United States Standards for Corn

SUMMARY: In its periodic review of existing regulations, the Federal

Grain Inspection Service (FGIS), a program of the Grain Inspection,

Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), proposes to amend the

U.S. Standards for Corn to: Report test weight (TW) to the nearest

tenth of a pound, eliminate the count limit on stones and reduce the

U.S. Sample grade aggregate weight tolerance from more than 0.2 percent

by weight to more than 0.1 percent by weight, and offers stress crack

testing as official criteria. This proposed rule is intended to

facilitate the marketing of corn.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 24, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments must be submitted to George Wollam, GIPSA,

USDA, Room 0623-S, P.O. Box 96454, Washington, DC 30090-6454; FAX (202)

720-4628.

All comments received will be made available for public inspection

at Room 0623 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington,

DC during regular business hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Wollam, address as above,

telephone (202) 720-0292.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This rule is exempt from Executive Order 12866 review.

Executive Order 12778

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,

Civil Justice Reform. This action is not intended to have a retroactive

effect. the United States Grain Standards Act provides in Section 87g

that no State or subdivision may require or impose any requirements or

restrictions concerning the inspection, weighing, or description of

grain under the Act. Otherwise, this proposed rule will not preempt any

State or local laws, regulations, or policies, unless they present any

irreconcilable conflict with this rule. There are no administrative

procedures which must be exhausted prior to any judicial challenge to

the provisions of this rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

James Robert Baker, Administrator, GIPSA, has determined that this

proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities as defined in the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602 et seq.) because most users of the

official inspection and weighing services and those entities that

perform these services do not meet the requirements for small entities.

Further, the regulations are applied equally to all entities.

Background

During October 1993, the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS),

prepared a discussion paper concerning the U.S. Standards for Corn.

This paper addressed a number of issues relating to the standards and

was distributed throughout the grain industry. The paper also served as

a starting point for discussions with producers, trade associations,

processors, handlers, and merchandisers to better understand their

views on changes needed to improve existing standards. FGIS received

positive feedback from the grain industry regarding the corn discussion

paper; and, in fact, numerous industry representatives suggested that

FGIS continue to develop and distribute similar documents before

amending other standards.

FGIS received a total of 12 written comments concerning the

discussion paper: 3 from research associations and universities, 1 from

a producer organization, 4 from handler and processor associations, 1

from an industry consortium, 2 from grain inspection and weighing

associations, and 1 from a grain company. In addition to receiving

written comments, FGIS reviewed the corn standards with representatives

of the Iowa Department of Agriculture, the Grain Quality Workshops, and

other corn-related associations.

On the basis of all comments and other available information, FGIS

is proposing three changes to the corn standards that reflect current

market needs and also serve to improve the effectiveness of the

standards. The proposed amendments include: (1) Reporting TW to the

nearest tenth of a pound, (2) eliminating the count limit on stones and

reducing the U.S. Sample grade aggregate weight tolerance from more

than 0.2 percent by weight to more than 0.1 percent by weight, and (3)

offering stress crack testing as official criteria.

Test Weight (TW)

FGIS proposes to revise Sec. 810.102(d) of the United States

Standards for Grain to report TW in corn to the nearest tenth of a

pound. This change will bring the reporting requirement for TW into

line with the reporting requirements for other factors, such as total

damaged kernels and broken corn and foreign material (BCFM).

This is not the first time that FGIS has proposed to revise the

reporting requirement for TW in corn. In 1986, (51 FR 35224) to promote

greater uniformity among the grain standards, FGIS proposed to reformat

the grain standards and solicited comments regarding certification

requirements for factors not expressed to the nearest tenth. FGIS

proposed to report all percentages (except ergot) and all TW values to

the nearest tenth. The proposal included TW in corn which is certified

in whole and half pounds with fractions of a half pound disregarded.

The majority of commentors who opposed the proposal indicated that

sufficient data were not available to determine how a change in

reporting requirements would affect reproducibility of results--

especially for TW in coarse grains. FGIS decided not to revise the

reporting requirements, except for dockage in wheat (52 FR 24414). FGIS

does offer, upon request, the recording of TW results to the nearest

tenth pound in the Remarks section of the grade

certificate. [[Page 9791]]

An extensive review of FGIS grain inspection and monitoring data,

which represent over 4,200 samples, provides standard deviation values

for each of the mandatory factors across all grade levels within the

corn standards. Standard deviation is a measure of variation; and a

particular type of standard deviation, the standard deviation of the

difference (SDD), can be used as a measure of reproducibility. When a

sample is reanalyzed for a particular factor, the reproducibility of

results improves as the SDD becomes smaller.

The review of inspection data resulted in separate SDD values for

each grade level for both domestic and export corn samples. Only the

export SDD values, however, were calculated from raw TW data reported

to the nearest tenth of a pound. Comparison of SDD values between

factors will therefore focus on the export values. For TW, the SDD

value was the same, 0.366, for all grade levels, thus indicating an

insignificant range and a consistent reproducibility in TW values

across all grade levels. For damaged kernels total (DKT), the SDD

values ranged from 0.853 to 1.814 for U.S. Grade Nos. 1 to 5. For BCFM,

the corresponding values ranged from 0.197 to 0.359 for U.S. Grade Nos.

1 to 5. The range in SDD values reflects the range in DKT and BCFM

levels and the variance in the reproducibility of results across grade

levels.

The TW SDD values are either close to or lower than the SDD values

for the other factors when all raw data used in the calculation of the

SDD values had been reported to the nearest tenth. It can be inferred

from SDD values that the reporducibility of TW results is similar to or

better than the reproducibility of DKT and BCFM results. The industry

accepts the current practice of reporting DKT and BCFM results to the

nearest tenth. Therefore, based on the comparison of SDD values, the

industry may also find the reporting of TW to the nearest tenth of a

pound acceptable.

Another consideration for the industry is that virtually all TW

results are currently rounded down. For example, under the current

reporting method, a scale reading 53.99 pounds per bushel is certified

as 53.5 pounds per bushel which would meet the TW grade limit for U.S.

No. 3 corn. If the results, however, were rounded to the nearest tenth

of a pound, the resultant 54.0 pounds per bushel would meet the grade

limit for U.S. No. 2 corn. In general, the current practice of rounding

down causes TW to almost always be underrepresented throughout the

marketing channel. Furthermore, the rounding of TW results to the

nearest tenth of a pound will not significantly affect the assigned

grade, since in most cases the rounded result will fall within the

grade requirement.

Stones

FGIS proposes to eliminate the count limit on stones and reduce the

aggregate weight tolerance from more than 0.2 percent by weight to more

than 0.1 percent by weight. Stones have a harmful effect on corn

quality and milling. Several industry representatives have requested

that the count limit on stones be eliminated and the aggregate weight

tolerance be reduced from more than 0.2 percent by weight to more than

0.1 percent by weight. The elimination of the count limit would serve

to further tighten the tolerance of stones by allowing a smaller number

of heavy stones to downgrade a sample.

Stress Crack Testing

FGIS proposes to offer corn stress crack (SC) testing as official

criteria under the United States Grain Standards Act. This testing

service will be optional and FGIS will recover the cost of providing

this service through the applicable inspection fees as set forth in

section 800.71(a) of the regulations.

Corn kernels which contain stress cracks tend to break apart, and,

as a result, are undesirable in the corn dry milling, wet milling, and

food manufacturing processes. In the dry milling process, cracked

kernels yield lower percentages of large flaking grits which are the

highly valued prime product (ref. 1). Starch recovery, which is an

essential component of the wet milling process, is also lower from

kernels possessing numerous stress cracks. To the food manufacturer,

stress cracks are of concern because of the adverse effect on soaking

which is an essential component of the manufacturing process. Some

snack food companies currently limit the percent of kernels with stress

cracks to values less than 20 percent (ref. 2). Cracked corn is also

more difficult to store than undamaged corn, since cracked corn is more

readily attacked by microorganisms and is difficult to aerate

uniformly.

Cracked corn could also contribute to increased elevator dust

levels and, thus, negatively impact elevator safety.

Commentors addressed the various detrimental effects of stress

cracks and broken corn, and the majority of commentors recommended that

FGIS offer stress crack testing as part of the national inspection

service. Due to the importance of stress crack testing, GIPSA proposes

to offer stress crack testing, upon request, as official criteria.

GIPSA and the official agencies of the national inspection system will

use the method recommended by the Illinois Crop Improvement

Association's Identity Preserved Grain Lab (IPGL) which performs stress

crack tests on over 4,000 corn samples per year. FGIS will use this

method because it is cost-effective, easy to use, and quick.

As described by the IPGL, stress crack tests are performed on

random subsamples of 100 kernels. The kernels are inspected visually on

a back lighting lightboard and separated into four categories: no or

zero stress cracks, and more than two or multiple stress cracks. The

percentage of kernels falling into each category is used to calculate

the percentage of stress cracks and a stress crack index as follows:

% TSC = [% single SC + % double SC + % multiple SC]

SCI = [(% single SC) + (% double SC x 3) + (% multiple SC x 5)]

where SC = stress cracks, SCI = stress crack index,

and TSC = total stress cracks

The stress crack index is an indication of the multiplicity of

stress cracks in each kernel. The weighting factors indicate that corn

kernels with double and multiple stress cracks are more susceptible to

breakage than kernels with single stress cracks.

