(a) General. The factor of freedom from defects refers to the degree of freedom from harmless extraneous material, mutilated cherries, and cherries blemished by scab, hail injury, discoloration, scar tissue, or by other means.

(1) Cherry means a whole cherry, whether or not pitted, or portions of such cherries which in the aggregate approximate the average size of the cherries.

(2) Harmless extraneous material means any vegetable substance (including, but not being limited to, a leaf or a stem and any portions thereof) that is harmless.

(3) Mutilated cherry means a cherry that is so pitter-torn or damaged by other means that the entire pit cavity is exposed and the appearance of the cherry is seriously affected.

(4) Minor blemished cherry means any cherry blemished with discoloration (other than scald) having an aggregate area of a circle 9/32 inch (7 mm) or less in diameter which more than slightly affects the appearance of the cherry but does not extend into the fruit tissue.

(5) Blemished cherry means any cherry blemished by skin discoloration (other than scald) which in the aggregate exceeds the area of a circle 9/32 inch (7 mm) in diameter. A cherry affected by skin discoloration extending into the fruit tissue or by scab, hail injury, scar tissue, or other abnormality, regardless of size, is considered a blemished cherry.

(b) (A) classification. Frozen red tart pitted cherries that are practically free from defects may be given a score of 18 to 20 points. “Practically free from defects” means that the number of defects that may be present does not exceed the number specified for the applicable type of defect in Table I.

(c) (B) classification. Frozen red tart pitted cherries that are reasonably free from defects may be given a score of 16 or 17 points. Frozen red tart pitted cherries that fall into this classification shall not be graded above U.S. Grade B, regardless of the total score for the product (this is a limiting rule). “Reasonably free from defects” means that the number of defects that may be present does not exceed the number specified for the applicable type of defect in Table I.

(d) (C) classification. Frozen red tart pitted cherries that are fairly free from defects may be given a score of 14 or 15 points. Frozen red tart pitted cherries that fall into this classification shall not be graded above U.S. Grade C, regardless of the total score for the product (this is a limiting rule). “Fairly free from defects” means that the number of defects that may be present does not exceed the number specified for the applicable type of defect in Table I.

(e) (SStd.) classification. Frozen red tart pitted cherries that fail to meet the requirements for Grade C may be given a score of 0 to 13 points and shall not be graded above Substandard, regardless of the total score for the product (this is a limiting rule).