The Specialty Crops Inspection Division

The Specialty Crops Inspection Division (SCI) may be a new name to some, but the fruit and vegetable inspection arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is carrying on a tradition of nearly a century of service. Created in 2012 through the merger of previously separate fresh and processed fruit and vegetable inspection divisions, SCI is designed to provide quality assurance and food safety services to the entire specialty crop industry, from farm to fork.

The new SCI organization traces its roots back to 1917, when federal inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables began. In 1918, the first U.S. grade standards—for potatoes—were finalized. Ten years later, in 1928, the first standards for processed fruits and vegetables, namely for canned peas, corn, and cream-style corn, went into effect. Next, in 1931, came the start of a federal inspection service for processed fruits and vegetables.

Today, SCI’s internationally recognized experts provide trusted, accurate, and unbiased inspection, certification, and auditing programs. The SCI team inspects fresh and processed fruits, vegetables, nuts, and specialty products to certify the class, quality, quantity, and condition of agricultural products shipped or received through interstate commerce. Anyone with a financial interest in a load of product may request grading services, which are provided on a fee basis.

The SCI division delivers services nationwide through a network of federal and authorized state personnel. A team of more than 800 federal employees is located in 31 federal receiving markets, 237 processing plants, 14 field offices, and 14 inspection points. In addition, 1,500 federally-licensed state employees provide service at shipping points and cooperative markets across the country.

In fiscal year 2014, SCI graded or supervised the grading of 17.3 million hundred-weight (cwt) of fresh fruit and vegetables and 72.2 million hundred-weight of processed products in the marketplace; and, 9.6 million hundred-weight of fruit and vegetable items valued at $562 million for school lunch and other food programs.

In addition to inspection services, SCI also provides a flexible, cost-effective, quality assurance service called the Quality Monitoring Program (QMP). The QMP provides third-party monitoring of product and quality systems for fresh, frozen, and processed fruits and vegetables as they are received, handled, and/or produced. This cost-effective service can support brand and product quality, monitor packing and handling systems, measure supplier performance, and meet many other unique quality assurance needs. Food companies are using the QMP seal on everything from apples to grapes to olive oil to support their brands and product quality. The QMP has two service levels: under the first service tier, customers meeting the program’s requirements can use the QMP seal on foodservice and/or retail packaging. The second tier is also tailored to meet customer needs, but does not include use of the QMP seal. Under the second tier, there is no qualification phase and customers have great latitude to design their program, subject to SCI approval.

To verify food safety from farm through processing, SCI offers a range of auditing services to verify fruits and vegetables are produced, packed, handled, and stored in the safest manner possible to minimize risks.