Quality

Quality classification standard for cleaned cranberries

I DEFINITION OF PRODUCT
This classification standard applies to fresh or frozen cleaned wild Cranberries (Vaccinium oxycoccos L.)

II QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
The purpose of the standard is to define the quality requirements and quality classification for Cranberries at delivery or after cleaning and freezing.

A. Minimum requirements
Applied to all classes and in addition to the quality tolerance and specific requirements of each class.

Cranberries must:

be whole and firm
be fresh in appearance
be sound: berries which are spoiled or inedible due to due to fermentation or for other reasons are not acceptable
be clean: berries should be free from foreign matter or abnormal external moisture
be of good visual quality

Cranberries must not:

have foreign taste or smell
have insect or pest damage
contain more than 8% by weight of defective berries: Unripe or over ripe, defective in colour, dried, damaged, other edible berries
contain not more than 30 particles/kg of impurites: leaves, stems or other harmless foreign matter

B. Classification
Cranberries are classified in two quality classes:

Class I
Cranberries in this class must be:

of good quality, well developed
well and uniformly coloured
uniform in size
of good typical Cranberry flavour

Class II
Cranberries in this class must be:

reasonably well developed
of typical Cranberry colour
of typical Cranberry flavour

III QUALITY TOLERANCE

Berries not meeting the requirements of each class are allowed according to the following quantities and conditions per shipment.

Class I

a maximum of 10% by weight of berries not meeting the requirements of this class are allowable, providing they meet the standard of Class II
the proportion of defective berries should not be more than 4% by weight
not more than 10 particles/kg of foreign matter is allowable

Class II

a maximum of 10% by weight of berries not meeting the requirements of this class are allowable, providing they meet the minimum standard
proportion of defective berries should not be more than 6% by weight
not more than 20 particles/kg of foreign matter is allowable

IV PACKING

A. Uniformity of quality
The contents of every package must be uniform. Packages must contain berries of the same origin and quality.
The visible part of the contents of the package must represent the entirety.

B. Packaging
Cranberries must be packaged in such a way that the produce is well protected. Materials used inside the package must be new, clean and of such quality that they do not cause any internal or external damage to the product. Non toxic inks and glues must be used on packaging. Packages must not contain foreign matter or objects.

V MARKINGS

Each package must have the following markings on the same side of the package, clearly and permanently written. Markings must be visible on the outer surface.

Name of the product, if it is not visible from the outside
Quality class
Name and address of manufacturer, packer or seller
Origin: county or area, country or district where it is grown, a regional or local place name is also recommended.
Net weight