Frozen Apricots Grades and Standards

Frozen apricots are prepared from sound, mature, fresh, peeled or unpeeled fruit of any
commercial variety of apricot which are sorted, washed, and may be trimmed to assure a
clean and wholesome product. The apricots are properly drained of excess water before
filling into containers; may be packed with the addition of nutritive sweetening ingredient(s) (including syrup and/or syrup containing pureed apricots) and/or suitable antioxidant ingredient(s) and/or any other ingredients(s) permissible under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The apricots are prepared and frozen in accordance with good commercial practice; and are maintained at temperatures necessary for the preservation of the product.

Grades of Frozen Apricots

  1. U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy is the quality of frozen apricots that:

a.    Have similar varietal characteristics,
b.    Have a normal flavor and odor,
c.    Have a good color,
d.    Are practically uniform in size and symmetry for the style of halves,
e.    Are practically free of defects,
f.    Have a good character, and
g.    Score not less than 90 points when scored in accordance with the scoring system outlined in this subpart: Provided, that frozen apricots may have a reasonably good character, and in the style of halves may be reasonably uniform in size and symmetry, if the total score is not less than 90 points.

  1. U.S. Grade B or U.S. Choice is the quality of frozen apricots that:

a.    Have similar varietal characteristics,
b.    Have a normal flavor and odor,
c.    Have a reasonably good color,
d.    Are reasonably uniform in size and symmetry for the style of halves,
e.    Are reasonably free of defects,
f.    Have a reasonably good character, and
g.    Score not less than 80 points when scored in accordance with the scoring system outlined in this subpart: Provided, that frozen apricots in the style of halves may be only fairly uniform in size and symmetry if the total score is not less than 80 points.

  1. U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard is the quality of frozen apricots that:

a.    Have similar varietal characteristics,
b.    Have a normal flavor and odor,
c.    Have a fairly good color,
d.    Are fairly uniform in size and symmetry for the style of halves,
e.    Are fairly free of defects,
f.    Have a fairly good character, and
g.    Score not less than 70 points when scored in accordance with the scoring system outlined in this subpart: Provided, that frozen apricots in the style of halves may vary in size if the total score is not less than 70 points.

  1. U.S. Grade D or Substandard is the quality of frozen apricots that fail to meet the requirements of U.S. Grade C.

Inspection Aid

  • IA #30A Area Measurement Guide, 8 x 10 in English Units
  • IA #30C Area Measurement Guide

Detailed standards, Inspection Instructions & Other Resources: