Grade standards thrust of National Mango Board meeting
Grade standards thrust of National Mango Board meeting
ATLANTA -- Standardization in evaluating mangos during inspection should help the industry move forward, according to Leanne Skelton, chief of the fresh products branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Ms. Skelton made her comments Nov. 6 to an assembled meeting of the National Mango Board during the Produce Marketing Association's international convention and exposition, here.
To the approval of the audience, Ms. Skelton told the crowd that a final version of U.S. grade standards for mangos is in development at USDA. She said that final standards might be in place by Jan. 1. While allowing for some differences of interpretation between individual inspectors, Ms. Skelton said that results should be more uniform once grade standards are in place. The USDA does not currently have photo visual aids to assist in uniformity of inspections. Ms. Skelton alerted the audience that USDA is in the process of revising its fee schedule. Variations in USDA fees are accounted for by travel and overtime circumstances, she said.
Ms. Skelton delineated between U.S. No. 1 grade and U.S. No. 2 grade by saying that No. 1 grade is concerned with any damage at all to a mango, while No. 2 grade is concerned with serious damage and the severity of any defects. Attributes such as decay, softening, insects and larva will all cause a mango to be rejected for U.S. No. 1 classification.
"You have a right to see the inspection of your product if you have an investment in mangos," Ms. Skelton told the audience, adding that they also have a right to an appeal. Growers, shippers and receivers all can request inspections, she said.
The inspection formula calls for 1 percent of mangos to be inspected out of a lot of 2,000 and two-thirds of 1 percent for more than 2,000. Some fruit is cut out of every sample. Ripeness and color are recorded, as are defects.
No. 1 grade allows for a smaller area of damage than a No. 2 grade. Also, the smaller in diameter an individual piece of fruit is, the smaller the area allowed for damage.
Ron McCormick, vice president of marketing for produce and floral merchandising for Wal-Mart, told the audience that he would like to see standardization in containers. Wal- Mart's large, sophisticated distribution centers use returnable plastic containers and get 12 boxes or less on a pallet.
"There's a big savings in [having] less damage," Mr. McCormick said, adding that RPCs protect mangos in part because there's less handling of the fruit.
Neither Brazil nor Guatemala has representation on the National Mango Board because neither country applied for representation. Margaret Irby of the USDA said that every reasonable effort was made to open up the opportunity to appropriate parties such as Brazil and Guatemala. Both countries will have the opportunity to join the board in the future.
The board's mission is to unite the industry and strengthen the U.S. market. Assessments collected by the board are divided into three categories: 52 percent is for promotion, 26 percent for education and 22 percent for research.
Ms. Skelton made her comments Nov. 6 to an assembled meeting of the National Mango Board during the Produce Marketing Association's international convention and exposition, here.
To the approval of the audience, Ms. Skelton told the crowd that a final version of U.S. grade standards for mangos is in development at USDA. She said that final standards might be in place by Jan. 1. While allowing for some differences of interpretation between individual inspectors, Ms. Skelton said that results should be more uniform once grade standards are in place. The USDA does not currently have photo visual aids to assist in uniformity of inspections. Ms. Skelton alerted the audience that USDA is in the process of revising its fee schedule. Variations in USDA fees are accounted for by travel and overtime circumstances, she said.
Ms. Skelton delineated between U.S. No. 1 grade and U.S. No. 2 grade by saying that No. 1 grade is concerned with any damage at all to a mango, while No. 2 grade is concerned with serious damage and the severity of any defects. Attributes such as decay, softening, insects and larva will all cause a mango to be rejected for U.S. No. 1 classification.
"You have a right to see the inspection of your product if you have an investment in mangos," Ms. Skelton told the audience, adding that they also have a right to an appeal. Growers, shippers and receivers all can request inspections, she said.
The inspection formula calls for 1 percent of mangos to be inspected out of a lot of 2,000 and two-thirds of 1 percent for more than 2,000. Some fruit is cut out of every sample. Ripeness and color are recorded, as are defects.
No. 1 grade allows for a smaller area of damage than a No. 2 grade. Also, the smaller in diameter an individual piece of fruit is, the smaller the area allowed for damage.
Ron McCormick, vice president of marketing for produce and floral merchandising for Wal-Mart, told the audience that he would like to see standardization in containers. Wal- Mart's large, sophisticated distribution centers use returnable plastic containers and get 12 boxes or less on a pallet.
"There's a big savings in [having] less damage," Mr. McCormick said, adding that RPCs protect mangos in part because there's less handling of the fruit.
Neither Brazil nor Guatemala has representation on the National Mango Board because neither country applied for representation. Margaret Irby of the USDA said that every reasonable effort was made to open up the opportunity to appropriate parties such as Brazil and Guatemala. Both countries will have the opportunity to join the board in the future.
The board's mission is to unite the industry and strengthen the U.S. market. Assessments collected by the board are divided into three categories: 52 percent is for promotion, 26 percent for education and 22 percent for research.
