Meats, Prepared Meats, and Meat Products (Grading, Certification, and Standards) (7 CFR 54.1-54.1034)

13 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA Pt. 54 the matter and, if he deems advisable, will report it to the owner or his agent. The supervisor shall take appropriate action to correct errors found in the determination or identification of class, grade or other quality or compli ance of livestock if the livestock is still owned by the person who owned them when, and are still located at the establishment where, the incorrect service was rendered and if such service was rendered by a grader under the ju risdiction of such supervisor, and the supervisor shall take adequate meas ures to prevent the recurrence of such errors. Subpart B [Reserved] PART 54—MEATS, PREPARED MEATS, AND MEAT PRODUCTS (GRADING, CERTIFICATION, AND STANDARDS) Subpart A—Regulations DEFINITIONS Sec. 54.1 Meaning of words. 54.2 Designation of official certificates, memoranda, marks, other identifica tions, and devices for purposes of the Ag ricultural Marketing Act. ADMINISTRATION 54.3 Authority. SERVICE 54.4 Kind of service. 54.5 Availability of service. 54.6 How to obtain service. 54.7 Order of furnishing service. 54.8 When request for service deemed made. 54.9 Withdrawal of application or request for service. 54.10 Authority of agent. 54.11 Denial or withdrawal of service. 54.12 Financial interest of official grader. 54.13 Accessibility and refrigeration of prod ucts; access to establishments. 54.14 Official certificates. 54.15 Advance information concerning serv ice rendered. 54.16 Marking of products. 54.17 Official identifications. 54.18 Custody of identification devices. APPEAL SERVICE 54.19 What is appeal service; marking prod ucts on appeal; requirements for appeal; certain determinations not appealable. 54.20 Request for appeal service. 54.21 When request for appeal service may be withdrawn. 54.22 Denial or withdrawal of appeal service. 54.23 Who shall perform appeal service. 54.24 Appeal certificates. 54.25 Superseded certificates. 54.26 Application of other regulations to ap peal service. CHARGES FOR SERVICE 54.27 Fees and other charges for service. 54.28 Payment of fees and other charges. MISCELLANEOUS 54.29 Identification. 54.30 Errors in service. 54.31 Uniforms. Subpart B [Reserved] Subpart C—Regulations Governing the Certification of Sanitary Design and Fabrication of Equipment Used in the Slaughter, Processing, and Packaging of Livestock and Poultry Products 54.1001 Meaning of words. 54.1002 Terms defined. 54.1003 Designation of official certificates, memoranda, marks, and other identifica tions for purposes of the Agricultural Marketing Act. 54.1004 Administration and implementation. 54.1005 Basis of service. 54.1006 Kind of service. 54.1007 Availability of service. 54.1008 How to obtain service. 54.1009 Order of furnishing service. 54.1010 When request for service deemed made. 54.1011 Withdrawal of application or request for service. 54.1012 Authority of agent. 54.1013 When an application may be re jected. 54.1014 Accessibility of equipment and uten sils; access to establishments. 54.1015 Official reports, forms, and certifi cates. 54.1016 Advance information concerning service rendered. 54.1017 Authority to use official identifica tion. 54.1018 Form of official identification and approval for use. 54.1019 Renewal of Acceptance Certifi cation. 54.1020 Appeal service; marking equipment or utensils on appeal; requirements for appeal; certain determinations not ap pealable. 54.1021 Request for appeal service. 54.1022 When request for appeal service may be withdrawn. 54.1023 Denial or withdrawal of appeal serv ice. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 14 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.1 54.1024 Who shall perform appeal service. 54.1025 Appeal reports. 54.1026 Superseded reports. 54.1027 Application of other regulations to appeal service. 54.1028 Fees and other charges for service. 54.1029 Payment of fees and other charges. 54.1030 Identification. 54.1031 Errors in service. 54.1032 Denial or withdrawal of service. 54.1033 Confidential treatment. 54.1034 OMB control numbers assigned pur suant to the Paperwork Reduction Act. AUTHORITY: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627. SOURCE: 42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981. Subpart A—Regulations DEFINITIONS § 54.1 Meaning of words. Words used in this subpart in the sin gular form shall be deemed to import the plural, and vice versa, as the case may demand. For the purposes of such regulations, unless the context other wise requires, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, to mean: Administrator. The Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, or any officer or employee of the Agricul tural Marketing Service to whom au thority has heretofore been delegated or to whom authority may hereafter be delegated, to act in his stead. Agricultural Marketing Service. The Agricultural Marketing Service of the Department. Animals. Cattle, sheep, swine, or goats. Applicant. Any person who has ap plied for service under the regulations. Branch. The Meat Grading Branch of the Division. Carcass. The commercially prepared or dressed body of any animal intended for human food. Carcass Data Service. The service es tablished and conducted under the reg ulations to provide producers and other interested persons with data on carcass characteristics. Certification service. The service es tablished and conducted under the reg ulations for the determination and cer tification or other identification of the compliance of products with specifica tions. Chief. The Chief of the Branch, or any officer or employee of the Branch to whom authority has heretofore been delegated, or to whom authority may hereafter be delegated, to act in his stead. Class. A subdivision of a product based on essential physical character istics that differentiate between major groups of the same kind of species. Compliance. Conformity of a product to the specifications under which the product was purchased or sold, with particular reference to the quality, cleanliness, state of refrigeration, method of processing, and trim of prod ucts. Contract verification service. A pro gram allowing institutions or other large purchasers of commodity prod ucts to have those products compared to contractual requirements. Cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement between the Agricultural Marketing Service and another Federal agency or a State agency, or other agency, organization or person as spec ified in the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended, for conducting the service. Department. The United States De partment of Agriculture. Director. The Director of the Division, or any officer or employee of the Divi sion to whom authority has heretofore been delegated, or