The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking public comments on its proposal to revise the U.S. Standards for Grades of Shelled Walnuts and the U.S. Standards for Grades of Walnuts in the Shell.
AMS proposes amending the standards to: (1) include red colored walnuts; and (2) remove the “Unclassified” section. The changes will modernize the standards, and help meet growing consumer demand by providing greater marketing flexibility.
AMS works with industry representatives and others to establish or revise U.S. standards for nearly 240 agricultural products. Standards facilitate commerce by providing a common language for trade and a means of measuring value in the marketing of agricultural products.
The notice is published in the Nov. 25, 2016, Federal Register. Comments are due by Jan. 24, 2017. To view this publication, please visit www.regulations.gov. You can access the current walnut standards at www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards.