R68-4. Standardization, Marketing, and Phytosanitary Inspection of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Other Plant and Plant Products, R68. Agriculture and Food, Plant Industry, Utah Administrative Code

Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019)

R68. Agriculture and Food, Plant Industry

R68-4. Standardization, Marketing, and Phytosanitary Inspection of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Other Plant and Plant Products

R68-4-1. Authority

Latest version.

Promulgated under authority of Section 4-2-2 and 4-2-2(1)(h).

R68-4-2. Standards and Grades

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The Commissioner of Agriculture and Food has adopted the standards and grades established by the Food Safety and Quality Service, United States Department of Agriculture, for fresh fruits and vegetables. In the case of apricots for processing, no federal standards have been established, therefore, Utah standards have been developed for that commodity. Phytosanitary inspection shall be in accordance with federal standards as well as those of the importing country or state. All other grading of fresh fruit and vegetables in Utah shall be according to official federal grade standards.

(A) Containers.

(1) The term "container" is defined as any commercial type of package, open or closed, such as barrel, box, basket, carton, crate, lug, sack, or any other receptacle.

(2) "Clean containers" are defined as those containers which are free from dirt, filth, or product residues and are found acceptable to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Such containers shall be of good substantial construction and be in good condition.

(3) "Closed container" means any container which is covered by any material in the form of a lid, cover, or wrapping of any kind.

(B) Packaging and Labeling.

(1) All lots of fresh fruits and vegetables packed for sale, offered for sale, transported for sale or sold in Utah, shall be packaged in clean containers, either open or closed.

(2) All closed containers are to be of good substantial construction, good commercial type and marked to comply in every way with all marketing requirements of the State of Utah, and are in no way to conflict with requirements of the U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

(3) The name and address of the grower, packer, or shipper shall be plainly labeled on all closed containers of fresh fruits and vegetables offered for sale. It shall be unlawful to offer produce for sale in closed containers which are labeled with the brand of another grower, packer or shipper, without permission from such grower, packer, or shipper. Such closed containers shall also be plainly marked on the outside with the name of the product and with terms of either net weight, numerical count, or minimum diameter. Minimum height of numbers and letters for all labeling on packages of ten pounds or more shall be 3/8".

(4) The above labeling requirements shall not apply to fresh fruits and vegetables to be used for processing purposes or for repackaging.

(5) In addition to the above requirements, bags of certified seed potatoes must be officially sealed and tagged with the seal and tag of the certifying agency at point of origin.

(1) It shall be unlawful to offer for sale in Utah a deceptive pack of fruits or vegetables or to mislabel any package of fruits or vegetables packed for sale or offered for sale.

(2) "Deceptive Pack" shall mean any container of fruits or vegetables which has in the outer layer or any exposed surface, fruits or vegetables which are so superior in quality, size or condition to those in the interior of the container, or the unexposed portion, as to noticeably misrepresent the entire contents; provided that facing which is not in violation of the foregoing is not regarded as deceptive. Such pack is deceptive if the outer or exposed surface is composed of products whose size is not an accurate representation of the variation of size of the products in the entire container.

(D) Grade Designation.

All fresh fruits and vegetables offered for sale in Utah in closed or open containers of any kind, or on display tables, or shelves, where a federal or state grade is designated on the container or on a sign accompanying produce on display, must conform to the grade so designated. If a lot of fruit or vegetables does not meet the above requirements, sale of such lot shall be stopped until the lot is brought into compliance.

R68-4-3. Prohibited Sale

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It shall be unlawful to sell or offer for sale in Utah any fruits or vegetables in bulk or in containers which contain more than ten percent by count or weight of plant pest injury or serious defects of a progressive nature which has penetrated or damaged the edible portions, including not more than five percent of fruit with worm holes.

R68-4-4. Authority to Issue Certificates

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No person, firm, corporation, or association is permitted to issue, classify or sign certificates covering the grade of farm products when such farm products have been officially standardized, except as provided by law and only by a person properly qualified, licensed, and designated as a state agricultural inspector by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and approved and licensed by the federal supervisor.

R68-4-5. Duty of Inspector

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When an agricultural inspector finds any lot of fruits or vegetables being offered for sale which fails to meet the requirements of the regulations herein, it shall be his duty to serve notice on the owner or person who has possession thereof, that the provisions of these regulations have been violated and that the produce in question cannot be marketed or sold unless officially released by said inspector.

R68-4-6. Inspection Notes and Certificates

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(A) Only financially-interested persons are entitled to information from the inspectors' notes unless applicant directs the inspector to give this information to prospective buyers. This information can be obtained by others only by court order through subpoena.

