Field Cucumber Grading and Packing Manual

This manual is a summary of the regulations which apply to the grading, packing and marking of field cucumbers in the Province of Ontario. It is supplied by the Food Inspection Branch to assist in the marketing of field cucumbers in Ontario.

Regulation 378/90 under the Farm Products Grades and Sales Act is the source of this information.

This edition, while accurate, is prepared for convenience only. For complete reference, please refer to the official volumes of the Farm Products Grades and Sales Act.

Contents:

| Grades | Packing Level Tolerances | Markings | Packages |
| Bilingual and Metric Requirements | OMAFRA Contacts |

Grades

The grades and grade names for field cucumbers are Canada No. 1 and Canada No. 2. All field cucumbers sold in Ontario must be properly packed to the grade standards and marked accordingly.

The following table identifies the requirements of the Canada No. 1 and Canada No. 2 grades.

Grade Factors	Canada No.1	Canada No.2
Properly Packed	When packaged, the field cucumbers must not be slack, overpressed or otherwise in a condition likely to result in permanent damage during handling or in transit.	When packaged, the field cucumbers must not be slack, overpressed or otherwise in a condition likely to result in permanent damage during handling or in transit.
Condition	Cucumbers must be fresh, sound firm and not shrivelled or wrinkled. Must be free from any breakdown or freezing injury. Cucumbers must not show any yellow colour associated with advanced maturity.	Cucumbers must be fresh, sound firm and not shrivelled or wrinkled. Must be free from any breakdown or freezing injury. Cucumbers must not show any yellow colour associated with advanced maturity.
Decay	Must be free from decay, any soft mushy condition or leaky breakdown from freezing injury.	Must be free from decay, any soft mushy condition or leaky breakdown from freezing injury.
Sun Scald	Must be free from any scalded, bleached or sunken areas.	Must be free from any scalded, bleached or sunken areas.
Disease	Must be free from mosaic, anthracnose, bacterial spot, black rot or scab that affects the flesh.	Must be free from mosaic, anthracnose, bacterial spot, black rot or scab that affects the flesh.
Broken Skin	Must be free from any injury which has broken the skin.	Must be free from any injury which has broken the skin.
Bruises	Must be free from any distinctly soft areas.	Must be free from any distinctly soft areas.
Overgrown Specimens	Must be free from cucumbers where the seed cavity is hollow, watery or jelly-like.	Must be free from cucumbers where the seed cavity is hollow, watery or jelly-like.
Shape	Must be practically straight, not more than very slightly constricted and not more than moderately pointed or tapered.	Must not be more than moderately curved, not severely constricted or extremely pointed, tapered or otherwise misshapen.
Colour	Field cucumbers must have at least 85% of the surface a characteristic green colour as represented by the average colour in the lot.	Cucumbers must have at least 75% of the surface a characteristic green colour as represented by the average colour in the lot.
Size	Field cucumbers must have: a minimum length of 6 inches (152mm) a maximum diameter of 2 ¾ inches (70mm) Do not vary when in a package more than 3/4 inch (19mm) in diameter or 2 inches (51mm) in length. Each package may have 1 specimen outside the diameter or length variation.	Must have a minimum length of 4 inches (102mm).
Appearance	Field cucumbers must be fairly clean which means: free from caked dirt, spray residue or other foreign matter which contrasts sharply with the background colour and exceeds an area of ½ inch (13mm) in diameter an area of not more that 5% of the surface where the cucumber is thinly smeared with dirt, spray residue or other foreign matter and the background colour is still visible.	Field cucumbers must be reasonably clean which means: free from caked dirt, spray residue or other foreign matter which contrasts sharply with the background colour and exceeds an area of ¾ inch (19mm) in diameter an area of not more that 10% of the surface where the cucumber is thinly smeared with dirt, spray residue or other foreign matter and the background colour is still visible.
Shrivelled Ends	Must be free from any degree of puckering.	Must not show more than a slight degree of puckering.
Scars	Must be free from scars that exceed 5% of the surface.	Must be free from scars that exceed 10% of the surface.
Other Damage	Must be free of any other damage or defect not described which materially affects the appearance, edibility or shipping quality of the cucumber.	Must be free of any other damage or defect not described which seriously affects the appearance, edibility or shipping quality of the cucumber.

Packing Level Tolerances

The following tolerances by count apply to any package or lot of field cucumbers before the package or lot would fail to meet the grade requirements at the packing level:

1. a maximum of 5% of the field cucumbers by count may exceed the maximum diameter or be shorter than the minimum length
   
2. a maximum of 10% of the packages of field cucumbers may have cucumbers exceeding the size variation
   
3. a maximum of 1% of the field cucumbers by count may be affected by decay
   
4. a maximum of 5% of the field cucumbers by count may be affected by the same defect other than decay
   
5. a maximum of 10% of the field cucumbers by count may have any grade defect including decay but not size.
   

Additional Destination Tolerances

In addition to those tolerances permitted at packing level, another 5% of the field cucumbers by count in the lot may have condition defects (of which not more than 2% is decay) at any other subsequent level of trade. Condition defects are those which can develop or worsen after packing (i.e. bruising, crushing, decay, freezing, overheating, etc.).

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Markings

All packages of field cucumbers must be marked with the following:

1. name and address of packer
   
2. grade
   
3. country or Canadian Province of origin in the form of "Product of "
   
4. the word "Field Cucumbers" where the product is not visible.
   

Note:

1. The grade and origin markings must be immediately adjacent to one another and of the same size print.
   
2. All required markings must be at least 1/8 inch in height on tags, 3/16 inch in height on bags and capacity ¼ inch in height on all other packages (cartons, bushels, baskets, etc.).
   
3. All markings must be legible of a permanent nature, and of a reasonable size proportional to the package or label.

Packages

Field cucumbers may be packed in the following containers:

1. baskets of 4, 6, 8, 11 quart or 4 litre capacity
   
2. 1,110 cubic inch half bushel box, carton or crate
   
3. 2,220 cubic inch bushel box, carton or crate.
   
4. any carton or crate that is properly packed and filled which is authorized for experimental use. 

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Bilingual and Metric Requirements

All markings on packages of field cucumbers should be printed in equal prominence in both English and French as there is a possibility of export from Ontario. Names and addresses are required only once.

Federal law requires that all net quantity markings be printed in imperial measure (pounds, quarts, etc.) with the equivalent metric measure of the same size.

For further information on bilingual or metric marking requirements or for shipments out of Ontario, contact your local Inspector with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). 

Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural AffairsContact

Foods of Plant Origin
1 Stone Road West, 5th Floor North West
Guelph, ON N1G 4Y2