46.44—Good delivery.
Unless otherwise agreed to between the contracting parties, “Good Delivery” in connection with f.o.b. contracts of purchase and sale means that the commodity meets the requirements of the contract at time of loading or sale and, if the shipment is handled under normal transportation service and conditions, will meet the following additional requirements on delivery at the contract destination:
(a) Lettuce.
(1)
If the contract specifies a U.S. grade, the lettuce may contain an average of not more than 3 percent condition defects, including not more than 2 percent decay affecting any portion of the head exclusive of wrapper leaves in excess of the destination tolerances provided for the applicable grade in the U.S. Standards for Grades of Lettuce. (For example, the U.S. No. 1 grade provides a 12 percent tolerance for damage at destination. If a lot contains 5 percent damage by permanent grade factors, 7 percent of the tolerance can be applied to damage by condition factors. The additional 3 percent Good Delivery tolerance would then allow a total of 10 percent damage by condition factors in this shipment at destination.)
(2)
If the contract does not specify a U.S. grade or percentage of condition defects, the lettuce at destination may contain a maximum of 15 percent, by count, of the heads in any lot which are damaged by condition defects, including therein not more than 9 percent serious damage of which not more than 5 percent may be decay affecting any portion of the head exclusive of wrapper leaves. Sales made on a percentage of a U.S. grade, without specifying the percentage of condition defects separately from the permanent defects, fall under this provision, and the lettuce may not contain more than a total of 15 percent condition defects at destination. However, if the condition defects are specified, provision No. 3 will apply.
(3)
If the contract specifies a percentage of individual or combined condition defects, the lettuce at destination may contain either of the following, whichever is greater:
(i)
One and one-half times the specified percentage of damage or serious damage by condition defects: Provided, That, if serious damage is not specified, one-half of the allowance at destination may be serious damage, including therein not more than one-quarter of the total allowance may be decay affecting any portion of the head exclusive of wrapper leaves. (For example, a lot sold as “16 percent tipburn” could have a total of 24 percent damage by tipburn at destination, including not more than 12 percent serious damage of which not more than 6 percent may be decay affecting any portion of the head exclusive of wrapper leaves.) or
(ii)
Up to 15 percent, by count, of the heads in any lot which are damaged by condition defects, including therein not more than 9 percent serious damage of which not more than 5 percent may be decay affecting any portion of the head exclusive of wrapper leaves.
Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, condition defects will be considered to be damage as defined in the U.S. Standards for Lettuce.
(4)
If the contract clearly indicates by descriptive terms that the lettuce is of inferior quality, larger allowances for damage by condition defects than those specified above will be applied.
(5)
If the buyer and the seller agree to percentages for defects at destination, higher or lower than those specified above, such percentages will determine whether good delivery is made.