§ 51.2849 Damage.

Damage means any specific defect described in this section; or any equally objectionable variation of any one of these defects, any other defect, or any combination of defects, which materially detracts from the appearance, or the edible or marketing quality of the onions. The following specific defects shall be considered as damage: (a) Seedstems which are tough or woody, or which are more than 1/4 inch in diameter; (b) Splits when onions with two or more hearts are not practically covered by one or more outer scales; (c) Tops when more than 30 percent of the onions in a lot have tops 3 inches or more in length; (d) New roots when most roots on an individual onion have grown to a length of 1 inch or more in length; (e) Dry roots when more than 20 percent of the onions in a lot have practically all roots 2 inches or more in length; (f) Dry sunken areas when the affected areas exceed the equivalent to that of a circle 1/2 inch in diameter on an onion 2 3/4 inches in diameter which does not have the outer papery scale covering the affected areas or when the affected areas exceed the equivalent to that of a circle 3/4 inch in diameter on an onion 2 3/4 inches in diameter which has the outer papery scale covering the affected areas. Correspondingly lesser or greater areas are allowed on smaller or larger onions; (g) Sunburn when more than 33 percent of the onions in a lot have a medium green color on one-third of the surface; (h) Sprouts when visible, or when concealed within the dry top and more than 3/4 inch in length on an onion 2 inches or larger in diameter, or proportionately shorter on smaller onions; (i) Peeling when more than one-half of the thin papery skin is missing, leaving the underlying fleshy scale unprotected; (j) Cracked fleshy scales when one or more of the fleshy scales are cracked; (k) Watery scales when more than the equivalent of the entire outer fleshy scale is affected by an off-color, watersoaked condition. The off-color must be of some shade of brown or yellow; (l) Dirt, staining or other foreign matter when more than 20 percent of the onions in a yellow, brown or red lot, or more than 15 percent of the onions in a white lot are appreciably stained. Onions with adhering dirt or other foreign matter shall be judged on the same basis as stained onions; (m) Mechanical when any cut extends deeper than one fleshy scale, or when any bruise breaks a fleshy scale; and, (n) Translucent scales when more than the equivalent of two entire outer fleshy scales have a watersoaked condition.