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| === Grading === | | === Grading === |
| {{See also|Food grading}} | | {{See also|Food grading}} |
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| Countries have differing standards for grading honey.
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| In the US, honey grading is performed voluntarily based upon [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]] standards. USDA offers inspection and grading "as on-line (in-plant) or lot inspection...upon application, on a fee-for-service basis." Honey is graded based upon a number of factors, including water content, flavor and aroma, absence of defects, and clarity. Honey is also classified by color, though it is not a factor in the grading scale.
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| The USDA honey grade scale is:
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| {|class="wikitable"
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| |-
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| ! Grade
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| ! Soluble solids
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| ! width=30% | Flavor and aroma
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| ! width=30% | Absence of defects
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| ! width=30% | Clarity
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| |- style="vertical-align: top;"
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| ! A
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| |≥ 81.4%
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| ;Good :"has a good, normal flavor and aroma for the predominant floral source or, when blended, a good flavor for the blend of floral sources and the honey is free from caramelized flavor or objectionable flavor caused by fermentation, smoke, chemicals, or other causes with the exception of the predominant floral source"
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| ;Practically free :"contains practically no defects that affect the appearance or edibility of the product"
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| ;Clear :"may contain air bubbles which do not materially affect the appearance of the product and may contain a trace of pollen grains or other finely divided particles of suspended material which do not affect the appearance of the product"
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| |-style="vertical-align: top;"
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| ! B
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| |≥ 81.4%
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| ;Reasonably good :"has a reasonably good, normal flavor and aroma for the predominant floral source or, when blended, a reasonably good flavor for the blend of floral sources and the honey is practically free from caramelized flavor and is free from objectionable flavor caused by fermentation, smoke, chemicals, or other causes with the exception of the predominant floral source"
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| ;Reasonably free :"may contain defects which do not materially affect the appearance or edibility of the product"
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| ;Reasonably clear :"may contain air bubbles, pollen grains, or other finely divided particles of suspended material which do not materially affect the appearance of the product"
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| |-style="vertical-align: top;"
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| ! C
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| |≥ 80.0%
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| ;Fairly good :"has a fairly good, normal flavor and aroma for the predominant floral source or, when blended, a fairly good flavor for the blend of floral sources and the honey is reasonably free from caramelized flavor and is free from objectionable flavor caused by fermentation, smoke, chemicals, or other causes with the exception of the predominant floral source"
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| ;Fairly free :"may contain defects which do not seriously affect the appearance or edibility of the product"
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| ;Fairly clear :"may contain air bubbles, pollen grains, or other finely divided particles of suspended material which do not seriously affect the appearance of the product"
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| |-style="vertical-align: top;"
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| ! Substandard
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| |{{nowrap|'''Fails Grade C'''}}
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| |'''Fails Grade C'''
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| |'''Fails Grade C'''
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| |'''Fails Grade C'''
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| |}
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| India certifies honey grades based on additional factors, such as the Fiehe's test, and other empirical measurements.
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| === Indicators of quality === | | === Indicators of quality === |