to whom authority may hereafter be delegated, to act in his stead. Division. The Meat Quality Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Fabricating. Cutting into wholesale or retail cuts, dicing or grinding. Federal Meat Inspection. The meat in spection system conducted under the Federal Meat Inspection Act as amend ed by the Wholesome Meat Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the regulations thereunder (9 CFR chapter III, sub chapter A). Financially interested person. Any per son having a financial interest in the products involved, including but not limited to the shipper, receiver, pro ducer, seller, buyer, or carrier of the products. Grade. (1) As a noun, this term means an important commercial subdivision of a product based on certain definite and preference determining factors, VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 15 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.1 such as, but not limited to, conforma tion, finish, and quality in meats. (2) As a verb, this term means to de termine the class, grade, or other qual ity of a product according to applicable standards for such product. Grading Service. The service estab lished and conducted under the regula tions for the determination and certifi cation or other identification of the class, grade, or other quality of prod ucts under standards. Immediate container. The carton, can, pot, tin, casing, wrapper, or other re ceptacle or covering constituting the basic unit in which products are di rectly contained or wrapped when packed in the customary manner for delivery to the meat trade or to con sumers. Institutional Meat Purchase Specifica tions. Specifications describing various meat cuts, meat products, and meat food products derived from all live stock species, commonly abbreviated ‘‘IMPS’’, and intended for use by any meat procuring activity. For labeling purposes, only product certified by the Meat Grading and Certification Branch may contain the letters ‘‘IMPS’’ on the product label. Legal Holiday. Those days designated as legal public holidays in title 5, United States Code, section 6103(a). Livestock. Bovine, ovine, porcine. Meat. The edible part of the muscle of an animal, which is skeletal, or which is found in the tongue, in the dia phragm, in the heart, or in the esoph agus, and which is intended for human food, with or without the accom panying and overlying fat and the por tions of bone, skin, sinew, nerve, and blood vessels which normally accom pany the muscle tissue and which are not separated from it in the process of dressing. This term does not include the muscle found in the lips, snout, or ears. Meat by-products. All edible parts (other than meat and prepared meats) intended for human food, derived from one or more animals, and including but not limited to such organs and parts as livers, kidneys, sweetbreads, brains, lungs, spleens, stomachs, tripe, lips, snouts, and ears. Meat food products. Any articles in tended for human food (other than meat, prepared meats, and meat by products) which are derived or prepared in whole or in substantial and definite part, from any portion of any animal, except such articles as organotherapeutic substances, meat juice, meat extract, and the like, which are only for medicinal purposes and are advertised only to the medical profes sion. Office of grading. The office of an offi cial grader. Official grader. An employee of the Department or other person authorized by the Department to determine and certify or otherwise identify the class, grade, other quality, or compliance of products under the regulations. Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity, or Government agency. Prepared meats. The products in tended for human food which are ob tained by subjecting meat to drying, curing, smoking, cooking, grinding, seasoning, or flavoring, or to any com bination of such procedures, and to which no considerable quantity of any substance other than meat or meat by products has been added. Processing. Drying, curing, smoking, cooking, seasoning, or flavoring or any combination of such processes, with or without fabricating. Products. Meats, prepared meats, meat by-products, or meat food prod ucts. Quality. A combination of the inher ent properties of a product which de termines its relative degree of excel lence. Quality grade. A designation based on those characteristics of meat which predict the palatability characteristics of the lean. Quality Systems Certification Program. A multifaceted program allowing all aspects of the livestock industry to have quality systems, or processes within quality systems, verified by AMS agent(s) to effectuate use of such quality systems to meet contractual requirements, or as a marketing tool. Service. Grading service or acceptance service. Shipping container. The receptacle or covering in which one or more imme diate containers of products are packed for transportation. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 16 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.2 Specifications. Descriptions with re spect to the class, grade, other quality, quantity or condition of products, ap proved by the Administrator, and available for use by the industry re gardless of the origin of the descrip tions. Standards. The standards of the De partment contained in Official United States Standards for Grades of: Carcass Beef; Veal and Calf Carcasses; Lamb, Yearling Mutton, and Mutton Car casses; and, Pork Carcasses. Supervisor of grading. An official grad er or other person designated by the Director or Chief to supervise and maintain uniformity and accuracy of service under the regulations. The Act. The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (Title II of the act of Con gress approved August 14, 1946, 60 Stat. 1087, as amended by Pub. L. 272, 84th Cong., 69 Stat. 553, 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627). The regulations. The regulations in this subpart. Yield grade. A designation which re flects the estimated yield of retail cuts that may be obtained from a beef, lamb, yearling mutton, or mutton car cass. [42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 45 FR 51762, Aug. 5, 1980. