New grades article in maple digest

[red maples]

OK so I am fine with new names although it seems a little wordy. what exactly will need to be on the bottles just the name right? ex. Golden Maple syrup (new name for GR A light)not really sure about that "golden"... or does it have to state Golden maple syrup with color not less then 75% Tc and a delicate taste (I like "delicate maple flavor" but too many words)

ah... what does "Tc" mean? Color I assume? What consumer will know what Tc means?

Oh and why have everything grade A? It seems redundant beacause everythingis grade A. although I like that Grade B is not the outcast step child anymore!!!! to me Grade B is just as good as the rest.

And why can't you sell mersh(new name ...processing grade) retail? I had some this that was just a hint off for what ever reason and I didn't want to call it "B" it still tasted OK ...lowered the price just a bit and it sold like crazy. people were upset when I ran out of that.

And is there a limit to the color of Very dark(or what used to be Grade B) I know other states limit that but NH once its grade B it can go out of the limit that vermont uses as long it doesn't have and off flavors. I know mine gets a real deep red color???

Will there be room for state to state or USA to CAN. for individual guidelines or will all have to follow the exact guidelines?

I like the changes and think there needs to be international standards but just a few questions thats all. still got some time before 2013. the projected time year the grade system will change.

[Haynes Forest Products]

So if I make something that is made from boiling down Maple tree sap and it comes out tasting like a cross between Yeager Mister and pond scum. I put it in bottles and people buy it Can I use 100 % pure Maple Syrup Grade A CRAP

[3rdgen.maple]

Haynes it might just taste like crap cause of that food grade toilet brush you use to clean pans with.

[Killington Maple]

I must say that I don't like change. What is wrong with the existing grading system? I can remember as a kid, It was Fancy, A,B, And C grades and you could sell C grade to anyone and didn't have big government telling you that you couldn't.
And what about all the labels that many of us have purchased to properly label our products? These will once again have to be changed.
Before you know it they will be telling us how many days a week we can boil and at what hours!

[DrTimPerkins]

Get these idiots that don't know a thing about syrup out of our lives!....Time for all the syrupmakers to come together to boycott the new grading system!

Seems like it might be a good idea to take a stab at learning what the new system is before boycotting it. The proposed system does have several benefits, and although I know everyone is busy, about the only downside is that it requires you to spend 5-10 min to learn it.

I haven't personally had anything to do with developing the new grading system, but I have watched from the sideline and provided my opinion when asked. I do support it. It has been a 7 year process, that was developed BY the maple industry, not by outsiders. I don't believe the USDA and Canadian equivalent knew about the effort until about 6 months ago. Most of the people who have been involved in this grade system review have more years of experience in maple than just about anyone here. It is a scientifically-based system, with consumer research, testing and input considered at different stages.

I believe the impetus for considering making a change was two-fold:
- the differences in grades and nomenclature are confusing to consumers (fancy in some places, light-amber in others, AA in Canada). That means you had to spend time educating every customer. If they bought syrup in NY one year, and in VT the next, they would have to learn a new system to some extent.
- the names we use (light amber, dark amber) refer to color of syrup or to a nonsensical grade (what is Grade B...not a color, not a flavor), but what we sell is flavor. The new system uses color and flavor descriptors to make it easier for the consumer to understand what they are getting.

Tc is light transmittance. I agree that this point wasn't explained well in the distributed information.

Grade B to many consumers means that it is an inferior product. Therefore it is being dropped.

I don't believe it is legal to sell commercial syrup directly to consumers in quantities of less than 5 gallons. This is because commercial syrup (by definition) can frequently include off-flavors. So you are already being told what you can and can't do in this category. If you happen to have some dark syrup that is too dark for consumer sale (Commerical), but it still tastes good with no off-flavors, the acceptable technique is to blend it with a little lighter syrup to bring it up to the point where the color is acceptable for consumer sale....this doesn't affect the flavor all that much -- it'll still taste quite strong. The problem with selling commercial syrup is that what you sell may be fine, but what your neighbor has is not, but it is still legally called the same thing. The range of flavor and off-flavor in commercial syrup is just too large. I believe the new system will allow the sale of what we now call Commercial as long as it has no objectionable off-flavor.

In any case, most of the proposed changes are not terribly radical....just different names and one less syrup class (consumers can't distinguish the fine differences). It makes the system simpler, with descriptive names to assist consumer understanding. That's about it.

Finally, you may think...what's wrong with the old way? That has served the maple industry for over a hundred years right? Actually no....the system changed in the mid-1970s, and has since then had a few tweaks here and there. So what we're using now isn't all that old...it wasn't handed down by the Pilgrims and definitely isn't carved in stone. If the system has problems and needs to be tweaked or changed....join the conversation to improve things.

[Killington Maple]

Dr. Tim,
As you can see I removed the previous post because of it's strong wording. I still don't like changes. The general public is now used to the existing grading system (or at least most of them) and now we'll have to start over with new standards that will, potentially confuse them.
I believe in keeping it simple and keeping what we've already have.

[DrTimPerkins]

Dr. Tim,
As you can see I removed the previous post because of it's strong wording. I still don't like changes. The general public is now used to the existing grading system (or at least most of them) and now we'll have to start over with new standards that will, potentially confuse them.
I believe in keeping it simple and keeping what we've already have.

No offense taken. It is fine if you don't like the changes, and nobody is trying to deprive you of providing input. Best to get informed about what it being suggested and why, and making recommendations on what it should be.

The new standards are, in large part, meant to reduce confusion. It is less important to those who sell locally to their neighbors than it is to those that cater to out of state (mail order, web order, retail crossing state, provincial or international jurisdictions). The number of syrup classes has been reduced (although I argued that we could get away with even fewer that what is recommended), which also helps reduce confusion. The light transmittance breakpoints are very easy to remember compared to the old system. Altogether, it is a simpler system that has more information to help consumers pick what they want. We should remember to focus on what the consumer wants....not what is easiest for us.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I really dont mind that they are "Simplifying" the grading system It reminds me when the Government got into regulating the meat industry when it came to the types and cuts of meat. It wasnt for the saftey of the consumer. It was to control an industry. After they had there way the industry came out with all sorts of new cuts of meat clouding the rules

I will predict that as soon as the rules are set in stone and lables are printed and products are on the store shelves things will be Bastardized. Small producers will come up with a cute labels that they made on their computer and sell it at a farmers market. Then what?

I just hope they will leave the little guy alone. Like the car industry They have standards that they must follow. But that doesnt mean you cant go out and cobble a car together out of all sorts of parts and take your friends and family for a drive. I understand that SELLING that car as a production model to the public is a differant story. Heck you can even sell it to your neighbor. I dont want the Nanny state to come knocking on my door asking for a paper trail on every drop of syrup I produce.

I think this bunch in control right now want to be just like the European Union. And that is a disaster...............So much so its dying under all the useless rules that "WE" are now going to bail them out

[DrTimPerkins]

This is NOT a government driven change. It was proposed and developed entirely within the maple industry. There is flexibility to allow producers and packers to put other things on the labels as long as the required descriptors are also on there.

I have conflicting feelings about the "little guy." While it is absolutely possible for anyone to make maple syrup that is safe, it only takes one person who does something wrong (or stupid) to cause harm to the entire industry. Is it OK to let the person who makes only 5 gal of syrup a year to slide by without ANY safety considerations simply because they don't make or sell much syrup? In doing research on lead in maple syrup I can definitively tell you that it was frequently the "little guys" who had the highest lead concentration in their syrup, because they were using the oldest equipment, didn't go to any conferences to get information about how to keep lead in syrup low, and didn't want to replace any equipment ever because "it ain't killed me yet." I've seen syrup with so much lead in it that it had a grey tinge to it...and exceeded the safety regulations by 10x or more. That same attitude is pretty common....why buy that food grade tank when that stock tank (non-food grade) or the garbage can (made from regrind plastic) "hasn't killed me yet" and it's $20 cheaper. The maple industry is pretty lucky in that our product is boiled, killing most microbes, and the water activity is so low in syrup that very few microbes can grow in it, and that we don't normally use a lot of chemicals (although that is changing quickly too). However I can promise you that if a couple of consumers get harmed from some accidental (or just plain stupid) contamination of syrup, that two things will happen....1) syrup prices will drop like a stone and 2) regulators will definitely demand new rules and people WILL be forced out of business. I guess because of that I think that even the "little guy" should be expected to adhere to some minimum level of safety standards if they sell any syrup. If you give it away or consume it all yourself...maybe not. Finally, it's better that the maple industry work these things out themselves before being forced to do things (which would undoubtedly be far more stringent) by regulators.

[red maples]

I have to agree with The Doc on this one100%. I have been in the restaurant bussiness for many years and I have seen some pretty aweful stuff wth food. Most of it to save a buck!! Hotel are a bit more on top of things because they owned by the big corps. But the mom and pop places... These people have been through food safety classes have serve safe certification but still cut corners. IT's really too bad. but it only takes one food bourne illness to screw thngs up and demand more regulation!!!

Not everyone is honest out there and don't know what they are doing might be wrong. Have read it in a book (like the trash can sap storage) most of us have read rick mann's backyard sugarin' its a good starter book but its in there.

I am for the change! I don't think it really changes much but streamlines things a bit but have to find a place to put all those words!!!

And again I don't Like the "Grade B" either and for me it sells the best. Its just a stonger flavor which people seem to like as do I.

In reguards to the "process grade and flavor-mersh" I have taasted some syrups out there med/dark/B that by my palet had off flavors. most of them bitter flavors but some I feel were inedible. Ones persons tastes are different from the next. So where the off flavors come into play is really tricky.

I think they really need to offer more grading classes so we have a better understanding of what is expected!!! the color is pretty straight forward. taste is a whole other ballgame!!!