Reading macadamia style labels: form, size and grade

A macadamia specification that names only a kernel style leaves part of the product description unstated. The World Macadamia Organisation’s published material separates style, grade and further product-specific requirements.

In its public style guide, Style 1 and Style 1S share the same minimum 90% wholes label. Their printed size bands differ: 16–20 mm for Style 1 and 13–18 mm for Style 1S. The short labels do not by themselves describe a supplier’s measurement or sampling method.

Our reading: retain the declared whole-kernel threshold and size band with the code. A minimum is not a statement that every kernel is whole, and the differing bands show why a style number should not be used as a single quality score.

The PDF’s form definitions include a limited missing-mass allowance for halves and describe pieces produced by natural breakage or dicing. Those distinctions make the defined form more useful than a casual description of broken nuts.

The illustrated PDF guide labels its examples premium grade. WMO’s product-standard section also applies the style convention to commercial grade, using the COM prefix. Form and size are therefore separate from that grade qualification in this scheme.

For special, non-standard styles, the WMO section requires the SP prefix. Keeping that prefix is part of preserving what the declared specification actually says.

The organisation’s product-specification-sheet page lists product code and size details alongside additional criteria, including moisture and defect limits. Our editorial reading is to keep the style declaration with the complete product specification when comparing descriptions, rather than expecting one code to carry every field.

This reference uses WMO’s public guide and the product-standard section headed August 2023. It does not assess a supplier’s actual grading procedure or certify a product lot.