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, as amended at 61 FR 11505, Mar. 21, 1996; 63 FR 72102, Dec. 31, 1998] § 54.2 Designation of official certifi cates, memoranda, marks, other identifications, and devices for pur poses of the Agricultural Marketing Act. Subsection 203(h) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by Pub. L. 272, 84th Congress, provides criminal penalties for various specified offenses relating to official certifi cates, 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 sec tion. For the purposes of said sub section 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 print ed, used under the regulations to cer tify with respect to the 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, determining compliance, in specting, or sampling pursuant to the regulations, any processing or plant operation report made by an author ized person in connection with grading, determining compliance, inspecting, or sampling under the regulations, and any report made by an authorized per son of services performed pursuant to the regulations. (c) Official mark or other official identi fication means any form of mark or other identification, including those prescribed in § 54.17; used under the reg ulations in marking any products, or the immediate or shipping containers thereof, to show inspection class, grade quality, size quantity, or condition of the products (including the compliance of products with applicable specifica tions), or to maintain the identity of products for which service is provided under the regulations. (d) Official device means any roller, stamp, brand or other device used under the regulations to mark any products or the immediate or shipping containers, thereof, with any official mark or other official identification. ADMINISTRATION § 54.3 Authority. The Chief is charged with the admin istration, under the general super vision and direction of the Director, of the regulations and the Act insofar as they relate to products. SERVICE § 54.4 Kind of service. (a) Grading service under the regula tions shall consist of the determination and certification and other identifica tion, upon request by the applicant, of the class, grade, or other quality of products under applicable standards. Class, grade, and other quality may be determined under said standards for VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 17 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.6 meat of cattle, sheep, or swine in car cass form only, except upon approval by the Director upon his determination of good cause and provided that the meat can be identified in conformance with the standards. (b) Certification service under the regulations shall consist of the deter mination of the conformity of products to specifications approved by the Di rector or Chief and the certification and other identification of such live stock or products in accordance with specifications, upon request by the ap plicant. Determination as to product compliance with specifications for in gredient content or method of prepara tion may be based upon information re ceived from the inspection system hav ing jurisdiction over the products in volved. (c) The Carcass Data Service, under the regulations, shall consist of the evaluation of carcass characteristics, in accordance with applicable official United States Standards of carcasses of animals identified with the official eartag as shown in § 54.17, the recording of such data, and transmittal of the data to, or as directed by, the applicant for the service. (d) The Contract Verification Serv ice, under the regulations, provides wholesale buyers of noncertified com modity products a method of deter mining whether procurement(s) met contractually specified requirements. [63 FR 72102, Dec. 31, 1998, as amended at 70 FR 58971, Oct. 11, 2005] § 54.5 Availability of service. Service under these regulations may be made available with respect to prod ucts shipped or received in interstate commerce, and with respect to the products not so shipped or received if the Director or Chief determines that the furnishing of service for such prod ucts would facilitate the marketing, distribution, processing, or utilization of agricultural products through com mercial channels. Also, such service may be made available under a cooper ative agreement. Service under these regulations shall be provided without discrimination as to race, color, sex, creed, or national origin. Service will be furnished for products only if they were derived from animals slaughtered in federally inspected establishments or operated under State meat inspec tion in a State other than one des ignated in 9 CFR 331.2. Service under these regulations will be furnished for imported meat only if it is marked so that the name of the country of origin appears on most of the major retail cuts. The mark of foreign origin shall be imprinted by roller brand or hand stamp and shall be applied so that the imprint is at least 2 inches from the backbone of lamb, 3 inches from the backbone of veal and calf, and 4 inches from the backbone of beef carcasses. The mark of foreign origin shall be re peated parallel to the backbone of the carcass so as to appear on each round, rump, full loin, rib, and chuck of each bovine and ovine carcass in letters at least one-fourth of an inch high, with no more than three-fourths of an inch space between impressions. Imprints of each such brand shall be submitted to the Chief for the determination of com pliance with these regulations prior to use of the brand on meats offered for Federal grading. It shall be the respon sibility of the applicant to notify the meat grade performing the service whenever imported meat is offered for grading. § 54.6 How to obtain service. (a) Application. Any person may apply to the Director or Chief for service under the regulations with respect to products in which the applicant is fi nancially interested. The application shall be made on a form approved by the Director. In any case in which the service is intended to be furnished at an establishment not operated by the applicant, the application shall be ap proved by the operator of such estab lishment and such approval shall con stitute an authorization for any em ployees of the Department to enter the establishment for the purpose of per forming their functions under the regu lations. The application shall state: (1) The name and address of the es tablishment at which service is desired; (2) the name and post office address of the applicant; (3) the financial interest of the applicant in the products, except where application is made by an offi cial of a Government agency in his offi cial capacity; and (4) the signature of VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 18 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.7 the applicant (or the signature and title of his representative). The appli cation shall indicate the legal status of the applicant as an individual, partner ship, corporation, or other form of legal entity. Any change in such sta tus, at any time while service is being received, shall be promptly reported to the Director or Chief by the person re ceiving the service. (b) Notice of eligibility for service. The applicant for service at any establish ment will be notified whether his appli cation is approved. (c) Request by applicant for service—(1) Noncommitment. Upon notification of the approval on an application for serv ice, the applicant may, from time to time as desired, make oral or written