, for splits. 

10%, by count, for other 

shell defects, including not 

more than 5% serious 

damage by adhering hulls.

15% total, by count, including not more than 

8% which are damaged by mold or insects or seriously damaged by other 

means, of which not more than 5/8 or 5% 

may be damaged by insects, but no part 

of any tolerance shall be allowed for walnuts containing live insects.

No tolerance to reduce the 

required 60% or any specified larger percentage of 

‘‘light amber’’ kernels, or 

any specified percentage 

of ‘‘light’’ kernels.

U.S. No. 3 ...... Same as above tolerance for 

U.S. No. 2.

Same as above tolerance for U.S. No. 2 ..... No tolerance to reduce any 

percentage of ‘‘light 

amber’’ or ‘‘light’’ kernel 

specified.

Dated: August 16, 2017. 

Bruce Summers, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17641 Filed 8–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 52 

[Document Number AMS–FV–08–0076; SC– 

17–330] 

United States Standards for Grades of 

Frozen Onions 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final notification. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) of the Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is establishing 

voluntary United States Standards for 

Grades of Frozen Onions. The grade 

standards provide a common language 

for trade, a means of measuring value in 

the marketing of frozen onions, and 

guidance on the effective use of frozen 

onions. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 21, 

2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Brian E. Griffin, Agricultural 

Marketing Specialist, Specialty Crops 

Inspection Division, Specialty Crops 

Program, Agricultural Marketing 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 

1536, South Building; STOP 0240, 

Washington, DC 20250; telephone (202) 

720–5021; fax (202) 690–1527; or, email 

brian.griffin@ams.usda.gov. Copies of 

the new U.S. Standards for Grades of 

Frozen Onions are available at http://

www.regulations.gov or http://

www.ams.usda.gov/. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act 

of 1946 (Act) (7 U.S.C. 1621–1627), 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 grade 

standards available upon request. The 

United States Standards for Grades of 

Fruits and Vegetables unrelated to 

Federal Marketing Orders or U.S. Import 

Requirements no longer appear in the 

Code of Federal Regulations, but are 

maintained by USDA, AMS, Specialty 

Crops Program, and are available at 

https://www.ams.usda.gov/gradesstandards. 

AMS is establishing the U.S. 

Standards for Grades of Frozen Onions 

using the procedures in part 36, Title 7 

of the Code of Federal Regulations (7 

CFR part 36). 

Background: The American Frozen 

Food Institute (AFFI) petitioned AMS to 

develop new grade standards for frozen 

onions. AFFI is a national trade 

association representing the interests of 

U.S. frozen food processors and their 

suppliers in all frozen food sectors, 

including processors and packers of 

frozen onions. AFFI’s more than 500 

member companies represent 

approximately 90 percent of all frozen 

food processed annually in the United 

States. The AFFI petition provided 

information on product styles, sample 

sizes, and a product description for use 

in the grade standards. 

AMS asked the petitioner for various 

styles of samples in order to determine 

grades of frozen onions. AMS 

distributed several discussion drafts of 

proposed standards to AFFI, instituted 

changes to the drafts once agreement 

was reached, then published several 

Federal Register documents in order to 

receive comments from all interested 

parties (see 66 FR 21116, 68 FR 11801, 

68 FR 27010, 76 FR 31575, 81 FR 84506, 

and 82 FR 12424). 

Comments 

In the most recent comments 

published November 23, 2016, in 81 FR 

84506, and extended comment period 

published March 3, 2017, in 82 FR 

12424, AMS received 19 comments. All 

comments received were from the 

general public. Three commenters stated 

they did not feel there was a need for 

Government grades of frozen onions. 

AMS developed the proposed U.S. 

Standards for Grades of Frozen Onions 

at the request of, and in cooperation 

with, the frozen food industry. The U.S. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 22, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 39659 

Standards for Grades of Frozen Onions 

are voluntary standards for grades of 

quality and condition, and are not 

Government mandated for general use. 

The remaining 16 comments received 

were in agreement with the proposed 

standard. Comments may be viewed at 

www.regulations.gov. 

These standards establish the grade 

levels ‘‘A,’’ ‘‘B,’’ and ‘‘Substandard,’’ as 

well as Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) 

tolerances and acceptance numbers for 

each quality factor as defined for each 

grade level. 

AMS used the standard format for 

U.S. standards for grades using 

‘‘individual attributes.’’ Specifically, the 

grade standards provide tolerance limits 

for defects; acceptance numbers of 

allowable defects with single letter 

grade designation based on a specified 

number or weight of sample units; a 

product description for frozen onions; 

and, style designations for ‘‘whole,’’ 

‘‘strips,’’ ‘‘diced,’’ and ‘‘other’’ styles. 

The standard also defines quality 

factors, AQLs, and tolerances for defects 

in frozen onions, and determines 

sample unit sizes for this commodity. 