FGIS seeks comments not only on the proposal to offer stress crack

testing as official criteria but on the reporting method for results.

Since the information will be readily available, commentors should

address whether the percentage of stress cracks in each of the three

categories, single, double, and multiple, should, be reported. If no

comments are received on the reporting method, FGIS will report only

the total percent of stress cracks and the stress crack index.

Miscellaneous Changes

FGIS proposes to revise the format of the grade chart in

Sec. 810.404, Grades and grade requirements for corn, to improve the

readability of the grade chart.

Proposed Action

FGIS proposes to revise Sec. 810.102, Definition of other terms, by

revising section (d), Test weight per bushel. It is proposed that TW in

corn be reported to the nearest tenth of a pound.

FGIS proposes to revise Sec. 810.404, Grades and grade requirements

for corn, by revising the definition of U.S. Sample grade by

eliminating the count limit on stones and reducing the aggregate weight

criteria from more than 0.2 percent by weight to more than 0.1 percent

by weight.

Comments including data, views, and arguments are solicited from

interested [[Page 9792]] persons. Pursuant to Section 4(b)(1) of the

United States Grain Standards Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 76(b)(1)), upon

request, such information concerning changes to the standards may be

orally presented in an informal manner. Also, pursuant to this section,

no standards established or amendments or revocations of standards are

to become effective less than one calendar year after promulgation

unless, in the judgement of the Administrator, the public health,

interest, or safety require that they become effective sooner.

References

(1) Reid, J.F., Kim, C., and Paulsen, M.R. 1991, ``Computer Vision

Sensing of Stress Cracks in Corn Kernels'' ASAE, Sept/Oct, v.34 p.

8-9.

(2) Stroshine, R. 1991, ``Breakage Susceptibility Technology,

Uniformity by 2000,'' Scherer communications, Urbana. p. 410-416.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 810

Exports, Grain.

For reasons set out in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 810 is proposed to

be amended as follows:

PART 810--OFFICIAL UNITED STATES STANDARDS FOR GRAIN

1. The authority citation for Part 810 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: Pub. L. 94-582, 90 Stat. 2867, as amended (7 U.S.C.

71 et seq.).

2. Section 810.102(d) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 810.102 Definition of other terms.

* * * * *

(d) Test-weight. The weight per Winchester bushel (2,150.42 cubic

inches) as determined using an approved device according to procedures

prescribed in FGIS instructions. Test-weight in the standards for corn,

mixed grain, oats, sorghum, and soybeans is determined on the original

sample. Test-weight in the standards for barley, flaxseed, rye,

sunflower seed, triticale, and wheat is determined after mechanically

cleaning the original sample. Test-weight is recorded to the nearest

tenth pound for corn, rye, triticale, and wheat. Test-weight for all

other grains, if applicable, is recorded in whole and half pounds with

a fraction of a half pound disregarded. Test-weight is not an official

factor for canola.

* * * * *

3. Section 810.404 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 810.404 Grades and grade requirements for corn.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grades U.S. Nos.

Grading factors ----------------------------------------------------------------

1 2 3 4 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maximum limits of:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Test Weight (lbs/bu)........................... 56.0 54.0 52.0 49.0 46.0

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maximum percent limits of:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damaged kernels Heat (part of total)........... 0.1 0.2 0.5 1.0 3.0

----------------------------------------------------------------

Total.................................... 3.0 5.0 7.0 10.0 15.0

Broken corn and foreign material............... 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 7.0

Animal filth................................... 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Stones......................................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

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Maximum count limits of:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other materials:

Castor beans............................... 1 1 1 1 1

Cockleburs................................. 7 7 7 7 7

Crotalaria seeds........................... 2 2 2 2 2

Glass...................................... 1 1 1 1 1

Unknown foreign substance.................. 3 3 3 3 3

U.S. Sample grade:

U.S. Sample grade is corn that:

(a) Does not meet the requirements for

the grades U.S. Nos, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5;

or

(b) Has a musty, sour, or commercially

objectionable foreign odor; or

(c) Is heating or otherwise of

distinctly low quality.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harold W. Davis,

Acting Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards

Administration.

[FR Doc. 95-4183 Filed 2-21-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-EN-M