requests for service under the regula tions with respect to specific products for which the service is to be furnished under such application. Such requests shall be made at an office for grading either directly or through any em ployee of the Agricultural Marketing Service who may be designated for such purposes. (2) Commitment. If desired, the appli cant may request to enter into an agreement with the Agricultural Mar keting Service for the furnishing of service on a weekly commitment basis, whereby the applicant agrees to pay for 8 hours of service per day, 5 days per week, Monday through Friday, exclud ing Federal legal holidays occurring Monday through Friday on which no grading and certification services are performed, as provided in § 54.27, and the Agricultural Marketing Service agrees to make an official grader avail able to perform such service for the ap plicant. However, the Agricultural Marketing Service reserves the right to use any grader assigned to a plant under such a commitment to perform service for other applicants when, in the opinion of the Chief, the grader is not needed to perform service for the commitment applicant. An applicant who terminates a commitment, and within 1 year after cancellation is granted a new commitment at his re quest, shall pay for the moving costs actually incurred by the Agricultural Marketing Service to cover the trans fer of the grader who will service the applicant’s new commitment. If more than one applicant is involved in the reapplication for a canceled meat grad ing and certification commitment re quiring the transfer of the grader, the moving costs will be prorated among the applicants according to each appli cant’s committed portion of the grad er’s services. However, the moving costs will be charged only to those ap plicants who were parties to the pre viously canceled commitment. An ap plicant may, for periods of 3 months or less, enter into an agreement by memo randum with the Agricultural Mar keting Service for the furnishing of service on a weekly basis. In the latter case, transfer of graders would not be involved and charges will be made in accordance with § 54.27. [42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, as amended at 47 FR 44704, Oct. 12, 1982; 79 FR 67321, Nov. 13, 2014] § 54.7 Order of furnishing service. Service under the regulations shall be furnished to applicants in the order in which requests therefor are received, insofar as consistent with good man agement, efficiency and economy. Precedence will be given, when nec essary, to requests made by any gov ernment agency or any regular user of the service, and to requests for appeal service under § 54.20. § 54.8 When request for service deemed made. A request for service under the regu lations shall be deemed to be made when received by an office of grading. Records showing the date and time of the request shall be made and kept in such office. However, in the case of the Carcass Data Service, the purchase of official USDA eartags shall constitute a request for such service and the req uisition form used to purchase the eartags shall be kept in the designated office of record. § 54.9 Withdrawal of application or re quest for service. An application or a request for serv ice under the regulations may be with drawn by the applicant at any time be fore the application is approved or prior to performance of service, upon payment, in accordance with §§ 54.27 VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 19 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.11 and 54.28, of any expenses already in curred by the Agricultural Marketing Service in connection therewith. § 54.10 Authority of agent. Proof of the authority of any person making an application or a request for service under the regulations on behalf of any other person may be required at the discretion of the Director or Chief or the official in charge of the office of grading or other employee receiving the application or request under § 54.6. § 54.11 Denial or withdrawal of serv ice. (a) For misconduct—(1) Bases for denial or withdrawal. An application or a re quest for service may be rejected, or the benefits of the service may be oth erwise denied to, or withdrawn from, any person who, or whose employee or agent in the scope of his employment or agency: (i) Has wilfully made any misrepre sentation or has committed any other fraudulent or deceptive practice in con nection with any application or request for service under the regulations; (ii) Has given or attempted to give, as a loan or for any other purpose, any money, favor, or other thing of value, to any employee of the Department au thorized to perform any function under the regulations; (iii) Has interfered with or ob structed, or attempted to interfere with or to obstruct, any employee of the Department in the performance of his duties under the regulations by in timidation, threats, assaults, abuse, or any other improper means; (iv) Has knowingly falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited any official certificate, memorandum, mark, or other identification, or device for making any such mark or identi fication; (v) Has knowingly uttered, published, or used as true any such falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited certificate, memorandum, mark, iden tification, or device; (vi) Has knowingly obtained or re tained possession of any such falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or coun terfeited certificate, memorandum, mark, identification, or device, or of any such official device, or of any prod uct bearing any such falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited mark or identification, or of any car cass or wholesale or retail cut bearing any designation specified in paragraph (a)(1)(vii) of this section which has not been federally graded or derived from a carcass graded as being of the indicated grade; (vii) Has applied the designation ‘‘Prime,’’ ‘‘Choice,’’ ‘‘Select,’’ ‘‘Good,’’ ‘‘Standard,’’ ‘‘Commercial,’’ ‘‘Utility,’’ ‘‘Cutter,’’ ‘‘Canner,’’ ‘‘Cull,’’ ‘‘Me dium,’’ ‘‘No. 1,’’ ‘‘No. 2,’’ ‘‘No. 3,’’ ‘‘No. 4,’’ ‘‘Yield Grade 1,’’ ‘‘Yield Grade 2,’’ ‘‘Yield Grade 3,’’ ‘‘Yield Grade 4,’’ or ‘‘Yield Grade 5’’ by stamp, or brand di rectly on any carcass, wholesale cut, or retail cut of any carcass, as part of a grade designation; (viii) Has applied to immediate con tainers or shipping containers of car casses, wholesale cuts, or retail cuts, grade designations specified in para graph (a)(1)(vii) of this section, when such carcasses, wholesale cuts, or re tail cuts contained therein have not been federally graded; (ix) Has knowingly used, moved, or otherwise altered, in any manner, meat or meat products identified by an offi cial product control device, mark, or other identification as specified in § 54.17, or has removed such official de vice, mark, or