(B) All certificates issued by authorized agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Federal-State Inspection Service) shall be received in all federal courts as prima facie evidence of the truth contained therein.

(1) Averages cannot always be accurately obtained. In such cases the following general terms may be used with the meanings given.

(a) Few means 10 percent or less.

(b) Some means 11 to 25 percent.

(d) Approx. half means 46 to 54 percent.

(e) Most-Mostly means 55 to 89 percent.

(f) Generally means 90 percent or more (see paragraph 447).

(g) Practically all means 95 percent or more.

(h) Occasionally means 5 percent or less (Used only in reference to container; see Paragraph 446).

R68-4-7. Utah Standards for Apricots for Canning or Freezing (There are no Federal Standards for processing apricots)

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(A) Utah No. 1 shall consist of apricots which are well formed, firm ripe, (but not hard or overripe), well colored, free from decay, mold, worms and worm holes and from damage caused by dirt, growth crack, limb rubs, sun cracks, scald, hail, bird pecks, scale, disease, insects, mechanical factors, or by other means (See minimum size).

(B) Utah No. 2 shall consist of apricots which are ripe (but not overripe and soft, or hard or shriveled), fairly well colored, not badly misshapen, free from decay, mold, worms, worm holes and from serious damage by any cause.

(C) Culls shall mean apricots which do not meet the requirements of Utah No. 2 or are affected by blight, scale, scale insects, larvae, or other worm damage, serious bruises and decay.

(D) Minimum size refers to the greatest diameter, measured through the center of the apricot at right angles to a line running from the stem to the blossom ends. Minimum sizes for Utah No. 1 and Utah No. 2 grades may be fixed by agreement between buyer and seller.

(E) Definitions of terms used in these grades:

(1) "Ripe" shall mean the state of maturity wherein the apricots are ready for immediate processing or consumption.

(2) "Firm" shall mean that the apricots are fairly solid and yield slightly to moderate pressure.

(3) "Well colored" shall mean that the apricots show at least 90 percent good over-all deep yellow or orange color characteristic of ripe fruit.

(4) "Fairly well colored" shall mean that the apricots show at least two-thirds of the over-all surface with a good shade of orange or deep yellow color characteristic of ripening apricots.

(5) "Well formed" shall mean the shape characteristic of the variety and shall not be extremely flat or otherwise misshapen.

(6) "Damage" shall mean any injuries or defects which materially affect the appearance or the processing quality of the apricots or cause waste of more than five percent (by weight) of the flesh in excess of that which occurs if the apricots were not defective, or cause waste to the extent that the fruit, after trimming, will not yield two reasonably well shaped halves.

(7) "Serious damage" shall mean any injuries or defects which seriously affect the appearance or processing quality or cause a waste of more than ten percent (by weight) of the flesh in excess of that which would occur if the apricots were not defective.

(F) Tolerances.

(1) It is contemplated, in the application of above given standards, that in most instances sellers will not sort their apricots into separate lots of Utah No. 1 and Utah No. 2 grades before delivery to the buyer, and that the buyer will pay on the basis of the percentage of each grade in the sellers' lot as described by inspection. In such cases, no tolerance is needed. Should the contract between buyer and seller call for delivery of lots containing only Utah No. 1 and Utah No. 2, then, unless otherwise specified, a ten percent tolerance shall be allowed for apricots which fail to meet requirements of the grade on which the contract is based, with an additional ten percent tolerance allowed for apricots which fail to meet the minimum size specified in the contract. Lots of apricots which contain in excess of five percent wormy fruit must be reconditioned by the grower to be acceptable for processing purposes.

R68-4-8. Certification and Grade Standards for Seed Potatoes

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(A) Requirements and standards for the certification and grading of seed potatoes are established and regulated by the Utah Crop Improvement Association, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah, 84322-4820.

(B) Copies of seed certification requirements and standards can be obtained from the Utah Crop Improvement Association, Logan, Utah.

R68-4-9. Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Apples

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(A) Licensing.

(1) Any person, corporation, partnership, association or other organized group or person who owns or operates a controlled atmosphere room or storage building shall apply for a license with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Food on a form prescribed by the Commissioner. The licensing period shall commence on January 1 and end on December 31 of each year.

(2) The application for an annual registration to engage in the business of operating a controlled atmosphere storage warehouse or warehouses shall be accompanied by an annual license fee determined by the department pursuant to Subsection 4-2-2(2).

