On May 31, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued Notice no. 2022-10856 to amend the pecan grading standards for shelled or unshelled pecans.  The main contents of this revision include:

1.The existing 2 grades of pecan with shell and the existing 4 grades of pecan without shell will be unified into 4 grades including U.S. Extra Fancy (grade parameters include color, size, fullness degree, damage degree, inedible nut proportion, etc.);

2. Revised product quality scoring guidelines, stipulating that the peroxide value of pecan kernel<5mEq/kg, free fatty acid content<1%, water content<6%;  

3. Revise some terms and definitions.  



The notice was published in the Federal Register on June 1, 2022, and will be open for comment for 60 days.