The label

Below standard

Updated October 2026

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Where the standards come from Some of the numbers What below standard requires It is not a prohibition Conspicuous is a real requirement Mixtures take the oldest date Retesting can move a lot across the line References

"Below Standard" is a prescribed phrase with a prescribed minimum type size, not a description you write yourself.

Where the standards come from

7 CFR 201.31 establishes minimum germination standards for vegetable seeds in interstate commerce under section 403(c) of the Act, construed to include hard seed. It is a plain table of crop names and percentages, and it runs to about seventy-five entries.

Some of the numbers

Carrot 55, celery 55, pepper 55, parsley 60, leek 60, onion 70, beet 65, tomato 75, radish 75, cabbage 75, cucumber 80, lettuce 80, pea 80, turnip 80, collards 80. Water cress is 40 and New Zealand spinach is 40, the lowest on the table.

What below standard requires

The words "Below Standard" clearly shown in a conspicuous place on the label or on the face of the container, in type no smaller than 8 points, and the variety also labeled to show the percentage of germination and the percentage of hard seed if any.

It is not a prohibition

Below-standard seed may be sold; it has to be disclosed. That is worth understanding, because the instinct is either to hide the figure or to discard the lot, and the rule asks for neither.

Conspicuous is a real requirement

Clearly shown, in a conspicuous place, at 8 points or larger. A compliant disclosure in small gray type on a busy packet back is arguably none of those, and the rule gives a floor rather than a target.

Mixtures take the oldest date

For a seed mixture it is only necessary to state the calendar month and year of test for the component with the oldest test date among all the kinds in the mixture. So a mixture is paced by its stalest component.

Retesting can move a lot across the line

Germination falls with time and storage conditions, so a lot that was at standard can drop below it. The disclosure obligation follows the current test, which is another reason the test date and the package are a single decision.

References

7 CFR 201.31, Minimum germination standards for vegetable seeds in interstate commerce, established under section 403(c) of the Act: carrot 55, celery 55, pepper 55, onion 70, tomato 75, radish 75, cucumber 80, lettuce 80, pea 80, turnip 80, and around seventy more by crop. law.cornell.edu

7 CFR 201.29 and 201.29a. Vegetable seed in containers of 1 pound or less that equals or betters the 201.31 standard need not show the germination percentage or date of test; below standard it carries "Below Standard" conspicuously in type no smaller than 8 points plus the percentage and hard seed. Over 1 pound, every variety shows the germination percentage and hard seed. law.cornell.edu

7 U.S.C. 1571, the Federal Seed Act’s prohibited acts. Subsection (b) sets the label content for vegetable seed by container weight and by whether germination meets the established standard; subsection (c) sets the five-month test window and lets the Secretary designate a longer period for seed "packaged in such container materials and under such other conditions" as will maintain viability. law.cornell.edu

Written from federal statute and regulation, not from a seed bench. Every state also runs its own seed law, and the Federal Seed Act reaches interstate commerce, so a local sale can answer to a different set of requirements. Nothing here certifies a package as hermetically sealed; that is a question about the package and the sealing process.