# 2026-12846: Government Finally Clarifies How Sweet Grade B Juice Must Be

2026-12846, United States Standards for Grades of Orange Juice, is a Federal Register notice from Agriculture Department, Agricultural Marketing Service published 2026-06-25, effective 2026-06-25; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-02).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12846
- As of: 2026-07-02
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-12846
- Title: United States Standards for Grades of Orange Juice
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Agriculture Department; Agricultural Marketing Service
- Citation: 91 FR 38391
- Published: 2026-06-25
- Effective: 2026-06-25
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-07-02

## In one line

Government Finally Clarifies How Sweet Grade B Juice Must Be

## Summary

The USDA just updated the rules for grading orange juice, especially how sweet Grade B pasteurized orange juice needs to be, matching FDA’s standards. This change affects juice makers and sellers by making grading clearer and more consistent, with no big cost impacts expected. The new standards are official as of June 25, 2026, so the juice world can sip with confidence!

## Abstract

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is revising the U.S. Standards for Grades of Orange Juice (U.S. OJ Standards or Standards) by revising the limits for Grade B Brix allowances in Pasteurized Orange Juice (POJ) under the U.S. OJ Standards to reference the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Standard of Identity (SOI) for POJ.

## Effects PRIA read

- USDA Aligns Grade B Brix Rule: benefit, medium. USDA removed the specific Brix minimums (10.5 for Grade B unsweetened and sweetened pasteurized orange juice) from the U.S. Standards for Grades of Orange Juice and now references the FDA Standard of Identity at 21 CFR 146.140(a). This change is official as of June 25, 2026 and makes grading for pa…
- Florida Producers Avoid Higher Brix Rule: benefit, medium. Because USDA will follow the FDA Standard of Identity, Florida orange juice producers (and other producers relying on U.S. OJ Standards) will not be stuck with the older 10.5° Brix minimum if FDA finalizes lowering the minimum to 10.0° Brix. This alignment avoids the risk that Florida producers wou…

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## Sources
- [2026-12846 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/25/2026-12846/united-states-standards-for-grades-of-orange-juice)
- [2026-12846 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-06-25/pdf/2026-12846.pdf)

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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12846 (as of 2026-07-02).