Grades of Lemons
1. U.S. No. 1 U.S. No. 1 consists of lemons which are mature, firm, fairly well formed, fairly smooth, which are free from decay, contact spot, internal evidence of Alternaria development, unhealed broken skins, hard or dry skins, exanthema, growth cracks, internal decline (endoxerosis), red blotch, membranous stain or other internal discoloration, and free from damage caused by bruises, dry or mushy condition, scars, oil spots, scale, sunburn, hollow core, peteca, scab, skin breakdown, melanose, dirt, or other foreign material, other disease, insects or other means. (See §51.2800)
2. U.S. Export No. 1 consists of lemons which are mature, firm, fairly well formed, fairly smooth and which are free from decay, contact spot, internal evidence of Alternaria development, unhealed broken skins, exanthema, growth cracks, internal discoloration and free from damage caused by bruises and dryness or mushy condition.
3. U.S. Combination consists of a combination of U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 lemons: Provided, that at least 40 percent, by count, of the lemons in each lot meet the requirements of U.S. No. 1 grade. (See §51.2800)
a. Color: Lemons are fairly well colored.
4. U.S. No. 2 consists of lemons which are mature, fairly firm, which are reasonably well formed and reasonably smooth, which are free from decay, contact spot, internal evidence of Alternaria development, unhealed broken skins, hard or dry skins, exanthema, internal decline (endoxerosis), and red blotch, and free from serious damage caused by bruises, membranous stain or other internal discoloration, dryness or mushy condition, scars, oil spots, scale, sunburn, hollow core, peteca, growth cracks, scab, skin breakdown, melanose, dirt or other foreign material, other diseases, insects or other means. (See §51.2800)
Visual Aids
Detailed standards, Inspection Instructions & Other Resources:
- U.S. Grade Standards for Lemons (pdf)
- Inspection Instructions for Lemons (pdf)
- Unofficial Lemon Visual Aid (pdf)