Grading!!!

Should our current system be changed?

At the Winter Meeting, Mary Douglass, our 2004 IMSI representative, gave a very extensive report on the possibility of standardizing grading across the United States and Canada and adopting grading terminology that puts the emphasis on flavor, not color. Currently, we are not required to grade, but if we do grade, we are to follow the USDA standard.

The Grade Standardization Committee feels that we need to market Maple Syrup toward the consumer, not the producer. Consumers know what they like, but have no idea what the difference is between the color grades. The Committee has suggested some terms that more reflect what the consumer wants to know about the maple syrup they are buying.

The new color-taste descriptive grade terminology recommendations proposed by IMSI’s International Maple Grades Review Committee to be used in the consumer market are as follows:

In the US and Canada, there are currently over a half dozen different ways of grading; which makes it confusing for the consumer and for the producer. With the expanding international market for maple syrup, especially in Europe and Asia, the industry needs standardized grading terminology. We are finding that as consumers become aware of the product and more knowledgeable about the different grades of syrup, they begin to specifically request a certain grade. The goal is to target the International market first, and to start using the new system by 2007 or before.

The conversation sparked a lot of interest and discussion from the producers. Everyone appeared to agree that we do need a more standardized grading system than the current color system, but feel that taste descriptions are too subjective.