Last month, this blog reported on the new maple syrup standards that Canada has recently put in place to make syrup easier to define and still user-friendly. Now, it appears that the American syrup industry will be following suit, as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting a more detailed means of classifying these products. Even though the standards are voluntary, they have been tailored to fit international trends and tastes.
According to the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, the agency will eliminate the Grade B label entirely, with more specific subcategories appearing under the Grade A label instead that refer to different colors and tastes.
As the source notes, this action follows in the footsteps of the state of Vermont, which enacted this approach to syrup labeling criteria last year. The executive director of the state’s Maple Sugar Maker’s Association, Matthew Gordon, was quoted describing how the standards are being embraced.
“As other states, the USDA, the Canadian provinces, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency all transition to the new grades, we believe the coordination of our entire industry’s grading will prove to be beneficial for business,” he said.
Subsets of the Grade A classification will include “golden,” “amber,” “dark” and “very dark” for coloring and “delicate,” “rich,” “robust” and “very strong” to denote different tastes. Other physical factors of the syrup will be taken into account, such as odor.
Adjustable industrial label printers allow companies to work within the limits of space on a syrup container to educate consumers about the different types of syrup classifications. Use these systems to make many different consistent color labels that can be placed on a jar or bottle for prominent readability, and make sure they match up to accepted standards.
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