The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is proposing to terminate 10 U.S. consumer standards that it says are "obsolete" and "impede the effective marketing of specialty crops".

AMS proposes terminating the consumer standards for: Italian sprouting broccoli, fresh carrots, celery stalks, husked corn on the cob, fresh kale, fresh spinach leaves, Brussels sprouts, fresh parsnips, fresh turnips and beet greens.

The U.S. consumer standards are available on the AMS website.

U.S. grade standards are voluntary and provide the specialty crop industry with a uniform language for describing the quality and condition of commodities in the marketplace.

U.S. consumer standards are a type of U.S. grade standard designed for use at the final stage of the marketing chain for fresh produce.

The consumer standards that are proposed for termination contain conflicting and outdated marketing terms and have become a burden to the U.S. and global produce industry. This proposed action continues USDA’s work to eliminate outdated and unnecessary regulations. 

The notice of the proposed terminations was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 28, 2020.  Comments must be received by Dec. 28, 2020, allowing for a 60-day commenting period.