identification from the meat or meat products so identified without the express permission of an authorized representative of the USDA; or (x) Has in any manner not specified in this paragraph violated subsection 203(h) of the AMA: Provided, That para graph (a)(1)(vi) of this section shall not be deemed to be violated if the person in possession of any item mentioned therein notifies the Director or Chief without such delay that he has posses sion of such item and, in the case of an official device, surrenders it to the Chief, and, in the case of any other item, surrenders it to the Director or Chief or destroys it or brings it into compliance with the regulations by ob literating or removing the violative features under supervision of the Direc tor or Chief: And provided further, That paragraphs (a)(1) (ii) through (ix) of this section shall not be deemed to be violated by any act committed by any VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 20 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.12 person prior to the making of an appli cation of service under the regulations by the principal person. An application or a request for service may be rejected or the benefits of the service may be otherwise denied to, or withdrawn from, any person who operates an es tablishment for which he has made ap plication for service if, with the knowl edge of such operator, any other person conducting any operations in such es tablishment has committed any of the offenses specified in paragraphs (a)(1) (i) through (x) of this section after such application was made. Moreover, an ap plication or a request for service made in the name of a person otherwise eligi ble for service under the regulations may be rejected, or the benefits of the service may be otherwise denied to, or withdrawn from, such a person (A) in case the service is or would be per formed at an establishment operated (1) by a corporation, partnership, or other person from whom the benefits of the service are currently being with held under this paragraph, or (2) by a corporation, partnership, or other per son having an officer, director, partner, or substantial investor from whom the benefits of the service are currently being withheld and who has any au thority with respect to the establish ment where service is or would be per formed; or (B) in case the service is or would be performed with respect to any product in which any corporation, partnership, or other person within paragraph (a)(1)(x)(A)(1) of this section has a contract or other financial inter est. (2) Procedure. All cases arising under this paragraph shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Practice Governing Formal Adjudicatory Pro ceedings Instituted by the Secretary Under Various Statutes set forth in §§ 1.130 through 1.151 of this title and the Supplemental Rules of Practice in part 50 of this chapter. (b) For miscellaneous reasons. An ap plication or a request for service may be rejected, or the benefits of the serv ice may be otherwise denied to, or withdrawn from, any person, without a hearing by the official in charge of the appropriate office of grading, with the concurrence of the Director or Chief (1) for administrative reasons such as the nonavailability of personnel to perform the service; (2) for the failure to pay for service; (3) in case the application or request relates to products which are not eligible for service under § 54.5 or which are unclean or are in an unclean establishment; (4) for other noncompli ance with the conditions on which service is available as provided in the regulations, except matters covered by paragraph (a) of this section; or (5) in case the person is a partnership, cor poration, or other person from whom the benefits of the service are cur rently being withheld under paragraph (a) of this section. Notice of such de nial or withdrawal, and the reasons therefor, shall promptly be given to the person involved. (c) Filing of records. The final orders in formal proceedings under paragraph (a) of this section to deny or withdraw the service under the regulations (ex cept orders required for good cause to be held confidential and not cited as precedents) and other records in such proceedings (except those required for good cause to be held confidential) shall be filed with the Hearing Clerk and shall be available for inspection by persons having a proper interest there in. [42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, as amended at 50 FR 14366, Apr. 12, 1985; 52 FR 35683, Sept. 23, 1987; 60 FR 8464, Feb. 14, 1995] § 54.12 Financial interest of official grader. No official grader shall grade or de termine compliance of any products in which he or any of his relatives by blood or marriage is directly or indi rectly financially interested. § 54.13 Accessibility and refrigeration of products; access to establish ments. (a) The applicant shall cause prod ucts, with respect to which service is requested, to be made easily accessible for examination and to be so placed, with adequate illuminating facilities, as to disclose their class, grade, other quality, and compliance. Supervisors of grading and other employees of the De partment responsible for maintaining uniformity and accuracy of service under the regulations shall have access VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 21 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.14 to all parts of establishments covered by approved applications for service under the regulations, for the purpose of examining all products in the estab lishments which have been or are to be graded or examined for compliance with specifications or which bear any marks of grade or compliance. (b) Grading service will only be fur nished for meat that a USDA grader determines is chilled so that grade fac tors are developed to the extent that a proper grade determination can be made in accordance with the official standards. To be eligible for grading, beef carcasses must be ribbed at least 10 minutes prior to being offered for grading. Meat that is presented in a frozen condition shall not be eligible for a grade determination. Meat of all eligible species shall be graded only in the establishment where the animal was slaughtered or initially chilled (ex cept for veal and calf carcasses, which shall be graded only after the hide is removed and only in the establishment where such removal occurs). The Direc tor may grant prior approval for grad ing at a location other than the estab lishment of slaughter or initial chill upon notification to the Division if the Branch was unable to provide grading service in a timely manner and that the meat can be identified in conform ance with the standards. [42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 45 FR 51762, Aug. 5, 1980. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, as amended at 63 FR 72102, Dec. 31, 1998] § 54.14 Official certificates. (a) Agricultural Products Certificate Form LS–5–3 (Figure 1) is the official certificate for products under the regu lations. The official grader shall pre pare, sign, and issue an Agricultural Products Certificate Form LS–5–3 cov ering products for which that grader determined final specification compli ance. Where weight or count is verified, the grader shall initial in the block ti tled ‘‘Weights and Total Count Verified.’’ (b) Applicant Charges Certificate Form LS–5–5 (Figure 2) will be used to reduce paperwork for applicants as signed multiple graders. Assigned grad ers will complete one Form LS–5–5. Each grader will enter their code let ters and signature in the appropriate location(s) to indicate certificate com pletion. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 22 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.14 VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8006 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31 EC 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 0 < /G P H > lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 23 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.14 (c) Distribution. The original certifi cate, and not to exceed two copies, shall be delivered or mailed to the ap plicant or other person designated by him. The remaining copies shall be for warded as required by agency, division, and branch instructions. Additional copies will be furnished to any person VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31 EC 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 1 < /G P H > lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 24 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.15 financially interested in the products involved with the concurrence of the applicant and upon payment of fees, as provided in § 54.27. [42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, as amended at 51 FR 590, Jan. 7, 1986; 61 FR 11506, Mar. 21, 1996] § 54.15 Advance information con cerning service rendered. Upon request of any applicant, all or any part of the contents of any certifi cate issued to him under the regula tions, or other notification concerning the determination of class, grade, other quality, or compliance of products for such applicant may be transmitted by telegraph or telephone to him, or to any person designated by him, at his expense. § 54.16 Marking of products. All products for which class and grade under the standards are deter mined under the regulations, or the im mediate and shipping containers there of, shall be stamped, branded, or other wise marked with an appropriate offi cial identification: Provided, That ex cept as otherwise directed by the Chief, such marking will not be required when an applicant only desires official certificates. The marking of products, or their containers, as required by this section shall be done by official graders or under their immediate supervision. [42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, as amended at 63 FR 72102, Dec. 31, 1998] § 54.17 Official identifications. (a) A shield enclosing the letters ‘‘USDA’’ and code identification letters of the grader performing the service, as shown below, constitutes a form of offi cial identification under the regula tions for preliminary grade of car casses. (b) A shield enclosing the letters ‘‘USDA’’ as shown in Figure 1 with the appropriate quality grade designation ‘‘Prime,’’ ‘‘Choice,’’ ‘‘Select,’’ ‘‘Good,’’ ‘‘Standard,’’ ‘‘Commercial,’’ ‘‘Utility,’’ ‘‘Cutter,’’ ‘‘Canner,’’ or ‘‘Cull,’’ as pro vided in the official United States Standards for Grades of Beef, Veal and Calf, Lamb, Yearling Mutton, and Mut ton Carcasses and accompanied by the class designation ‘‘Bullock,’’ ‘‘Veal,’’ ‘‘Calf,’’ ‘‘Lamb,’’ ‘‘Yearling Mutton,’’ or ‘‘Mutton,’’ constitutes a form of of ficial identification under the regula tions to show the quality grade, and where necessary the class, undersaid standards, of steer, heifer, and cow beef, veal, calf, lamb, yearling mutton and mutton. The code identification letters of the grader performing the service will appear intermittently out side the shield. (c) A shield enclosing the letters ‘‘USDA’’ and the words ‘‘Yield Grade,’’ as in Figure 1, with the appropriate yield grade designation ‘‘1,’’ ‘‘2,’’ ‘‘3’’, ‘‘4,’’ or ‘‘5’’ as provided in the Official United States Standards for Grades of Fresh Beef Carcasses and the Official United States Standards for Grades of Lamb, Yearling Mutton, and Mutton Carcasses constitutes a form of official identification under the regulations to show the yield grade under said stand ards. When yield graded, bull and bul lock carcasses will be identified with the class designation ‘‘Bull’’ and ‘‘Bul lock,’’ respectively. The code identi fication letters of the grader per forming the service will appear outside the shield. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31 EC 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 2 < /G P H > E C 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 3 < /G P H > lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 25 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.17 (d) Under the regulations, for carcass grade identification purposes only, a shield enclosing the letters ‘‘USDA’’ with the appropriate yield grade des ignation number of ‘‘1,’’ ‘‘2,’’ ‘‘3,’’ ‘‘4,’’ or ‘‘5’’ between the ‘‘US’’ and ‘‘DA’’, with the appropriate quality grade des ignation of ‘‘Prime’’, ‘‘Choice,’’ or ‘‘Select,’’ below both as shown in Fig ure 1. The code identification letters for the grader performing the service will appear outside underneath the shield. (e) Under the regulations, for yield grade identification purposes only, a shield enclosing the letters ‘‘US’’ on one side and ‘‘DA’’ on the other, with the appropriate Yield Grade designa tion number ‘‘1,’’ ‘‘2,’’ ‘‘3,’’ ‘‘4,’’ or ‘‘5’’ as shown in Figure 1. The code identi fication letters for the grader per forming the service will appear outside underneath the shield. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31 ER 2 1 M R 9 6 .0 0 7 < /G P H > E R 2 1 M R 9 6 .0 0 8 < /G P H > lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 26 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.17 (f) Under the regulations, for quality grade identification only, a shield en closing the letters ‘‘US’’ on one side and ‘‘DA’’ on the other with the appro priate Quality Grade designation of ‘‘Prime,’’ ‘‘Choice,’’ or ‘‘Select’’ as shown in Figure 1. The code identifica tion letters for the grader performing the service will appear outside under neath the shield. (g) The letters ‘‘USDA’’ with the ap propriate grade designation ‘‘1,’’ ‘‘2,’’ ‘‘3,’’ ‘‘4,’’ ‘‘Utility,’’ or ‘‘Cull’’ enclosed in a shield as shown in Figure 1, as pro vided in the Official United States Standards for Grades of Pork Car casses, constitutes a form of official identification under the regulations to show the grade under said standards of barrow, gilt, and sow pork carcasses. