Tentative Voluntary Poultry Grade Standards

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing that it

is approving the test marketing of USDA grade identified boneless/

skinless poultry legs and drumsticks, based on tentative grade

standards.

DATES: This test-market period begins March 30, 1995 and ends April 1,

1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry W. Robinson, Chief, Grading

Branch, Poultry Division, 202-720-3271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Poultry grading is a voluntary program provided under the

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended, and is offered on a

fee-for-service basis. It is designed to assist the orderly marketing

of poultry products. Quality in practical terms refers to the

usability, desirability, and value of a product, as well as its

marketability. Poultry grade standards identify and measure degrees of

quality in poultry products. They permit important quality attributes

to be evaluated uniformly and accurately; they provide a way for buyers

and sellers to negotiate using a common language.

Once poultry has been graded according to these standards, it may

be identified with the USDA grademark. Over the years, processors have

found it advantageous to market grade-identified poultry products and

consumers have come to rely on the USDA grademark as assurance that

they are getting the quality they want.

Poultry producers and processors are continually developing new,

innovative products. Chicken and turkey, in particular, have been

transformed into a myriad of boneless and/or skinless products,

increasing poultry's share of the consumer's food dollar and responding

to consumer demand for food with more built-in convenience and less

fat. Current regulations (7 CFR Part 70) provide grade standards for

boneless poultry breasts, thighs, and tenderloins (Sec. 70.231), as

well as for skinless carcasses and parts (Sec. 70.232).

The Agency has received several industry requests to permit the

grade identification of boneless/skinless poultry legs and drumsticks.

These products are currently being marketed ungraded because there are

no grade standards for them. The Agency has worked with members of the

industry to develop tentative grade standards which will result in a

high-quality product. The Agency is ready to move forward to a test

marketing phase for boneless/skinless poultry legs and drumsticks.

The Agency recognizes that before new standards of quality can be

established or current standards of quality can be amended, appropriate

investigation is needed. This includes the test marketing of

experimental packs of grade-identified poultry products to determine

production requirements and consumer acceptance, and to permit the

collection of other necessary data. Current regulations (Sec. 70.3)

provide the Agency with the flexibility needed to permit such

experimentation, so that new procedures and grading techniques may be

tested.

The Agency is granting permission for the test marketing of grade-

identified boneless/skinless poultry legs and drumsticks based on

tentative standards for one year. At the expiration of this one-year

period, the Agency will then evaluate the test results to determine if

the current poultry grading regulations should be amended, through

notice-and-comment rulemaking, to include the following tentative

standards.

Tentative Poultry Grade Standards for Boneless/Skinless Poultry Legs

and Drumsticks--A Quality

1. The leg or drum shall be cut as specified in Sec. 70.210(e)(6).

2. The skin and bones shall be removed in a neat manner, without

undue mutilation of adjacent muscle.

3. Boneless/skinless legs and drumsticks shall be free of tendons

extending more than one-half inch beyond the meat tissue, cartilage,

blood clots, bruises, and discolorations other than slight

discolorations, provided they do not detract from the appearance of the

product.

4. Minor flesh abrasions on the outer muscle surface due to

preparation techniques and trimming are permitted provided the outer

surface remains smooth with no angular cuts or tears. Holes resulting

from the removal of the patella (knee cap) are permitted, provided the

bulk of the thigh and drum remain intact and connected.

5. Trimming on the inner muscle surface is permitted, provided it

results in a relatively smooth appearance.

6. Trimming is permitted around the outer edges of the muscle,

provided the trimming results in a portion that approximates the same

symmetrical appearance and meat yield of the original part.

7. Boneless/skinless drumsticks may be further separated by a

single cut parallel to the tibiotarsus and labeled as boneless/skinless

drumstick halves.

Dated: March 22, 1995.

Kenneth C. Clayton,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95-7724 Filed 3-29-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P