Chapter 16-445 WAC
Last Update: 9/4/14WASHINGTON STANDARDS FOR ITALIAN PRUNES
WAC Sections
| HTMLPDF | 16-445-015 | Definitions. |
| HTMLPDF | 16-445-025 | Damage and serious damage standards. |
| HTMLPDF | 16-445-040 | Washington No. 1 grade. |
| HTMLPDF | 16-445-045 | Tolerances. |
| HTMLPDF | 16-445-060 | Application of tolerances. |
| HTMLPDF | 16-445-070 | Standard pack. |
DISPOSITION OF SECTIONS FORMERLY CODIFIED IN THIS TITLE
| 16-445-001 | Promulgation. [Order 1262, § 16-445-001, filed 5/5/72.] Repealed by WSR 05-10-093, filed 5/4/05, effective 6/4/05. Statutory Authority: Chapters 15.17 and 34.05 RCW. |
| 16-445-005 | Non-Italian type prunes. [Order 662, effective 7/8/53.] Repealed by Order 1262, filed 5/5/72. |
| 16-445-010 | U.S. No. 1 grade—Tolerances. [Order 662, effective 7/8/53.] Repealed by Order 1262, filed 5/5/72. |
| 16-445-020 | U.S. No. 2 grade—Tolerances. [Order 662, effective 7/8/53.] Repealed by Order 1262, filed 5/5/72. |
| 16-445-030 | U.S. combination grade—Tolerances. [Order 662, effective 7/8/53.] Repealed by Order 1262, filed 5/5/72. |
| 16-445-050 | Culls. [Order 1262, § 16-445-050, filed 5/5/72; Order 662, effective 7/8/53.] Repealed by WSR 05-10-093, filed 5/4/05, effective 6/4/05. Statutory Authority: Chapters 15.17 and 34.05 RCW. |
| 16-445-080 | Definitions of terms. [Order 1262, § 16-445-080, filed 5/5/72; Order 662, effective 7/8/53.] Repealed by WSR 05-10-093, filed 5/4/05, effective 6/4/05. Statutory Authority: Chapters 15.17 and 34.05 RCW. |
| 16-445-090 | Effective date. [Order 1262, § 16-445-090, filed 5/5/72.] Repealed by WSR 05-10-093, filed 5/4/05, effective 6/4/05. Statutory Authority: Chapters 15.17 and 34.05 RCW. |
PDF16-445-015
Definitions.
The following definitions are important to this chapter and apply only to Italian prunes:
"Badly misshapen" means prunes so malformed or rough that they appear to be seriously damaged. Doubles that have approximately equal sized halves are not considered "badly misshapen."
"Culls" mean prunes that are immature, or seriously damaged by growth cracks, hail, insect pests, mechanical or other means.
"Department" means the Washington state department of agriculture.
"Diameter" means the greatest distance measured through the center of a prune at right angles to a line running from the stem to the blossom end.
"Fairly uniform size" means that the prunes in each packed container must not show a variation of more than one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
"Fairly well colored" means that at least three-fourths of the surface of a prune is purple color.
"Mature" means that a prune has reached the stage of maturity that will insure proper completion of the ripening process.
"Russeting" means an abnormal roughening and scarring of the surface of the fruit, which characteristically is smooth.
"Sunscald" means an apparent softening or collapse of a prune's flesh that is caused by the sun.
"Well colored" means that except for the portion of allowed russeting, ninety-five percent of the surface of a prune is purple color.
"Well-formed" means that a prune has the shape characteristic of the variety. Doubles are not considered well-formed.
PDF16-445-025
Damage and serious damage standards.
(1) "Damage" means any injury or defect that materially affects the prune's appearance, or its edible or shipping quality. Internal growth cracks, cavities or gum spots are not considered damage. Any one of the following defects or any combination of defects, the seriousness of which exceeds the maximum allowed for any one defect is damage:
(a) Broken skins that are unhealed. Broken skins caused by pulled stems where the skin is not torn beyond the stem basin are not damage. Broken skins that have healed are considered scars.
(b) Heat injury that is extensive or not light in color.
(c) External growth cracks when there are more than one on a fruit, or when any growth crack is deep, not well healed or more than one-fourth inch in length.
(d) Sunburn which has materially changed the normal color of the fruit, or has caused the skin to blister or crack.
(e) Split pit which causes a readily apparent crack at the stem end, or which affects the shape to the extent that the fruit is not well-formed.
(f) Hail marks or other similar depressions or scars that are not shallow or superficial, or which aggregate more than three-eighths inch in diameter, or when the skin has been broken.
(g) Drought spots or external gum spots that are more than one-fourth inch in diameter.
(h) Russeting that is not excessively rough when aggregating more than ten percent of the fruit surface, or that is excessively rough when aggregating more than one-fourth inch in diameter.
(i) Scars: Dark, rough, or depressed scars which aggregate more than one-fourth inch in diameter. Fairly smooth, superficial scars, including fairly light discoloration such as is caused by handling or packing or by prunes rubbing against each other while on the tree, which aggregate more than one-half inch in diameter.
