Pistachio
product
Pistachio
Today we find Pistachio were traded and gradually found their way in countries along the Mediterranean. Today we find them in Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Greece, Italy and the U.S.A. In our market area, i.e. in the broadest sense, mostly Iranian and American pistachio are consumed.
Approximately 99 percent of U.S. pistachios are produced in California. Pistachios were produced on 372,000 acres in 2020, producing a total of 1.05 billion pounds of pistachios, resulting in large sales for the United States pistachio industry (NASS 2021).
Most pistachios are sold as shelled nuts. In 2020, 865 million pounds of shelled pistachios were sold, while only 180 million pounds were sold unshelled (NASS 2021).
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Standards and Grades
Standard for Grades of Shelled Pistachio
Compliance with the provisions of these standards shall not excuse failure to comply with provisions of applicable Federal or State laws.
These standards are applicable to pistachio nuts in the shell which may be in a natural, dyed, raw, roasted, or salted state; or in any combination thereof.
Grades - U.S. Fancy, U.S. Extra No. 1, U.S. No. 1 and U.S. Select Grades. “U.S. Fancy,” “U.S. Extra No. 1,” “U.S. No. 1,” and “U.S. Select” consist of pistachio nuts in the shell which meet the following requirements:
Well dried
means the kernel is firm and crisp.
Very well dried
means the kernel is firm and crisp and the average moisture content of the lot does not exceed 7 percent or is specified
Loose kernels
means edible kernels or kernel portions which are out of the shell and which cannot be considered particles and dust.
External (shell) defects
means any blemish affecting the hard covering around the kernel. Such defects include, but are not limited to, non-split shells, shells not split on suture, adhering hull material, light stained, or dark stained.
Damage by external (shell) defects means any specific defect described in paragraphs (4) (a) (i) through (v) of this section, or an equally objectionable variation of any one of these defects, any other defect, or any combination of defects, which materially detracts from the appearance or the edible or marketing quality of the individual shell or of the lot (For Tolerances, see 51.2544, Table I).
i) Non-split shell means shells are not opened or are partially opened and will not allow an 18/1000 (.018) inch thick by 1/4 (.25) inch wide gauge to slip into the opening.
ii) Not split on suture means shells are split other than on the suture and will allow an 18/1000 (.018) inch thick by 1/4 (.25) inch wide gauge to slip into the opening.
iii) Adhering hull material means an aggregate amount covers more than one-eighth of the total shell surface, or where readily noticeable on dyed shells.
iv) Light stained on raw or roasted nuts means an aggregate amount of yellow to light brown or light gray discoloration is noticeably contrasting with the predominant color of the shell and affects more than one-fourth of the total shell surface or, on dyed nuts, when readily noticeable.
v) Dark stained on raw or roasted nuts means an aggregate amount of dark brown, dark gray, or black discoloration affects more than one-eighth of the total shell surface, or, on dyed nuts, when readily noticeable, provided that speckled appearing stain located within the area of one-fourth of the shell nearest the stem end shall be disregarded.
Internal (kernel) defects
means any blemish affecting the kernel. Such defects include, but are not limited to, evidence of insects, immature kernels, rancid kernels, mold or decay.
Serious damage by internal (kernel) defects
means any specific defect described through (v) of this section, or an equally objectionable variation of any one of these defects, which seriously detracts from the appearance or edible or marketing quality of the individual kernel or of the lot
Other defects
means defects which cannot be considered internal defects or external defects. Such defects include, but are not limited to, shell pieces, blanks, foreign material or particles and dust. The following shall be considered other defects
a) Shell pieces means open in-shell nuts not containing a kernel, half shells or pieces of shell which are loose in the sample.
b) Blank means a non-split shell not containing a kernel or containing a kernel that fills less than one-half of the shell cavity.
c) Foreign material means leaves, sticks, loose hulls or hull pieces, dirt, rocks, insects or insect fragments not attached to nuts, or any substance other than pistachio shells or kernels. Glass, metal or live insects shall not be permitted.
d) Particles and dust means pieces of nut kernels which will pass through a 5/64 inch round hole screen.
e) Undersize means pistachio nuts in the shell which fall through a 30/64 inch round hole screen.
Grades - “U.S. Fancy,” “U.S. Extra No. 1,” and “U.S. No. 1” consist of pistachio kernels which meet the following requirements:
a) Well dried, or very well dried when specified in connection with the grade.
b) Free from:
i) Immature kernels;
ii) Kernel spotting; and
iii) Other defects.
d) Free from serious damage by:
i) Mold;
ii) Minor insect or vertebrate injury;
iii) Insect damage; iv) Rancidity;
v) Decay; and
vi) Other defects.
e) Unless otherwise specified, kernels shall meet the jumbo classification of Jumbo Whole Kernels
California Pistachio Varieties
PISTACHIOS
California Pistachio Varieties
Adapted source from
- JAN W.KLIJN - NUTS AND DRIED FRUITS
- organicfacts.net
- https://www.truecalif.com/pistachio-varieties
Application of Tolerances
The tolerances for the grades apply to the entire lot and shall be based on a composite sample representative of the lot. Any container or group of containers which have kernels obviously different in quality or size from those in the majority of the containers shall be considered a separate lot and shall be sampled separately.
Size Classification
1) The size of pistachio kernels may be specified in connection with the grade in accordance with one of the following size classifications:
a) Jumbo Whole Kernels: 80 percent or more, by weight, shall be whole kernels and not more than 5 percent of the total sample shall pass through a 24/64 inch round hole screen, with not more than 1 percent passing through a 16/64 inch round hole screen.
b) Large Whole Kernels: 80 percent or more, by weight, shall be whole kernels and not more than 2 percent of the total sample shall pass through a 16/64 inch round hole screen.
c) Large Split Kernels: 75 percent or more, by weight, shall be half kernels split lengthwise and not more than 5 percent of the total sample shall pass through a 16/64 inch round hole screen.
d) Whole and Broken Kernels: means a mixture of any combination of whole kernels or pieces. The percentage of whole kernels and/or pieces may be specified. Not more than 5 percent of the total sample shall pass through a 5/64 inch round hole screen.
In order to allow for variations incident to proper grading and handling, the tolerances in Tables I, II and III of this section are provided.
PISTACHIO TOLERANCES
Table 1 - Tolearances
PISTACHIO TOLERANCES
Table 2 - Tolearances
PISTACHIO TOLERANCES
Table 3 - Tolearances
Definition
1) Well dried means the kernel is firm and crisp.
2) Very well dried means the kernel is firm and crisp and the average moisture content of the lot does not exceed 7 percent or is specified (See 51.2561).
3) Foreign material means leaves, sticks, in-shell nuts, shells or pieces of shells, dirt or rocks, or any other substance other than pistachio kernels. No allowable tolerances for metal or glass.
4) Whole kernel means 3/4 of a kernel or more.
5) Splits mean more than 3/4 of a half kernel split lengthwise.
6) Damage means any specific defect described in paragraph (6) (a) through (b) of this section, or an equally objectionable variation of any one of these defects, any other defect, or any combination of defects, which materially detracts from the appearance or the edible or marketing quality of the individual kernel or of the lot
7) Serious Damage means any specific defect described in paragraph (7) (a) through (e) of this section, or an equally objectionable variation of any one of these defects, any other defect, or any combination of defects, which seriously detracts from the appearance or edible or marketing quality of the individual kernel or of the lot
a) Mold which is readily visible on the kernel.
b) Minor insect or vertebrate injury means the kernel shows conspicuous evidence of feeding.
c) Insect damage means an insect, insect fragment, web or frass was attached to the kernel. No live insects shall be permitted.
d) Rancidity means the kernel is distinctly rancid to taste. Staleness of flavor shall not be classed as rancidity.
e) Decay means one-sixteenth or more of the kernel surface is decomposed.