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Potatoes Are Graded In America Essay

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From my research on how potatoes are graded in America, I have learned that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) established and enforce the grading. The USDA has been enforcing and updating the quality grading system for all foods since 1862. The last time the quality grading system for potatoes was updated was in June of 2011. The system in place currently grades potatoes on the following information: shape, firmness, appearance, size, color, and being free from: soft rot, wet breakdown, blackheart, freezing, blight, scabs, rhizoctonia, and physical damage or foreign matter. Although there are three grades for potatoes available for purchase due to the USDA’s grading scale, all potatoes sold in the US must fall into this scale. …show more content…

The grades of potatoes are U.S. No. 1, and U.S. Commercial, U.S. No. 2. All grades of potatoes are fit for consumption, the only difference between them is how they appear, and if they are free of any of the problems listed above. With that being said, there is a market for each of the different grades of potatoes and different ways they can be used in the culinary field. The best potatoes available to be purchased are the U.S. No. 1 grade, this is due to their top quality in the quality grading scale. These potatoes are free of any imperfections and exceed in every aspect of the quality grading system. This grade of potatoes is costs the most due to exceeding the grading system. Due to the set grade, these potatoes can meet the required specification of even the strictest restaurant or individual, making them the ideal choice of potatoes for quality. The U.S. Commercial grade potatoes, are similar to the U.S. No. 1 potatoes, except they do not fully pass the necessary quality grading scale to be considered ideal. This grade however, is used by both the average consumer and restaurants, as it this grade is less expensive than the No. 1 grade. Commercial grade potatoes are the most commonly used potato in restaurants across America, this is due to how inexpensive they are, for the quality they

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