The grade of a sample unit of frozen 

onions will be ascertained considering 

the factors of varietal characteristics, 

color, flavor and odor, appearance, 

absence of grit or dirt, defects, and 

character. 

The official grade of a lot of frozen 

onions covered by these standards will 

be determined by the procedures set 

forth in the Regulations Governing 

Inspection and Certification of 

Processed Products Thereof, and Certain 

Other Processed Food Products (7 CFR 

part 52 through 52.83). 

The new U.S. Standards for Grades of 

Frozen Onions provide a common 

language for trade and reflect the 

current marketing of frozen onions. The 

standards will be effective 30 days after 

the date of publication in the Federal 

Register. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627. 

Dated: August 16, 2017. 

Bruce Summers, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17642 Filed 8–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

9 CFR Parts 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 

537, 539, 540, 541, 544, 548, 550, 552, 

555, 557, 559, 560, and 561 

[Docket No. FSIS–2017–0039] 

Educational Meeting on the Mandatory 

Inspection of Fish of the Order 

Siluriformes and Products Derived 

From Such Fish Final Rule 

Implementation 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notification of educational 

meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing 

an educational meeting to discuss the 

enforcement and implementation of the 

Final Rule, ‘‘Mandatory Inspection of 

Fish of the Order Siluriformes and 

Products Derived from Such Fish.’’ Fish 

of the order Siluriformes include fish of 

several families, including catfish (fish 

of the family Ictaluridae), basa, tra, and 

swai (fish of the family Pangasiidae), 

and clarias (fish of the Clariidae family). 

FSIS will present information on the 

upcoming full implementation of the 

regulatory requirements at official 

domestic establishments that process 

Siluriformes fish and fish products, as 

well as information on entry procedures 

and reinspection at official import 

inspection establishments. FSIS is 

particularly interested in soliciting 

participation from representatives from 

domestic wild-caught operations that 

process Siluriformes fish and fish 

products. 

The primary objectives of the meeting 

are to provide updated information to 

stakeholders and to encourage dialogue 

between FSIS and the Siluriformes fish 

industry. Affected industry and 

interested individuals, organizations, 

and other stakeholders are invited to 

participate in the meeting. 

DATES: The meeting will be held in 

Webster, FL on Friday, August 25, 2017; 

10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET, at the Florida 

Bass Conservation Center, 3583 CR 788, 

in Webster, FL. For directions and 

parking instructions, please visit: http:// 

myfwc.com/media/244914/FBCC_rack_

card08.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Evelyn Arce, Outreach and Partnership 

Division, Office of Outreach, Employee 

Education and Training, FSIS, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW., Mail Stop 

3778, Washington, DC 20250; 

Telephone: (202) 418–8903; Fax: (202) 

690–6519; Email: Evelyn.Arce@

fsis.usda.gov, regarding additional 

information about this meeting or to 

arrange for special accommodations. 

Questions regarding the mandatory 

inspection of fish of the order 

Siluriformes and products derived from 

such fish may be directed to AskFish@

fsis.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Further 

information on these meetings will be 

posted on FSIS Web site at: https://

www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/ 

newsroom/meetings and through the 

FSIS Constituent Update. 

The final rule may be accessed from 

the FSIS Web site at: http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/ 

topics/regulations/federal-register/ 

interim-and-final-rules. Registration: To 

pre-register for the meeting, please go to 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/ 

fsis/newsroom/meetings. 

Background 

On December 2, 2015, FSIS published 

the final rule to establish a mandatory 

inspection program for fish of the order 

Siluriformes and products derived from 

these fish (80 FR 75590). The final rule 

and other resources and information on 

Siluriformes fish can be found on the 

FSIS ‘‘Inspection Program for 

Siluriformes Fish, Including Catfish’’ 

Web page: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

wps/portal/fsis/topics/inspection/ 

siluriformes. 

The final rule was effective March 1, 

2016; however, the Agency provided an 

18-month transitional period until 

September 1, 2017, to give domestic 

establishments time to prepare and 

comply with the final regulations. The 

transitional period also provided foreign 

countries with time to submit the 

documentation necessary to continue 

exporting Siluriformes fish and fish 

products to the United States and to 

show that they have equivalent 

inspection systems. 

FSIS began inspecting domestic 

establishments on March 1, 2016, and 

began selecting imported Siluriformes 

fish shipments for reinspection on April 

15, 2016. During the transitional period, 

FSIS inspection personnel have 

exercised broad discretion in enforcing 

the regulatory requirements, focusing 

primarily on preventing adulterated or 

misbranded Siluriformes fish and fish 

products from entering commerce. 

On August 2, 2017, to abide with 

direction from Congress, FSIS began 

reinspecting all imported Siluriformes 

fish and fish products. Specifically, the 

explanatory statement accompanying 

the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2017, Public Law 115–31 Stat. 135, 

enacted May 5, 2017, directed FSIS to 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES