Strawberry Grading and Packing
Manual
This manual is a summary of the regulations which apply to the grading,
packing and marking of strawberries in Ontario. It is supplied by the
Food Inspection Branch to assist in the marketing of strawberries in Ontario.
Regulation 378/90 under the Farm Products Grades and Sales Act is the
source of this information.
This edition is prepared for convenience only. For complete information,
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 Contact |
Grades
The grade and grade name for strawberries is Canada No.
1. The sale of strawberries on a graded basis is optional. If strawberries
are sold as Canada No. 1, they must be marked accordingly and meet the
grade standard set out below.
The following table identifies the requirements of the
Canada No. 1 grade for fresh strawberries.
Grade
Factors |
Canada No.1 |
Non Grade Basis |
| Properly Packed |
When packaged, the strawberries must
not be slack, overpressed or otherwise in a condition likely to
result in permanent damage during handling or in transit. |
When packaged, the strawberries must
not be slack, overpressed or otherwise in a condition likely to
result in permanent damage during handling or in transit. |
| Cleanliness |
Strawberries must be fairly clean. Individual berries
must not be affected by dirt that is readily visible.
|
Strawberries must be fairly
clean. Individual berries must not be affected by dirt that is readily
visible. |
| Bird Pecks |
None Allowed.
|
None Allowed.
|
| Slug Injury |
None Allowed.
|
None Allowed.
|
| Green Tips |
None Allowed.
|
None Allowed.
|
| Slug Injury |
None Allowed.
|
None Allowed. |
| Maturity |
Berries must be free from individual
berries which are immature. |
Berries must be free from individual
berries which are immature. |
| Shape |
Must be well formed and not misshapen
due to poor pollination, frost injury, insect injury, cat faces
at the blossom end, etc. |
Must be well formed and not misshapen
due to poor pollination, frost injury, insect injury, cat faces
at the blossom end, etc. |
| Firmness |
Berries must be firm, i.e.
sufficiently firm to permit handling through normal channels of
trade. |
No requirement. |
| Calyx |
Calyxes must be attached. |
No requirement. |
| MOULD Mould |
None allowed. |
No requirement. |
| Colour |
Must be of the colour characteristic
of the variety when fully mature. |
No requirement. |
| Decay |
None allowed. |
No requirement. |
| Surface Moisture |
None allowed except for
condensation. |
No requirement. |
| Bruises |
Berries must be free from bruises where:
- the skin is broken or the seed structure is more than slightly
disturbed
- they are more than slight and are discoloured
- bruises aggregate more than half the diameter of the berry,
or exceed 1/8 inch in depth
- package or pressure bruising affects more than 1/3 the surface
of the berry.
|
No requirement. |
| Sizes |
Berries must have a minimum
diameter of 5/8 inch (16mm). |
No requirement. |
| Other Injury or Defect |
Berries must be free from any injury,
defect or combination thereof other than those listed above which
materially affects the appearance, edibility or shipping quality
of the strawberries. |
No requirement. |
Packing Level Tolerances
The following tolerances by count apply to any package or lot of strawberries
before the package or lot would fail to meet the grade requirement at
the packing level:
- 10% of the strawberries by count may have defects including not
more than 2% decay or 5% that have the same defect other than decay
- 5% of the strawberries by count may be below the minimum diameter.
Additional Destination Tolerances
In addition to those tolerances permitted at packing level, another 10%
of the strawberries by count in the lot may have defects of which not
more than 5% may have the same permanent defect at any other subsequent
level of trade. Tolerances for condition defect only apply at the packing
level.
Markings
All master packages of strawberries must be marked with the following:
- name and address of packer
- grade (if sold by grade)
- country or Canadian Province of origin in the form of "Product
of "
- the word "Strawberries" where the product is not visible
- the net weight of the contents of catchweight packages or measure
when in standard containers.
Note:
- The grade (if sold on a graded basis) and origin markings must be
immediately adjacent to one another and of the same size print.
- All required markings must be at least 1/8 inch in height on tags
or catchweight packages and ¼ inch in height on all other packages
(baskets, etc.).
- All markings must be legible of a permanent nature, and of a reasonable
size proportional to the package or label.
Packages
Strawberries may be packed in the following containers:
- pint
- quart
- baskets of 2, 4, 6, or 8 quart capacity
- baskets or 2 and 4 litre capacity
- consumer tray packs of up to 3 pounds.
Bilingual and Metric Requirements
All markings on packages of strawberries 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 Affairs
Contact
Foods of Plant Origin
1 Stone Road West, 5th Floor North West
Guelph, ON N1G 4Y2
