darker in color and less tender and the fat may be more creamy in color than that of a fryer or young rabbit.

U.S. SPECIFICATIONS FOR STANDARDS OF QUALITY FOR INDIVIDUAL READY-TOCOOK DOMESTIC RABBITS

GENERAL

§ 54.270 General.

Carcasses found to be unsound, unwholesome, or unfit for food shall not be included in any of the quality designations specified in §§ 54.275 to 54.277.

STANDARDS OF QUALITY

§ 54.275 A Quality.

To be of A Quality the carcass: (a) Is short, thick, well-rounded, and full-fleshed.

(b) Has a broad back, broad hips, and broad, deep fleshed shoulders, and firm muscle texture.

(c) Has a fair quantity of interior fat in the crotch and over the inner walls of the carcass, and a moderate amount of interior fat around the kidneys.

(d) Is free of evidence of incomplete bleeding such as more than an occasional slight coagulation in a vein. Is free from any evidence of reddening of the flesh due to fluid in the connective tissues.

(e) Is free from all foreign material (including, but not being limited to, hair, dirt, and bone particles) and from crushed bones caused by removing the head or the feet.

(f) Is free from broken bones, flesh bruises, defects, and deformities. Ends of leg bones may be broken due to removing the feet.

§ 54.276 B Quality.

To be of B Quality the carcass:

(a) Is short, thick, fairly well-rounded and fairly well-fleshed.

(b) Has a fairly broad back, fairly broad hips, and fairly broad and deepfleshed shoulders, and fairly firm muscle texture.

(c) Has at least a small amount of interior fat in the crotch and over the inner walls of the carcass with a small amount of interior fat around the kidneys.

(d) Is free of evidence of incomplete bleeding such as more than an occasional

slight coagulation in a vein. Is free from any evidence of reddening of the flesh due to fluid in the connective tissues.

(e) Is free from all foreign material (including, but not being limited to, hair, dirt, and bone particles) and from crushed bones caused by removing the head or the feet.

(f) Is free from broken bones and practically free from bruises, defects, and deformities. Ends of leg bones may be broken due to removing the feet.

§ 54.277 C Quality.

A carcass that does not meet the requirements of A or B Quality may be of C Quality and such carcass:

(a) May be long, rangy, and fairly well fleshed.

(b) May have thin, narrow back and hips, and soft flabby muscle texture.

(c) May show very little evidence of exterior fat.

(d) May show very slight evidence of reddening of the flesh due to blood in the connective tissues.

(e) Is free from all foreign material (including, but not being limited to, hair, dirt, and bone particles) and from crushed bones caused by removing the head or feet.

(f) May have moderate bruises of the flesh, moderate defects, and moderate deformities; may have not more than one broken bone in addition to broken ends of leg bones due to removal of the feet; and may have a small portion of the carcass removed because of serious bruises. Discoloration due to bruising in the flesh shall be free of clots (discernible clumps of dark or red cells). Subpart C-Forms, Instructions, and Applications

FORMS OF OFFICIAL IDENTIFICATION

§ 54.280 Forms of official identification. The forms prescribed in §§ 54.280 to 54.282 are subject to the requirements of §§ 54.60 to 54.63, Identifying and Marking Products.

and design indicated in the example in Figure 1. The information which is required in such mark shall be: (a) The letters "USDA," (b) the appropriate U.S. Grade of the product. The information within the shield shall be printed in a light color on a dark field. In addition, a term such as "Federal-State Graded" or "Government Graded" may be used adjacent to but not within the shield design grade mark (in a form similar to that illustrated in Figure 2).

which is not individually packaged and labeled, the information with respect to the class of the domestic rabbits shall be included in the same label which bears the grade mark and the plant number or the firm name and address shall also be included on the label which bears the grade mark.

§ 54.282 Form of inspection mark.

The inspection mark approved for use on inspected and certified edible products shall be contained within a circle and include the following wording: "Inspected for Wholesomeness by U.S. Department of Agriculture." The form and arrangement of such wording shall be as indicated in the example in Figure 3. The plant number of the official plant shall be set forth if it does not appear on the packaging material.

Under the regulations in this part, words in the singular shall be deemed to import the plural and vice versa, as the case may demand.

[20 F.R. 1865, Mar. 29, 1955] § 55.2 Terms defined.

For the purpose of the regulations in this part, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, as follows:

"Act" means the applicable provisions of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 1087; 7 U. S. C. 1621 et seq.), or any other act of Congress conferring like authority.

"Administrator" means the Administrator of the Consumer and Marketing Service of the Department or any other officer or employee of the Department to whom there has heretofore been delegated, or to whom there may hereafter be delegated the authority to act in his stead.

"Applicant" means any interested party who requests any grading or inspection service, or appeal grading or appeal inspection, with respect to any product.