(3) The Commissioner shall assign each approved applicant a registration number preceded by the letters CA. This number shall be marked on all containers coming under the provisions of these regulations.

(B) Atmospheric Specifications.

(1) Apples shall not be identified as being from CA storage unless the following requirements have been met as evidenced by inspection and certification by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Food.

(a) The percent of oxygen within the storage atmosphere shall be reduced to five percent within 20 days after the date of sealing.

(b) The period of storage in a sealed room with not more than five percent oxygen shall be a minimum of 45 days for Gala and Jonagold varieties and a minimum period of 90 days for all other varieties. The maximum period of storage in a sealed room with not more than five percent oxygen shall be ten months, but in no case later than September 1 of the year following harvest.

(c) The fruit temperature in the CA storage room shall be maintained without significant deviation in a range of temperature normal for the variety.

(d) A representative of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food shall be notified prior to opening of the CA facility following the storage period, and he shall inspect the general condition of the facility and contents within 48 hours following the opening.

(e) CA Certified Apples must enter commercial channels of trade within four weeks after storage is opened. Minimum condition and maturity standards shall be the U.S. Condition Standards for Export.

(1) Each owner or operator shall maintain a record for each room on an approved form or forms. The record shall include owner or operator's name and address, room number, date of sealing, date of opening, capacity in bushels, lot identification, number of bushels within each lot, and daily air constituents determination including date of test, time of test, percentage of oxygen, percentage of carbon dioxide, temperature and comments.

(2) Each owner or operator shall submit to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food within 20 days after date of sealing, a report in writing, for each room showing room number, date of sealing and number of bushels contained therein.

(D) Marketing CA Apples.

(1) Any person selling, offering for sale or transporting for sale any apples coming under the provision of these regulations shall furnish an invoice covering the sale of such apples. Each invoice shall indicate the CA registration number assigned to the owner or owners of the controlled atmosphere room or storage building in which each lot or lots of apples included thereon were kept. Enforcement officials may investigate and examine records and invoices relating to any transactions in connection herewith in order to determine the identity of apples represented as meeting requirements for such identification.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, hold for sale, or transport for sale any apples represented as having been exposed to "controlled atmosphere storage" or to use any such term or form of words or symbols of similar import unless such apples have been stored in controlled atmosphere storage which meets the requirements of the regulations adopted herein.

R68-4-10. Standards for Utah Premium Grade for Apples

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(1) Utah Premium apples shall consist of Utah grown apples which meet or exceed all minimum standards as issued by the "United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) U.S. Extra Fancy Grade", including the requirements and tolerances as defined in the "United States Standards for Grades of Apples effective September 1, 1964, as amended and in effect July 25, 1972, as issued by USDA". Each apple of this grade shall have the amount of color specified in the USDA Standards for US Extra Fancy given for a specific variety except solid red apples shall have a minimum 85 percent good red color.

(2) The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food shall conduct condition and grade inspections to assure the grade and quality of all Utah Premium Apples. Fees for quality assurance inspections will be pursuant to Subsection 4-2-2(2).

R68-4-11. Phytosanitary Inspection

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A Phytosanitary Inspection must be performed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Food or designated employees of the Department, on plants or plant products and may include: nursery plants or bulbs, seeds, grains, fruits, vegetables, and other plant materials for the purpose of export or sale within the state.

(A) Definitions.

(1) Phytosanitary shall mean sanitary plant health inspection.

(2) Standards shall mean the requirements of the federal government, and those of the importing counties of this state or of another state.

(3) Information shall mean the information contained on the phytosanitary certificate that represents the plant material listed.

(B) Shipping Information such as names and descriptions of plant materials, origin of plant material, intended destination, means of transportation, intended date for shipment and name and address of consignee must be provided by the exporting shipper to the Department when calling for an issuance of a certificate.

R68-4-12. Charges for Inspection Services

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(A) Inspection fees will be determined pursuant to Subsection 4-2-2(2). Such fees shall be paid by the person, firm, corporation or other organization who requested inspection, upon receipt of a statement for same from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. In all cases, payment of such charges shall be made to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food within thirty days of the date of billing. If accounts become delinquent, the Department may discontinue inspection services until full payment is received.

(B) Mileage or extra expense incurred in cases where inspection is requested at isolated loading points may be added to the cost of the regular inspection fee. Such charges shall be the same as those set forth in the current State of Utah Travel Rules and Regulations.

(C) Charges in addition to regular inspection fees shall be made for inspection services performed during irregular working hours when such hours are not included in the inspectors' scheduled shift.