§ 56.1 Meaning of words and terms defined.

For the purpose of the regulations in this part, words in the singular shall be deemed to import the plural and vice versa, as the case may demand, and 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 an interested party who requests any grading service, appeal grading, or regrading with respect to any product.

"Case" means, when referring to containers, an egg case, as used in commercial practice in the United States, holding 30 dozens of shell eggs.

"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.

"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 30 days. "Refrigerator or storage eggs" means shell eggs which have been held under refrigeration for a period of more than 30 days.

"Grader" 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 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.

"Grading" or "grading service" means: (1) The act whereby a grader determines, according to the regulations in this part, the class, quality, quantity, or condition of any product by examining each unit thereof or each unit of the representative sample thereof drawn by a grader or sampler and issues a grading certificate with respect thereto, except that with respect to grading service performed on a resident basis the issuance of a grading certificate shall be pursuant to a request therefor by the applicant or the Service; (2) the act whereby the grader identifies, according to the regulations in this part, the graded product; (3) continuous supervision, in an official plant, of the handling or packaging of any product; and (4) any regrading or any appeal grading of a previously graded product.

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

"Interested party" means any person financially interested in a transaction involving any grading, appeal grading, or regrading of any product.

"National supervisor" means (1) the officer in charge of the poultry grading service of the Consumer and Marketing Service, and (2) such other employee of the Service as may be designated by him. "Office of grading" means the office of any grader or sampler.

"Official plant" means any plant in which the facilities and methods of operation therein have been found by the Administrator to be suitable and adequate for grading service in accordance

with this part and in which grading service is carried on.

"Origin grading" is a grading which is performed other than where the eggs are retailed or consumed.

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

"Potable water" means water that has been approved by the State health authority or agency or laboratory acceptable to the Administrator as safe for drinking and suitable for food processing.

"Product" or "products" means shell eggs of the domesticated chicken.

"Quality" means the inherent properties of any product which determine its relative degree of excellence.

"Regulations" means the provisions in this part.

"Sampler" 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 draw samples of products for grading by a grader or for lot analysis under the act and this part.

"Sampling" means the act of taking samples of any product for grading.

"Sampling report" means a statement, either written or printed, issued by a sampler, identifying samples taken by him for grading.

"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.

"Shell protected" means eggs which have had a protective covering such as oil applied to the shell surface. The product used shall be acceptable to the Food and Drug Administration.

"Supervisor or packaging” 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 supervise the packaging and grade labeling of products.

[20 F.R. 669, Feb. 1, 1955; 20 F.R. 757, Feb. 4, 1955, as amended at 20 F. R. 9894, Dec. 23, 1955, 21 F.R. 5207, July 13, 1956, 28 F.R. 6341, June 20, 1963, 30 F.R. 6207, May 4, 1965; 32 F.R. 8230, June 8, 1967]

§ 56.2 Designation of official certificates, 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 grading of agricultural products under said section. For the purposes of said subsection and the provisions in this part, the terms listed in this section 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, 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 or sampling pursuant to this part, any processing or plant-operation report made by an authorized person in connection with grading 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 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 indicating the appropriate U.S. grade or condition of the product, or for the purpose of maintaining the identity of products graded under this part, including but not limited to, those set forth in § 56.36.

(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 officially graded and/or indicating the class, grade, quality, size, quantity, or condition of the product approved by the Administrator and authorized to be affixed

The Administrator shall perform, for and under the supervision of the Secretary, such duties as the Secretary may require in the enforcement or administration of the provisions of the act and this part. The Administrator is authorized to waive for limited periods any particular provisions of the regulations in this part to permit experimentation so that new procedures, equipment, and processing techniques may be tested to facilitate definite improvements and at the same time to determine full compliance with the spirit and intent of the regulations in this part.

[20 FR. 670, Feb. 1, 1955]

§ 56.4

GENERAL

Basis of grading service.

(a) Any grading service in accordance with the regulations in this part shall be for class, quality, quantity, or condition or any combination thereof. Grading service with respect to the determination of the quality of products shall be on the basis of the "United States Standards, Grades, and Weight Classes" as contained in Subpart C of this part. However, grading service may be rendered with respect to products which are bought and sold on the basis of institutional contract specifications or specifications of the applicant and such service, when approved by the Administrator, shall be rendered on the basis of such specifications. The supervision of packaging shall be in accordance with such instructions as may be approved or issued by the Administrator.