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31 ER 2 1 M R 9 6 .0 0 9 < /G P H > E R 2 1 M R 9 6 .0 1 0 < /G P H > lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 27 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.17 (h) The following constitute forms of official identification under the regula tions to show compliance of products: NOTE: The letters ‘‘RWX’’, and ‘‘UF’’ shown in figures 1, and 2 are examples, respectively, of the code identification letters of the offi cial grader performing the service. (i) The following, as shown in Figure 1, constitutes official identification to show quality system certification: (j) A shield-shaped ear tag enclosing the letters ‘‘USDA’’, the words ‘‘Car cass Data Service,’’ as shown below (Figure 1), and a serial number con stitutes a form of official identification under the regulations for livestock and carcasses. Other information may ap pear on the backside of the ear tag at the option of the purchasers. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31 ER 2 1 M R 9 6 .0 1 1 < /G P H > E C 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 4 < /G P H > E C 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 5 < /G P H > E C 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 6 < /G P H > E C 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 7 < /G P H > lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 28 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.17 (k)(1) One device used by USDA grad ers is a rectangular, serially numbered, orange tag on which a shield encloses the letters ‘‘USDA’’ and the words ‘‘Product Control’’ as shown in Figure 1, constitutes a form of official identi fication under the regulations for meat and meat products. (2) Official graders and supervisors of grading may use ‘‘Product Control’’ tags or other methods and devices as approved by the Administrator for the identification and control of meat and meat products which are not in compli ance with the regulations or are held pending the results of an examination. Any such meat or meat product so identified shall not be used, moved, or VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31 EC 2 5 S E 9 1 .0 0 8 < /G P H > E R 2 1 M R 9 6 .0 1 5 < /G P H > lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 29 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.20 altered in any manner; nor shall offi cial control identification be removed, without the express permission of an authorized representative of the USDA. [42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 45 FR 51762, Aug. 5, 1980. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, as amended at 50 FR 14367, Apr. 12, 1985; 52 FR 35683, Sept. 23, 1987; 61 FR 11509, Mar. 21, 1996] § 54.18 Custody of identification de vices. (a) All identification devices used in marking products or the containers thereof under the regulations, includ ing those indicating compliance with specifications approved by the Chief, shall be kept in the custody of the Branch, and accurate records shall be kept by the Branch of all such devices. Each office of grading shall keep a record of the devices assigned to it. Such devices shall be distributed only to persons authorized by the Depart ment, who shall keep the devices in their possession or control at all times and maintain complete records of such devices. (b) Upon request, applicants shall provide a metal cabinet(s) or locker(s) for the secure storage of official meat grading equipment and identification devices for each Federal meat grader assigned to their establishment. Such cabinet(s) or locker(s) shall be capable of being locked with a special Govern ment-owned lock and shall be placed in an easily accessible and reasonably se cure location within the applicant’s es tablishment. APPEAL SERVICE § 54.19 What is appeal service; mark ing products on appeal; require ments for appeal; certain deter minations not appealable. (a) Appeal service is a redetermina tion of the class, grade, other quality, or compliance of product when the ap plicant for the appeal service formally challenges the correctness of the origi nal determination. Only a person who has title to, or is a party to a contract for the sale of, a product may request appeal service with respect to such product and if the original determina tion of class, grade, other quality or compliance is found on appeal to have been in error all incorrect marks of class, grade, other quality and compli ance will be removed from the product, and if the person having title to the product so requests, correct marks as determined on the appeal will be ap plied to the product. Examination re quested to determine the class, grade, other quality, or compliance of a prod uct which has been altered or has un dergone a material change since the original service, or examination of product requested for the purpose of obtaining an up-to-date certificate and not involving any question as to the correctness of the original service for the product involved shall be consid ered equivalent to original service and not appeal service. (b) Grade determinations cannot be appealed for any lot or product con sisting of less than 10 similar units. Moreover, appeal service will not be furnished with respect to product that has been altered or has undergone any material change since the original service. [42 FR 53921, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 45 FR 51762, Aug. 5, 1980. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981] § 54.20 Request for appeal service. Except as otherwise provided in § 54.19, a request for appeal service with respect to any product under the regu lations may be made by any person who is financially interested in the product when he disagrees with the de termination as to class, grade, other quality, or compliance of the product as shown by the markings on the prod uct or its containers, or as stated in the applicable certificate. A request for appeal service shall be filed with the Chief, directly or through the official grader who performed the original service or the official in charge of the office of grading to which such grader was assigned at the time of the service, or through the nearest office of grad ing. The request shall state the reasons therefor and may be accompanied by a copy of any previous certificate or re port, or any other information which the applicant may have received re garding the product at the time of the original service. Such request may be made orally (including by telephone) or in writing (including by telegram). If made orally, the person receiving the VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 30 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.21 