Latest reviewed evidence
EU food-residue classification identifies elderberries as Sambucus nigra under code 0154080 and applies the commodity portion after removal of caps or crowns and stems. Codex CXS 193-1995 sets an elderberry lead maximum level of 0.2 milligrams per kilogram on the whole commodity after removal of caps and stems. The USDA processing-berry grade reference, when specified by a contract or program, requires at least 85 percent well-colored berries for U.S. No. 1 and 75 percent for U.S. No. 2, with separate defect tolerances. These are taxonomy, contaminant and grade references, not proof of species, grade, safety, current availability or price for an untested lot.
EU elderberry commodity code
154080
code 0154080; Sambucus nigra · EU food-residue classification
Codex elderberry lead ceiling
0.2
milligrams per kilogram, maximum · Codex CXS 193-1995, current reviewed edition
USDA processing-berry U.S. No. 1 well-colored floor
85
percent by weight, minimum · USDA standard, September 2016
USDA processing-berry U.S. No. 1 total tolerance
10
percent by weight, maximum · USDA standard, September 2016
USDA processing-berry U.S. No. 1 distinctly immature tolerance
3
percent by weight, maximum · USDA standard, September 2016
USDA processing-berry U.S. No. 2 well-colored floor
75
percent by weight, minimum · USDA standard, September 2016
USDA processing-berry U.S. No. 2 total tolerance
20
percent by weight, maximum · USDA standard, September 2016
USDA processing-berry U.S. No. 2 distinctly immature tolerance
5
percent by weight, maximum · USDA standard, September 2016
Species and traded form stay attached to elderberry evidence
EU classification identifies elderberries as Sambucus nigra, but trade descriptions can also use elderberry for other Sambucus species or cultivars. Fresh fruit clusters, destemmed berries, frozen fruit, puree, juice, concentrate, extract and finished foods are different commercial objects. Atlas retains accepted botanical name, cultivar where material, fruit or flower identity, fresh or processed form, concentration or dilution basis and intended use instead of transferring evidence or value from one form to another.
Processing-berry grades need an explicit contractual scope
The USDA processing-berry standard defines U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 using similar varietal characteristics, color and tolerances for maturity and defects. It does not make every elderberry lot graded, and it does not replace a destination-specific contract. Atlas applies that grade reference only when the contract, inspection program or certificate identifies it, and retains color basis, caps and stems, mold or decay, immaturity, crushing, shriveling, foreign matter, damage, sample weight, inspector and date with the lot.
A contaminant limit is not a laboratory result
Codex assigns elderberry a separate 0.2-milligram-per-kilogram maximum level for lead on the whole commodity after removal of caps and stems. That reference does not prove compliance. Atlas requires the actual sampled portion, representative sampling plan, laboratory, analytical method, result, detection or quantification limit, test date and chain of custody before treating a contaminant claim as lot evidence. Juice, concentrate and finished products also keep their own applicable food category and destination rules.
A species or grade reference does not establish a delivered elderberry price
Taxonomy, color and defect tolerances cannot establish cultivar, fresh-to-processed yield, soluble solids, concentration factor, treatment, package value, current availability or route cost. A delivered comparison still needs current permitted observations for the exact species, fruit or processed form, tested lot, quantity, package, origin, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, freight and information vintage. Atlas withholds a physical estimate when those observations or usage rights are missing.