"Area Supervisor" means any employee of the Department in charge of poultry grading service in a designated geographical area.

"Class" means any subdivision of a product based on essential physical characteristics that differentiate between major groups of the same kind, species, or method of processing.

"Condition" means any condition (including, but not being limited to, the

state of preservation, cleanliness, soundness, wholesomeness, or fitness for human food) of any product which affects its merchantability; or any condition, including but not being limited to, the processing, handling, or packaging which affects such product.

"Department" means the United States Department of Agriculture.

"Eggs of current production" means shell eggs which have moved through usual marketing channels since the time they were laid, and have not been held in refrigerated storage in excess of 60 days, except that segregated checks and dirty eggs which have been held in excess of 7 days shall not be considered as "eggs of current production". "Grader" means any employee the Department authorized by the Secretary, or any other person to whom a license has been issued by the Secretary, to investigate and certify, in accordance with the act and this part, to shippers of products and other interested parties the class, quality, quantity, and condition of such products.

of

"Grading" means (1) the act of determining, according to the regulations, the class, quality, quantity, or condition of any product by examining each unit thereof or a representative sample drawn by a grader; (2) the act of issuing a grading certificate; or (3) the act of identifying, when requested by the applicant, any product by means of official identification pursuant to the act and this part.

"Grading certificate" or "processing and packaging certificate" means a statement, either written or printed, issued by a grader, pursuant to the act and this part, relative to the class, quality, quantity, condition of products.

and

"Grading service" or "continuous inspection" means (1) any grading or inspection, in accordance with the act and the regulations, of any product, (2) continuous supervision, in any official plant, of the preparation or packaging of any product, or (3) any appeal grading or appeal inspection of any previously graded or inspected product.

"Inspector" means any employee of the Department authorized by the Secretary, or any other person to whom a license has been issued by the Secretary, to inspect and certify the quality, quantity, and condition of products.

"Interested party" means any person financially interested in a transac

"Person" means any individual, partnership, association, business trust, corporation, or any organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not.

"Product" or "products" means eggs (whether shell, liquid, frozen, or dried) and egg products. Such term shall also include any food product which is prepared or manufactured from any product if such product constitutes a substantial portion, by weight, of all the ingredients used in the preparation or manufacture of such food product.

"Quality" means the inherent properties of any product which determine its relative degree of excellence. "Regulations" means the provisions in this part.

"Sampling" means the act of taking samples of any product for grading. "Sanitize" means to subject to an acceptable germicidal agent.

"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department or any other officer or employee of the Department to whom there has heretofore been delegated, or to whom there may hereafter be delegated, the authority to act in his stead. "Service" means the Consumer and Marketing Service of the Department.

"Shell eggs" means shell eggs of domesticated chickens.

"Stabilization" means the subjection of any egg product to a desugaring process.

[20 F.R. 1865, Mar. 29, 1955, as amended at 20 F. R. 9893, Dec. 23, 1955; 21 F. R. 2028, Mar. 31, 1956; 24 F.R. 6413, Aug. 11, 1959; 31 F.R. 14983, Nov. 29, 1966; 31 F.R. 16516, Dec. 28, 1966]

cates, memoranda, marks, other identifications, and devices for purposes of the Agricultural Marketing Act.

Subsection 203 (h) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by Public Law 272, 84th Congress, provides criminal penalties for various specified offenses relating to official certificates, memoranda, marks or other identifications, and devices for making such marks or identifications, issued or authorized under section 203 of said act, and certain misrepresentations concerning the inspection or grading of agricultural products under said section. For the purposes of said subsection and the provisions in this part, the terms listed below shall have the respective meanings specified:

(a) "Official certificate" means any form of certification, either written or printed, used under this part to certify with respect to the sampling, inspection, class, grade, quality, size, quantity, or condition of products (including the compliance of products with applicable specifications).

(b) "Official memorandum” means any initial record of findings made by an authorized person in the process of grading, inspecting, or sampling pursuant to this part, any processing or plantoperation report made by an authorized person in connection with grading, inspecting or sampling under this part, and any report made by an authorized person of services performed pursuant to this part.

(c) "Official mark" means the grade mark, inspection mark, combined form of inspection and grade mark, and any other mark, or any variations in such marks, approved by the Administrator and authorized to be affixed to any product, or affixed to or printed on the packaging material of any product, stating that the product was graded or inspected or both, or indicating the appropriate U. S. grade or condition of the product, or for the purpose of maintaining the identity of products graded or inspected or both under this part, including but not limited to those set forth in §§ 55.36 through 55.38.

(d) "Official identification" means any United States (U. S.) standard designation of class, grade, quality, size, quantity, or condition specified in this part or any symbol, stamp, label, or seal indicating that the product has been offl