Dried apricots are a processed fruit, not a synonym for fresh apricots. The USDA standard covers halved and pitted Prunus armeniaca fruit with most moisture removed and also distinguishes numbered sizes, slabs, whole-pitted and slip-pitted styles. A comparable lot needs variety, style, size, moisture and test method, sulfur or other treatment, grade and inspection basis, colour and maturity, defect results, crop and processing dates, pack, origin, quantity and delivery terms.
The figures below are U.S. voluntary grade-standard limits and tolerances for dried apricots. They are specification boundaries, not a supplier's test result, destination-wide legal limit, inventory, offer or live physical price. Federal inspection certificates state the finished-product moisture and actual size or style; a lot needs its own valid sampling, inspection and analytical evidence.
USDA defines dried apricots as halved and pitted Prunus armeniaca fruit from which most moisture has been removed, then cleansed before packing and optionally sulfured to retain characteristic colour. Fresh fruit, dried halves, whole-pitted or slip-pitted fruit, slabs, puree, juice and canned styles have different units, condition, processing and quality evidence. Atlas keeps product form and intended use attached to every record.
The USDA standard identifies six numbered sizes for dried apricot halves, from No. 1 Jumbo at 1-3/8 inches or larger to No. 6 Standard below 13/16 inch, measured across the shortest face of a restored half. It separately records slabs, whole-pitted and slip-pitted styles and allows no more than 10 percent by weight outside a declared numbered size. A lot record therefore needs style, size declaration, sample and actual result rather than a generic large or small label.
Federal inspection certificates state finished-product moisture: no more than 26 percent by weight for sizes No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and slabs, and no more than 25 percent for other sizes. U.S. Grade A allows a 10 percent total defect tolerance, within which no more than 4 percent may be affected by mold, decay, infestation, embedded dirt or other foreign material and no more than 1 percent by decay. These are standard boundaries; the shipment still needs representative sampling and actual inspection or laboratory results.
A dried-apricot comparison should retain variety and origin, crop and processing dates, natural or sulfured treatment and sulfur-dioxide result where required, style and numbered size, moisture and method, colour and maturity, grade and defect results, infestation and foreign-material findings, pack, net weight, lot and facility traceability, storage condition, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence vintage. Atlas withholds a physical estimate without matching rights-cleared observations and logistics.
No. Dried apricots have a defined processed identity, moisture and style, size, colour and defect evidence that does not apply to fresh fruit.
The standard states no more than 26 percent by weight for sizes No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and slabs, and no more than 25 percent for other numbered sizes. The actual finished-product moisture still belongs on the inspection certificate.
No. Grade A uses a 10 percent total tolerance by weight, including tighter restricted limits of 4 percent for specified serious conditions and 1 percent for decay. The lot must be sampled and inspected to establish its result.
Variety and origin, crop and processing dates, halves, slabs or whole-pitted style, numbered size and method, moisture and test method, natural or sulfured treatment, grade, colour, maturity and defect results, infestation and foreign-material findings, pack, lot and facility, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.
Figures retain their source, period and review date. Corroboration is not promoted to primary evidence.