[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 250 (Friday, December 30, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-32067]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: December 30, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 925 and 944
[Docket No. FV93-925-1FR]
Table Grapes Grown in Southeastern California and Table Grapes
Imported into the United States; Revision in Minimum Grade Requirements
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule amends the minimum quality requirements
currently in effect for table grapes grown in southeastern California
under Marketing Order No. 925 and for table grapes imported into the
United States. This final rule will allow for the handling of grapes
which satisfy all the requirements of the U.S. No. 1 Institutional
grade except for bunch size tolerance. The objective of this rule is to
help handlers and importers market grapes which do not meet the U.S.
No. 1 Institutional grade because of a greater variance in bunch size.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 30, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles L. Rush, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.
Box 96456, Room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone (202) 720-
5127; or Rose Aguayo, California Marketing Field Office, Marketing
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA,
2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102B, Fresno, California 93721, telephone
(209) 487-5901
.SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement and Order No. 925 [7 CFR Part 925], regulating the handling
of grapes grown in a designated area of southeastern California. The
marketing agreement and order are authorized under the Agricultural
Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended [7 U.S.C. 601-674],
hereinafter referred to as the Act.
This final rule is also issued pursuant to section 8e of the Act,
which requires the Secretary of Agriculture to issue grade, size,
quality, or maturity requirements for certain listed commodities
imported into the United States that are the same as, or comparable to,
those imposed upon the domestic commodities under Federal marketing
orders. Table grapes were added to the list of commodities specified in
section 8e in 1982.
The Department of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive
effect. This final rule will not preempt any State or local laws,
regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable
conflict with this action.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608c(15)(A) of the
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the Secretary a
petition stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any
obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance
with law and requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted
therefrom. A handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the
petition. After the hearing the Secretary would rule on the petition.
The Act provides that the district court of the United States in any
district in which the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her
principal place of business, has jurisdiction in equity to review the
Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is filed
not later than 20 days after date of the entry of the ruling.
There are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted
prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of import regulations
issued under section 8e of the Act.
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) has considered the economic impact of this action on small
entities.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of
business subject to such actions in order that small businesses will
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued
pursuant to the Act, and rules issued thereunder, are unique in that
they are brought about through group action of essentially small
entities acting on their own behalf. Thus, both statutes have small
entity orientation and compatibility. Import regulations issued under
the Act are based on those established under Federal marketing orders.
There are approximately 20 handlers of California desert grapes
subject to regulation under the marketing order, and approximately 90
producers. In addition, there are approximately 70 importers of table
grapes subject to the requirements of the table grape import
regulation. Small agricultural service firms, which include handlers
and importers, have been defined by the Small Business Administration
[13 CFR 121.601] as those having annual receipts of less than
$5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those whose
annual receipts are less than $500,000. The majority of the table grape
handlers, producers and importers may be classified as small entities.
Under the marketing order, table grapes grown in southeastern
California are currently subject to a minimum grade requirement of U.S.
No. 1 or U.S. No. 1 Institutional, as set forth in the United States
Standards for Grades of Table Grapes (European or Vinifera Type)
(Standards). The requirements of the U.S. No. 1 Institutional grade are
the same as those of the U.S. No. 1 grade, with two exceptions. The
first relates to bunch size. Under the U.S. No. 1 grade, there is a
minimum bunch size requirement of 4 ounces. Under the U.S. No. 1
Institutional grade, bunches must weigh at least 2 ounces but not more
than 5 ounces. The second difference is that at least 95 percent of the
containers in a lot of grapes grading U.S. No. 1 Institutional must be
legibly marked ``Institutional Pack,'' whereas no such marking
requirement applies under the U.S. No. 1 grade. In order to allow for
variations incident to proper grading and handling, both grades provide
a tolerance of 8 percent for off-size
bunches and for bunches and berries failing to meet other grade
requirements.
The California Desert Grape Administrative Committee (committee),
the agency responsible for local administration of the order, met on
November 4, 1993, and unanimously recommended relaxing the quality
requirements in the handling regulations to allow an additional bunch
size tolerance for grapes which would otherwise grade U.S. No. 1
Institutional.
This final rule provides an additional tolerance of 25 percent, or
a total of 33 percent, for bunches of grapes that would otherwise meet
the U.S. No. 1 Institutional grade.
Prior to the 1992 season, the minimum grade requirement in effect
under the order was U.S. No. 1 grade. The U.S. No. 1 Institutional
grade was authorized as a means of allowing the industry to fulfill
demands of the foodservice industry (e.g., restaurants and schools) for
smaller sized bunches of grapes than are preferred in other markets.
However, the domestic table grape industry has experienced difficulty
in meeting the requirements of the U.S. No. 1 Institutional grade due
to the 8 percent tolerance for off-sized bunches. The committee
believes that establishing an additional tolerance for off-sized
bunches in the handling regulation will promote sales of grapes packed
for institutional use. Due to the requirements of the current handling
regulation, California table grape handlers are unable to ship smaller
grape bunches because of the 8 percent off-size bunch tolerance of the
U.S. No. 1 Institutional grade. This has required handlers to repack
grapes after they have been packed in the vineyards, resulting in
packing costs that are prohibitively high for the modest prices paid by
buyers of institutional grade grapes. Allowing an additional 25 percent
bunch size tolerance is expected to allow the industry to more fully
utilize its grapes in the marketplace. This final rule allows handlers
to mark containers of grapes meeting the modified requirements as
``DGAC No. 1 Institutional.''
