Standard Grade for the Export of Bulk Sea Shipped Fresh Blueberries Notice 1995 (No. 39, Ag. 12/2/14) Pursuant to the New Zealand Grown Fruit and Vegetables Regulations 1975, the Director-General of Agriculture hereby determines the grade standard for the export of bulk sea shipped fresh blueberries. N o t i c e 1. Title (1) This notice may be cited as the Standard Grade for the Export of Bulk Sea Shipped Fresh Blueberries Notice 1995. (2) This notice shall come into force on the day after the date of its notification in the New Zealand Gazette. 2. Interpretation Unless the context otherwise requires, terms and expressions used in this notice shall have the same meaning as in the New Zealand Grown Fruit and Vegetables Regulations 1975. Certain of these definitions as applicable to fresh blueberries are set out in the First Schedule of this notice. 3. Application of notice This notice determines the grade standard for bulk sea shipped fresh blueberries exported from New Zealand (hereinafter referred to as ``the grade''). 4. Title and grade The standard grade mark assigned to this standard grade shall be Bulk. 5. Definition for produce This grade applies to blueberries grown from varieties of Vaccinium spp. to be exported in bulk by marine transport, supplied fresh to the consumer. 6. Provisions concerning grade standard requirements The purpose of this grade is to define the quality requirements for fresh blueberries at the dispatching stage, after preparation and packaging. a. The blueberries must be: free from pests and diseases and meet any quarantine and other legal requirements of the importing country; intact, whole fruit; sound; clean; reasonably well formed, typical of variety and a uniform blue in accordance with the varietal characteristics ; free from abnormal external moisture; free of foreign smell or taste; free from all cap stems; free from all clusters. b. The blueberries must be: be of a similar degree of maturity and colouring in the same line of produce; have matured sufficiently to be able to complete the ripening process and to withstand handling, storage and transport; not be soft, overripe or wrinkled; not be over or under mature. c. The blueberries must meet the requirements of this grade and have characteristics typical of the particular variety and be free of defects which may significantly impair the general appearance or keeping quality of the fruit. d. Bruised or wet fruit that is soft and weeping or fruit wet from juice is unacceptable. e. Each blueberry is permitted a slight defect of shape, development or colouring and skin defects of a superficial nature, such as those outlined in the Second Schedule to this notice. 7. Packaging (1) The materials must be clean, sound and well made and of a quality such as to avoid causing any external or internal damage to the produce. (2) Packages must be free of all foreign matter. (3) Pursuant to regulation 16 of the New Zealand Grown Fruit and Vegetables Regulations 1975, a box/tray is declared to be a package. 8. Branding The grower's identification number, the grade for each shipment and the country of origin must be clearly shown on each package. First Schedule Definition of Terms ``Bloom'' means the white waxy powder on the surface of the fruit. ``Cap stems'' means the stem attaching the berry to the plant. ``Clean'' means free from dirt, dust, grass or other foreign material. ``Clusters'' means where two or more berries can be joined by their cap stems. ``Damage'' includes cuts, punctures, torn scars, splits, cracks, hail damage, chewed calyx, frost damage, surface russeting, deformed fruit, bruised fruit and any other readily noticeable damage. ``Disease'' means Anthracnose and Botrytis. ``Major defect'' means a defect such as damage, disease or fruit which is not sound and is likely to lead to premature decay. ``Minor defect'' means a defect that detracts from the normal external appearance of a blueberry such as russeting, misshapen etc., but does not affect keeping qualities. ``Sound'' means free from decay, rots, over-maturity, breakdown, freezing injury, damage and similar defects which may cause rapid loss of condition or rapid decay. ``To pack'' means to arrange fruit in a package so that they are not loose or compressed to an extent likely to cause damage to fruit during handling or transport. ``Wet'' means that the individual berry is wet from juice from crushed, leaking, or decayed berries. Second Schedule Allowance for Defects Damaged fruit: Any damage in this category has to be relatively noticeable: Surface russeting defined as any brown blemish or brown mark on the berry. Up to an aggregate area of 2 square millimetres is acceptable. Torn scars a small tear is acceptable, large tears exposing the flesh are unacceptable. Colour: Red/purple on the berry is allowable. Shape: Fruit may be slightly misshapen. Tolerances: Major defects accept at 2%. Minor defects accept at 15%. Dated at Wellington this 12th day of December 1995. RICHARD IVESS, Chief Plants Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, signed pursuant to a delegated authority under section 41 of the State Sector Act 1988. *S.R. 1975/57.