STANDARDS FOR GRADES OF PISTACHIO NUTS IN THE SHELL

 “GREEK  PREMIUM  QUALITY”  AND  “GREEK  PREMIUM  NON-SPLIT”  GRADES COMPARED  TO UNITED  STATES  GRADES

 

 SECTIONS:

1)         GENERAL.

2)         GRADES.

3)         TOLERANCES.

4)         APPLICATION OF TOLERANCES.

5)         SIZE DESIGNATION.

6)         METRIC CONVERSION TABLE.

7)         DEFINITIONS.

 

1)   GENERAL

      “Greek Premium Quality” and “Greek Premium Non-Split” grades are specified by Suz Beauty Care and the definitions of their standards meet generally the definitions of the U.S. standards for grades of pistachio nuts in the shell. These specifications allow for anybody to compare the Greek with the    

      United States grades upon the same standards.

      “Greek Premium Quality” and “Greek Premium Non-Split” standards are applicable to pistachio nuts in the shell which are produced and processed exclusively under Suz Beauty Care line.

      These standards are applicable to pistachio nuts in the shell which may be in a natural, raw or roasted/salted state.

2)   GRADES

2.1) Open inshell pistachio nuts

“Greek Premium Quality”, “U.S. Fancy”, “U.S. Extra No. 1”, “U.S. No. 1”, “U.S. Select” and “U.S. Artificially Opened” consist of pistachio nuts in the shell which meet the requirements described in (2.1.1) through (2.1.5) of this section.

2.2) Closed shell pistachio nuts

“Greek Premium Non-Split” and “U.S. Non-Split” consist of non-split pistachio nuts in the shell which meet the requirements described in (2.1.1) through (2.1.5) of this section.

2.1.1) Basic Requirements:

a- Free from:

    -Foreign material.

    -Loose kernels.

    -Shell pieces.

    -Particles and dust, and

    -Blanks.

2.1.2) Shells:

a- Free from:

    -Non-split shells, and

    -Shells not split on suture.

b- Free from damage by:

    -Adhering hull material,

    -Light stained,

    -Dark stained, and

    -Other external (shell) defects.

2.1.3) Kernels:

a- Free from damage by:

    -Immature kernels,

    -Kernel spotting, and

    -Other internal (kernel) defects.

b- Free from serious damage by:

    -Minor insect or vertebrate injury,

    -Insect damage,

    -Mold,

    -Rancidity,

    -Decay, and

    -Other internal (kernel) defects.

2.1.4) The nuts are of a size not less than 30/64 inch in diameter as measured by a round hole screen.

2.1.5) For Tolerances, see Section 3.

 

3)   TOLERANCES

In order to allow for variations incident to proper grading and handling, the tolerances in the following Tables of this section are provided.

3.1) Tolerances for open inshell pistachio nuts

 

TABLE I – TOLERANCES

 

External (Shell) Defects (tolerances by weight – in percent (%))
FACTOR		GREEK PREMIUM QUALITY	U.S. FANCY	U.S. EXTRA NO. 1	U.S. NO. 1	U.S. SELECT	U.S. ARTIFICIALLY OPENED
(A)	Non-Split and Not Split on Suture	£1	2	3	6	10	10
	(1) Non-Split included in (A)	£0.7	1	2	3	4	4
(B)	Adhering Hull Material	0.2	1	1	1	2	2
(C)	Light Stained	4	7	12	25	N/A	N/A
	(1) Dark Stained, included in (C)	0.3	2	3	3	3	3
(D)	Damage by Other Means	0.1	1	1	2	3	10
(E)	Total External Defects	5	9	16	N/A	N/A	N/A
(F)	Undersized (Less than 30/64 inch in diameter)	3	5	5	5	5	4

 

TABLE II – TOLERANCES

 

Internal (Kernel) Defects (tolerances by weight – in percent (%))
FACTOR		GREEK  PREMIUM QUALITY	U.S. FANCY	U.S. EXTRA NO. 1	U.S. NO. 1	U.S. SELECT	U.S. ARTIFICIALLY OPENED
(A)	Damage	£0.5	3	6	6	6	6
(B)	Serious Damage ((i)Minor Insect or Vertebrate Injury, (ii)Mold, (iii)Rancidity, (iv)Decay)	(i)=0  (ii)=0     max. (iii)£0.1   0.1 (iv)=0	3	4	4	4	4
	(1) Insect Damage included in (B)	0	1	2	2	2	2
(C)	Total Internal Defects	0.5	4	8	9	9	9

 

TABLE III – TOLERANCES

 

Other Defects (tolerances by weight – in percent (%))
FACTOR		GREEK PREMIUM QUALITY	U.S. FANCY	U.S. EXTRA NO. 1	U.S. NO. 1	U.S. SELECT	U.S. ARTIFICIALLY OPENED
(A)	Shell Pieces and Blanks	0.1	2	2	2	2	2
	(1) Blanks, included in (A)	0	1	1	1	1	1
(B)	Foreign Material (no glass, metal or live insects shall be permitted)	0.02	0.25	0.25	0.25	0.25	0.25
(C)	Particles and Dust	0.02	0.25	0.25	0.25	0.25	0.25
(D)	Loose Kernels	0.1	4	5	6	6	6

 

N/A = Not Available (Not officially specified by US authorities).

 

3.2) Tolerances for closed shell pistachio nuts

TABLE IV – TOLERANCES

 

External (Shell) Defects (tolerances by weight – in percent (%))
FACTOR		GREEK PREMIUM NON-SPLIT	U.S. NON-SPLIT
(A)	Non-Split and Not Split on Suture	-	-
	(1) Non-Split included in (A)	-	-
(B)	Adhering Hull Material	0.5	2
(C)	Light Stained	4	N/A
	(1) Dark Stained, included in (C)	0.3	3
(D)	Damage by Other Means	0.1	N/A
(E)	Total External Defects	5	N/A
(F)	Undersized (Less than 30/64 inch in diameter)	3	5

 

TABLE V – TOLERANCES

 

Internal (Kernel) Defects (tolerances by weight – in percent (%))
FACTOR		GREEK  PREMIUM NON-SPLIT	U.S. NON-SPLIT
(A)	Damage	0.5	6
(B)	Serious Damage ((i)Minor Insect or Vertebrate Injury, (ii)Mold, (iii)Rancidity, (iv)Decay)	(i)=0  (ii)=0       max. (iii)£0.1     0.1 (iv)=0	4
	(1) Insect Damage included in (B)	0	2
(C)	Total Internal Defects	0.5	9

TABLE VI – TOLERANCES

 

Other Defects (tolerances by weight – in percent (%))
FACTOR		GREEK PREMIUM NON-SPLIT	U.S. NON-SPLIT
(A)	Shell Pieces and Blanks	1	2
	(1) Blanks, included in (A)	1	1
(B)	Foreign Material (no glass, metal or live insects shall be permitted)	0.02	0.25
(C)	Particles and Dust	0.02	0.25
(D)	Loose Kernels	0.1	6

N/A = Not Available (Not officially specified by US authorities)

 

4)   APPLICATION OF TOLERANCES

The tolerances for the grades apply to the entire lot and shall be based on a composite sample drawn from containers throughout the lot. Any container or group of containers which have nuts obviously different in quality or size from those in the majority of the containers shall be considered a separate lot and shall be sampled separately.

 

5)   SIZE DESIGNATION

Nuts may be considered as meeting a size designation specified in Table IV or a range in number of nuts per ounce, provided, the weight of 10 percent, by count, of the largest nuts in the sample does not exceed 1.50 times the weight of 10 percent, by count, of the smallest and the average number of nuts per ounce is not more than one-half nut above or below the extremes of the range specified.

TABLE IV – NUT SIZE

 

SIZE DESIGNATIONS	AVERAGE NUMBER OF NUTS PER OUNCE*	AVERAGE NUMBER OF NUTS PER 100g*
Colossal	Less than 18	Less than 64
Extra Large	18 – 20	64 – 72
Large	21 – 25	73 – 89
Medium	26 – 30	90 – 107
Small	More than 30	More than 107

 *Before Roasting

 

6)   METRIC CONVERSION TABLE

Use the following table for metric conversion:

 

INCHES	MILLIMETERS
5/64	1.98
18/1000	0.46
1/4	6.35
30/64	11.88
OUNCES	GRAMS
1	28.35
2	56.7

 

7) DEFINITIONS

1- Loose kernels means edible kernels or kernel portions which are out of the shell and which cannot be  

     considered particles and dust.

 

2- External (shell) defects means any blemish affecting the hard covering around the kernel. Such defects

     include, but are not limited to, non-split shells, shells not split on suture, adhering hull material, light  

     stained, or dark stained.

1. a) Damage by external (shell) defects means any specific defect described in paragraphs (2) (a) (i)

    through (v) of this section, or an equally objectionable variation of any one of these defects, any other   

    defect, or any combination of defects, which materially detracts from the appearance or the edible or  

    marketing quality of the individual shell or of the lot (For Tolerances, see Section 3, Table I and Table IV).

1. i) Non-split shell means shells are not opened or are partially opened and will not allow an 18/1000

    (0.018) inch thick by 1/4 (0.25) inch wide gauge to slip into the opening.

 

1. ii) Not split on suture means shells are split other than on the suture and will allow an 18/1000 (0.018)

    inch thick by 1/4 (0.25) inch wide gauge to slip into the opening.

iii) Adhering hull material means an aggregate amount covers more than one-eighth of the total shell

     surface, or where readily noticeable on dyed shells.

1. iv) Light stained on raw or roasted nuts means an aggregate amount of yellow to light brown or light

     gray discoloration is noticeably contrasting with the predominant color of the shell and affects more  

     than one-fourth of the total shell surface or, on dyed nuts, when readily noticeable.

 

1. v) Dark stained on raw or roasted nuts means an aggregate amount of dark brown, dark gray, or

    black discoloration affects more than one-eighth of the total shell surface, or, on dyed nuts, when

    readily noticeable, provided that speckled appearing stain located within the area of one-fourth of the  

    shell nearest the stem end shall be disregarded.

 

3- Internal (kernel) defects mean any blemish affecting the kernel. Such defects include, but are not  

     limited to, evidence of insects, immature kernels, rancid kernels, mold or decay.

1. a) Damage by internal (kernel) defects means any specific defects described in paragraphs (3) (a) (i)

    through (ii) of this section, or an equally objectionable variation of any one of these defects, any other  

    defect, or any combination of defects, which materially detracts from the appearance or the edible or

    marketing quality of the individual kernel or of the lot (For Tolerances, see Section 3, Table II &Table V).

1. i) Immature kernels are excessively thin or when a kernel fills less than three-fourths, but not less

    than one-half of the shell cavity.

1. ii) Kernel spotting refers to dark brown or dark gray spots aggregating on more than one-eighth of

    the surface of the kernel.

1. b) Serious damage by internal (kernel) defects means any specific defect described in paragraphs

    (3) (b) (i) through (v) of this section, or an equally objectionable variation of any one of these defects,    

    which seriously detracts from the appearance or edible or marketing quality of the individual kernel

    or of the lot (For Tolerances, see Section 3, Table II and Table V).

1. i) Minor insect or vertebrate injury means the kernel shows conspicuous evidence of feeding.

 

1. ii) Insect damage means an insect, insect fragment; web or frass is attached to the kernel.

      No live insects shall be permitted.

 

 iii) Mold which is readily visible on the shell or kernel.

1. iv) Rancidity means the kernel is distinctly rancid to taste. Staleness of flavor shall not be classified

      as rancidity.

1. v) Decay means one-sixteenth or more of the kernel surface is decomposed.

 

4- Other defects mean defects which cannot be considered internal defects or external defects. Such  

     defects include, but are not limited to, shell pieces, blanks, foreign material or particles and dust. The  

     following shall be considered other defects (For Tolerances, see Section 3, Table III and Table VI):

1. a) Shell pieces means open in-shell nuts not containing a kernel, half shells or pieces of shell which are

         loose in the sample.

1. b) Blank means a non-split shell not containing a kernel or containing a kernel that fills less than

         one-half of the shell cavity.

1. c) Foreign material means leaves, sticks, loose hulls or hull pieces, dirt, rocks, insects or insect

         fragments not attached to nuts, or any substance other than pistachio shells or kernels. Glass, metal or  

         live insects shall not be permitted.

1. d) Particles and dust means pieces of nut kernels which will pass through a 5/64 inch round hole screen.

1. e) Undersize means pistachio nuts in the shell which fall through a 30/64 inch round hole screen.