In accordance with section 8e of the Act, table grapes imported
into the United States are subject to the same minimum grade
requirements as those in effect for domestically grown grapes under the
marketing order. Those requirements are found in Table Grape Import
Regulation 4 [7 CFR part 944.503]. Because this final rule will provide
an additional tolerance for off-size bunches of grapes under the
domestic handling regulation, the same change is being made in the
table grape import regulation.
Finally, this rule will also update references to government
contacts and sources of regulatory information in both the domestic and
import regulations.
A proposed rule concerning this revision of minimum grade
requirements was issued on July 11, 1994, and published in the Federal
Register on July 15, 1994, [59 FR 36091]. That rule provided a 15-day
comment period which ended August 1, 1994. One comment was received.
Mr. T. Albert Yamada of Masaoka & Associates, Inc. filed a comment
on behalf of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas opposed to
the committee's recommendation. Mr. Yamada contends that the proposed
relaxation would degrade the quality of grapes offered to the public,
and allow sales of very small bunches regardless of the quality of the
individual grapes on the bunch. However, Marketing Order regulations
will require that grapes grading U.S. No. 1 Institutional under the
relaxed bunch size tolerance meet the same quality requirements as
before this relaxation. This rule will not impact the quality of
grapes. It will only affect the bunch size tolerance for grapes
destined for foodservice outlets. Therefore, the comment submitted by
Mr. Yamada is denied.
Based on available information, the Administrator of the AMS has
determined that this action will not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the information and recommendation submitted by the committee and other
available information, it is hereby found that this rule, as
hereinafter set forth, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of
the Act.
In accordance with section 8e of the Act, the United States Trade
Representative has concurred with the issuance of this final rule.
List of Subjects
7 CFR Part 925
Grapes, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
7 CFR Part 944
Avocados, Food grades and standards, Grapefruit, Grapes, Imports,
Kiwifruit, Limes, Olives, Oranges.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR parts 925 and 944
are amended as follows:
1. The authority citation for both 7 CFR parts 925 and 944
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
PART 925--GRAPES GROWN IN A DESIGNATED AREA OF SOUTHEASTERN
CALIFORNIA
2. Section 925.304 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as
follows:
Sec. 925.304 California Desert Grape Regulation 6.
* * * * *
(a) Grade, size, and maturity. Except as provided under paragraphs
(a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section, such grapes shall meet the minimum
grade and size requirements of U.S. No. 1 Table, or U.S. No. 1
Institutional, as set forth in the United States Standards for Grades
of Table Grapes (European or Vinifera Type, 7 CFR 51.880 through
51.913) (Standards), or shall meet all the requirements of U.S. No. 1
Institutional with the exception of the tolerance percentage for bunch
size. Such tolerance shall be 33 percent instead of 8 percent as is
required to meet U.S. No. 1 Institutional grade. Grapes meeting these
quality requirements may be marked ``DGAC No. 1 Institutional'' but
shall not be marked ``Institutional Pack.''
(1) Grapes of the Perlette variety shall meet the minimum berry
size requirement of ten-sixteenths of an inch;
(2) Grapes of the Flame Seedless variety shall meet the minimum
berry size requirement of ten-sixteenths of an inch; shall be
considered mature if the juice contains not less than 15 percent
soluble solids and the soluble solids are equal to or in excess of 20
parts to every part acid contained in the juice in accordance with
applicable sampling and testing procedures specified in sections
1436.3, 1436.5, 1436.6, 1436.7, 1436.12, and 1436.17 of Article 25 of
the California Administrative Code [Title 3].
* * * * *
3. Section 925.304(f) is amended by removing the zip code ``20250''
and adding in its place ``20090-6456'' and by removing the phone number
``(202) 447-5697'' and adding in its place ``(202) 720-2491''.
Part 944--FRUITS; IMPORT REGULATIONS
4. Section 944.503 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(1) to read
as follows:
Sec. 944.503 Table Grape Import Regulation 4.
(a)(1) Pursuant to section 8e of the Act and Part 944--Fruits,
Import Regulations, the importation into the United States of any
variety of vinifera species table grapes, except Emperor, Calmeria,
Almeria, and Ribier varieties, is prohibited unless such grapes meet
the minimum grade and size requirements specified in Sec. 51.884 for
U.S. No. 1 Table or in Sec. 51.885 for U.S. No. 1 Institutional grade,
as set forth in the United States Standards for Grades of Table Grapes
(European or Vinifera Type, 7 CFR 51.880 through 51.913), or shall meet
all the requirements of U.S. No. 1 Institutional with the exception of
the tolerance percentage for bunch size. Such tolerance shall be 33
percent instead of 8 percent as is required to meet U.S. No. 1
Institutional grade. Grapes meeting these quality requirements shall
not be marked ``Institutional Pack, but may be marked DGAC No.1
Institutional.''
(i) Grapes of the Perlette variety shall meet the minimum berry
size requirement of ten-sixteenths of an inch, and
(ii) Grapes of the Flame Seedless variety shall meet the minimum
berry size requirement of ten-sixteenths of an inch and shall be
considered mature if the juice contains not less than 15 percent
soluble solids and the soluble solids are equal to or in excess of 20
parts to every part acid contained in the juice in accordance with
applicable sampling and testing procedures specified in sections
1436.3, 1436.5, 1436.6, 1436.7, 1436.12, and 1436.17 of Article 25 of
the California Administrative Code (Title 3).
* * * * *
5. Section 944.503, paragraph (a)(2) is amended by removing the zip
code ``20250'' and adding in its place ``20090-6456'' and by removing
the phone number ``(202) 447-5697'' and adding in its place ``(202)
720-2491.''
Dated: December 23, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-32067 Filed 12-29-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P