(2) "Serious damage" means any injury or defect that seriously affects the prune's appearance, or its edible or shipping quality. Any one of the following defects, or any combination of defects, the seriousness of which exceeds the maximum allowed for any one defect, is serious damage:
(a) Broken skins that are unhealed and more than one-eighth inch in diameter or depth, except those caused by pulled stems where the skin is not torn beyond the stem basin. Broken skins that have healed are considered scars.
(b) Heat injury that causes any softening or dark discoloration of the flesh. Heat injury may cause internal or external discoloration, and may or may not be serious. It should not be confused with sunscald, which causes softening or collapse of the tissue and which is always classed as serious damage.
(c) External growth cracks that are not well healed, or which are more than three-sixteenths inch in depth, or more than one-half inch in length.
(d) Sunburn that causes decided flattening of the fruit, or causes blistering, cracking, or noticeable brownish discoloration of the skin.
(e) Split pit that causes a crack at the stem end more than three-sixteenths inch in length, including any part which may be covered by the stem, or which affects the shape to the extent that the fruit is badly misshapen.
(f) Hail marks that are more than three-sixteenths inch in depth, or which aggregate more than one-half inch in diameter.
(g) Drought spots or external gum spots that total more than one-half inch in diameter.
(h) Russeting that is not excessively rough when aggregating more than one-third of the fruit surface, or that is excessively rough when aggregating more than one-half inch in diameter.
(i) Scars that are very dark or excessively rough and aggregate more than one-half inch in diameter, or which are more than three-sixteenths inch in depth.
PDF16-445-040
Washington No. 1 grade.
Washington No. 1 grade shall consist of prunes that are:
(1) Of one variety;
(2) A purplish color over at least 2/3 of their surface;
(3) Well-formed;
(4) At least 1-1/4 inches in diameter unless otherwise specified;
(5) Mature but not overripe, soft or shriveled;
(6) Free from decay and sunscald; and
(7) Free from damage caused by:
(a) Broken skins;
(b) Heat injury;
(c) Growth cracks;
(d) Sunburn;
(e) Split pits;
(f) Hail marks;
(g) Drought spots;
(h) Russeting;
(i) Scars; or
(j) Dirt, other foreign material, disease, insects or mechanical or other means.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 15.17.050 and chapter 34.05 RCW. WSR 14-19-004, § 16-445-040, filed 9/4/14, effective 10/5/14. Statutory Authority: Chapters 15.17 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 05-10-093, § 16-445-040, filed 5/4/05, effective 6/4/05. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.17 RCW. WSR 78-04-061 (Order 1549), § 16-445-040, filed 3/31/78; Order 1262, § 16-445-040, filed 5/5/72; Order 698, (1), effective 6/15/54; Order 662, effective 7/8/53.]
PDF16-445-045
Tolerances.
The following tolerances apply to prunes in any container and are adopted to allow for variations that are incidental to proper grading and handling.
(1) Tolerances that apply at the shipping point: No more than ten percent of prunes, by count, may fail to meet the grade requirements for defects other than color and size. No more than five percent, by count, may have serious damage defects. No more than one percent, by count, may have decay. No more than ten percent, by count, may fail to meet the color requirements. No more than ten percent, by count, may fail to meet the size specifications. The combined tolerance for all defects must not exceed fifteen percent by count.
(2) Tolerances that apply to the destination or en route to the destination: No more than eighteen percent of prunes, by count, may fail to meet grade requirements. No more than ten percent of prunes, by count, may fail to meet grade requirements due to other permanent defects. No more than seven percent, by count, may have defects that cause serious damage, including no more than five percent for permanent defects and no more than two percent for decay. No more than ten percent, by count, may fail to meet color requirements. No more than ten percent, by count, may fail to meet minimum size requirements.
PDF16-445-060
Application of tolerances.
Provided, that the average for an entire lot of prunes are within the specified tolerances, the contents of individual containers in the lot, based on sample inspection, are subject to the following limitations. Individual containers:
(1) May contain at least one defective and one undersized prune.
(2) Must have no more than one and one-half times the tolerance specified when a tolerance is ten percent or more.
(3) Must have no more than double the tolerance specified when a tolerance is less than ten percent.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 15.17.050 and chapter 34.05 RCW. WSR 14-19-004, § 16-445-060, filed 9/4/14, effective 10/5/14. Statutory Authority: Chapters 15.17 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 05-10-093, § 16-445-060, filed 5/4/05, effective 6/4/05; Order 1262, § 16-445-060, filed 5/5/72; Order 662, effective 7/8/53.]
PDF16-445-070
Standard pack.
(1) A standard pack of Italian prunes must:
(a) Contain prunes of fairly uniform size;
(b) Be tightly packed; and
(c) Contain prunes in the top layer that are not noticeably superior in quality or size to those below the top layer.
(2) In order to allow for variations incident to proper packing, no more than ten percent of the containers in any lot, by count, may fail to meet the standard pack requirements of this section.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 15.17.050 and chapter 34.05 RCW. WSR 14-19-004, § 16-445-070, filed 9/4/14, effective 10/5/14. Statutory Authority: Chapters 15.17 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 05-10-093, § 16-445-070, filed 5/4/05, effective 6/4/05; Order 1262, § 16-445-070, filed 5/5/72; Order 662, effective 7/8/53.]