Mango Industry Votes to Support Amendment to Add Frozen Mangos to National Mango Research and Promotion Program

July 22, 2019 USDA AMS

In the referendum, 52.5 percent of first handlers and importers of fresh and frozen mangos were in favor of the amendment to the program. The amendment was published in the Federal Register on Feb. 21, 2019, and was effective March 25, 2019. Assessments of frozen mangos begin on July 22, 2019.

USDA Removes Eight Fruit and Vegetable Standards from the Code of Federal Regulations

July 19, 2019 USDA AMS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announces a final rule that removes seven voluntary U.S. grade standards and one consumer standard for fresh fruits and vegetables from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The final rule, published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2019, adopts a previously published interim rule without change.

USDA Proposes Revisions to U.S. Standards for Grades of Apples

May 7, 2019 USDA AMS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposes revising the U.S. standards for grades of apples to remove smooth net-like russeting as a grade-determining factor in the U.S. Extra Fancy, U.S. Fancy, and U.S. No. 1 grades for Fuji apples.

AMS Announces 2019 Rates for Voluntary Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Services

May 1, 2019 USDA AMS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced the 2019 rates it will charge for voluntary grading, inspection, certification, verification, and laboratory services for a variety of agricultural commodities – including fruits, vegetables and specialty crops.

USDA: How We Store Our Eggs—and Why

April 24, 2019 USDA AMS

It is a question anyone who has ever eaten or cooked an egg might want to ask: How should we store them? That’s because the way eggs are stored depends on where they’re produced.