AAM-16-13-00003-A Standard of Identity and Grades of Maple Syrup

8/28/13 N.Y. St. Reg. AAM-16-13-00003-A

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXV, ISSUE 35

August 28, 2013

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS

NOTICE OF ADOPTION

 

I.D No. AAM-16-13-00003-A

Filing No. 825

Filing Date. Aug. 09, 2013

Effective Date. Jan. 01, 2015

Standard of Identity and Grades of Maple Syrup

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:

Action taken:

Repeal of Part 175; and addition of Part 270 to Title 1 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Agriculture and Markets Law, sections 16, 18, 160-u, 203 and 214-b

Subject:

Standard of identity and grades of maple syrup.

Purpose:

To ensure that grades of maple syrup meet appropriate compositional requirements to promote public confidence and fair dealing.

Text or summary was published

in the April 17, 2013 issue of the Register, I.D. No. AAM-16-13-00003-P.

Final rule as compared with last published rule:

No changes.

Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Stephen Stich, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, 10B Airline Drive, Albany, NY 12235, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Initial Review of Rule

As a rule that requires a RFA, RAFA or JIS, this rule will be initially reviewed in the calendar year 2016, which is no later than the 3rd year after the year in which this rule is being adopted.

Assessment of Public Comment

The Department received written comments prior to and after the hearing to consider adoption of the proposed rule, and also received oral testimony from witnesses at the hearing. Only one organization submitted written comments in opposition to adoption of the proposed rule and only one person, a member of that organization, submitted both written comments and gave oral testimony in opposition thereto - every other commentator and witness supported the proposed rule's adoption.

The Northern New York Maple Producers Co-op ("NNYMP"), located in Lowville, New York, opposed adoption of the proposed rule in a letter dated February 8, 2013. This organization opposed adoption of the proposed rule because it believes that the new grades of maple syrup, as provided for in the proposed rule, do not provide sufficiently definitive information to allow a consumer to make an informed choice when purchasing such food. This organization also opposed adoption of the proposed rule because a provision of the proposed rule will allow what it believes to be a lesser quality of maple syrup (i.e., the grade currently known as "Extra Dark for Cooking") to be labeled "Grade A", which, it believes, will cause consumers who purchase such food to be disappointed. This organization, however, suggested no alternatives to the proposed rule other than implying that the provisions to which it objected should not be adopted. Because the Department believes that the proposed rule will promote honesty and fair dealing in maple syrup, because it believes that the proposed rule will adequately inform consumers, and because the great majority of the relevant commentators and witnesses supported adoption of the proposed rule, the Department declines to amend the proposed rule as implicitly suggested by the NNYMP.

Mr. Warren L. Allen is a maple syrup producer and also a member of the NNYMP. Both in a letter to the Department, dated February 8, 2013, and at the hearing, Mr. Allen opposed adoption of the proposed rule (his letter was received into the record of the hearing as Exhibit 4, and a transcript of the substance of his oral testimony was received in the record of the hearing as Exhibit 6). In his letter, Mr. Allen set forth reasons for opposing adoption of the proposed rule that are substantially the same as those set forth in NNYMP's letter, as discussed above.

In his oral testimony, Mr. Allen set forth the same reasons for opposing adoption of the proposed rule that he set forth in his letter but also stated that he believed that the proposed rule, if adopted, would cause the income of maple syrup producers to decline. Mr. Allen stated that because relatively low-quality, inexpensive maple syrup would be allowed to be labeled "Grade "A", large purchasers of maple syrup would have no incentive to pay more for higher quality, hitherto more expensive maple syrup because they could sell the lesser quality maple syrup as "Grade A". Mr. Allen stated that maple syrup producers who produce high quality maple syrup could suffer a decrease in their incomes due to large purchasers no longer buying such maple syrup from them. Mr. Allen, however, suggested no alternatives to the proposed rule, in either his letter or his oral testimony, other than implying that the provisions to which he objected to should not be adopted. For the reasons set forth above for the Department's rejection of NNYMP's implicit suggestions, the Department declines to amend the proposed rule in response to Mr. Allen's comments and testimony.