(b) Unless otherwise approved by the area supervisor, continuous grading service in an official plant may be rendered only when a majority of the grader's time each month is utilized in performing grading for quality on the

basis of the United States Standards set forth in Subpart C of this part.

(c) Whenever grading service is performed on a representative sample basis, such sample shall be drawn and consist of not less than the minimum number of cases as indicated in the following table. A minimum of one hundred eggs shall be examined per sample case. For lots which consist of less than 1 case, a minimum of 50 eggs shall be examined If the lot consists of less than 50 eggs, all eggs will be examined.

MINIMUM NUMBER OF CASES COMPRISING A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE

For each additional 50 cases, or fraction thereof, in excess of 600 cases, one additional case shall be included in the sample.

[20 F.R. 670, Feb. 1, 1955, as amended at 22 F.R. 8167, Oct. 16, 1967; 28 F.R. 6342, June 20, 1963]

§ 56.5 Accessibility and condition of product.

Each product for which grading service is requested shall be so conditioned and placed as to permit a proper determination of the class, quality, quantity, or condition of such product.

[20 F.R. 670, Feb. 1, 1955, as amended at 27 FR. 10317, Oct. 23, 1962]

§ 56.10

Who may be licensed.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of this section, any person who is a Federal or State employee or the employee of a local jurisdiction possessing proper qualifications as determined by an examination for competency, and who is to perform grading service, may be licensed by the Secretary as a grader.

(b) All licenses issued by the Secretary shall be countersigned by the officer in charge of the poultry grading service of the Consumer and Marketing Service or any other designated officer of such Service.

(c) No person may be licensed to grade or sample any product in which he is financially interested.

[20 F.R. 670, Feb. 1. 1955, as amended at 28 F.R. 6342, June 20, 1963; 35 F.R. 19327, Dec. 22, 1970]

NOTE: The amendment at 35 F.R. 19327 is effective January 10, 1971.

§ 56.11

Authorization to perform limited grading services.

Any person who is employed by any official plant and possesses proper qualifications, as determined by the Administrator, may be authorized to candle and grade eggs on the basis of the "U.S. Standards for Quality of Individual Shell Eggs," with respect to eggs purchased from producers or eggs to be packaged with official identification. In addition, such authorization may be granted to any qualified person to act as a "supervisor of packing" in the packaging and grade labeling of products. No person to whom such authorization is granted shall have authority to issue any grading certificates, grading memoranda, or other official documents; and all eggs which are graded by any such person shall thereafter be check graded by a grader. [35 F.R. 19327, Dec. 22, 1970]

Pending final action by the Secretary, any person authorized to countersign a license to perform grading service may, whenever he deems such action necessary to assure that any grading service is properly performed, suspend any license to perform grading service issued pursuant to this part, by giving notice of such suspension to the respective licensee, accompanied by a statement of the reasons therefor. Within 7 days after the receipt of the aforesaid notice and statement of reasons, the licensee may file an appeal in writing, with the Secretary, supported by any argument or evidence that he may wish to offer as to why his license should not be further suspended or revoked. After the expiration of the aforesaid 7-day period and consideration of such argument and evidence, the Secretary will take such action as he deems appropriate with respect to such suspension or revocation. When no appeal is filed within the prescribed 7 days, the license to perform grading service is revoked.

[35 F.R. 19327, Dec. 22, 1970]

NOTE: The amendment at 35 F.R. 19327 is effective January 10, 1971.

§ 56.13

Cancellation of license.

Upon termination of his services as a grader, sampler, or superviser of packaging, each licensee shall surrender his license immediately for cancellation. [31 F.R. 2773, Feb. 16, 1966]

§ 56.14 Surrender of license.

Each license which is canceled, suspended, or has expired shall immediately be surrendered by the licensee to the office of grading serving the area in which he is located.

[31 F.R. 2773, Feb. 16, 1966] § 56.15 Political activity.

All graders and samplers are forbidden during the period of their respective appointments or licenses, to take an active part in political management or in political campaigns. Political activities in city, county, State, or national elections, whether primary or regular, or in behalf of any party or candidate, or any measure to be voted upon, is prohibited. This applies to all appointees, including, but not being limited to, tem