request may require that it be con firmed in writing. Requests for appeal service received through an official grader or an office of grading shall be transmitted promptly to the Chief for instructions. § 54.21 When request for appeal serv ice may be withdrawn. A request for appeal service may be withdrawn by the applicant at any time before the appeal service has been performed, upon payment of any ex penses already incurred under the regu lations by the Branch in connection therewith. § 54.22 Denial or withdrawal of appeal service. A request for appeal service may be rejected or such service may be other wise denied to or withdrawn from any person, without a hearing, in accord ance with the procedure set forth in § 54.11(b), if it shall appear that the per son or product involved is not eligible for appeal service under § 54.19, or that the identity of the product has been lost; or for any of the causes set forth in § 54.11(b). Appeal service may also be denied to, or withdrawn from, any per son in any case under § 54.11(a), in ac cordance with the procedure set forth in said section. § 54.23 Who shall perform appeal serv ice. Appeal service for products shall be performed by official graders des ignated by the Chief or by the official in charge of an office of grading when so authorized by the Chief, and shall be conducted jointly by two official grad ers, or more when practicable. No offi cial grader shall perform appeal service for any product for which he previously performed the service. § 54.24 Appeal certificates. Immediately after appeal service has been performed for any products, a cer tificate designated as an ‘‘appeal cer tificate’’ shall be prepared, signed, and issued referring specifically to the original certificate and stating the class, grade, other quality, or compli ance of the products as shown by the appeal service. § 54.25 Superseded certificates. The appeal certificate shall supersede the original certificate which, there upon, shall become null and void and shall not thereafter be deemed to show the class, grade, other quality, or com pliance of the products described there in. However, the fees charged for the original service shall not be remitted. If the original and all copies of the su perseded certificate are not delivered to the official with whom the request for appeal service is filed, the official graders issuing the appeal certificate shall forward notice of such issuance and of the cancellation of the original certificate to such persons as they may deem necessary to prevent fraudulent use of the superseded certificate. § 54.26 Application of other regula tions to appeal service. The regulations in §§ 54.1 through 54.18 and §§ 54.27 through 54.30 shall apply to appeal service except insofar as they are manifestly inapplicable. CHARGES FOR SERVICE § 54.27 Fees and other charges for service. (a) Fees and other charges equal as nearly as may be to the cost of the services rendered shall be assessed and collected from applicants in accord ance with the following provisions un less otherwise provided in the coopera tive agreement under which the serv ices are furnished, or as provided in § 54.6. For each calendar year, AMS will calculate the rate for inspection, grad ing, or certification services, per hour per program employee using the fol lowing formulas: (1) Regular rate. The total AMS grad ing, inspection, or certification pro gram personnel direct pay divided by direct hours, which is then multiplied by the next year’s percentage of cost of living increase, plus the benefits rate, plus the operating rate, plus the allow ance for bad debt rate. If applicable, travel expenses may also be added to the cost of providing the service. (2) Overtime rate. The total AMS grad ing, inspection, or certification pro gram personnel direct pay divided by direct hours, which is then multiplied by the next year’s percentage of cost of VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 31 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.28 living increase and then multiplied by 1.5 plus the benefits rate, plus the oper ating rate, plus an allowance for bad debt. If applicable, travel expenses may also be added to the cost of providing the service. (3) Holiday rate. The total AMS grad ing, inspection, or certification pro gram personnel direct pay divided by direct hours which is then multiplied by the next year’s percentage of cost of living increase and then multiplied by 2, plus benefits rate, plus the operating rate, plus an allowance for bad debt. If applicable, travel expenses may also be added to the cost of providing the serv ice. (b)(1) For each calendar year, based on previous fiscal year/historical ac tual costs, AMS will calculate the ben efits, operating, and allowance for bad debt components of the regular, over time and holiday rates as follows: (i) Benefits rate. The total AMS grad ing, inspection, or certification pro gram direct benefits costs divided by the total hours (regular, overtime, and holiday) worked, which is then multi plied by the next calendar year’s per centage cost of living increase. Some examples of direct benefits are health insurance, retirement, life insurance, and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) retire ment basic and matching contribu tions. (ii) Operating rate. The total AMS grading, inspection, or certification program operating costs divided by total hours (regular, overtime, and hol iday) worked, which is then multiplied by the percentage of inflation. (iii) Allowance for bad debt rate. Total AMS grading, inspection, or certifi cation program allowance for bad debt divided by total hours (regular, over time, and holiday) worked. (2) The calendar year cost of living expenses and percentage of inflation factors used in the formulas in this sec tion are based on the most recent Of fice of Management and Budget’s Pres idential Economic Assumptions. (c) Fees for service on commitment basis. Minimum fees for service per formed under a commitment agree ment or an agreement by memorandum shall be on the basis of 8 hours per day, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal legal holidays occurring Mon day through Friday on which no grad ing and certification services are per formed. Fees will be based on the for mulas in this section. The Agency re serves the right under such a commit ment agreement or agreement by memorandum to use any grader as signed to the plant on a commitment basis to perform service for other ap plicants, as provided in § 54.6(c), cred iting the commitment applicant with the number of hours charged to the other applicant, provided the allowable credit hours plus hours actually worked for the applicants do not ex ceed 8 hours on any day, Monday through Friday, excluding legal holi days. (d) Fees for appeal service. Fees for ap peal service shall be determined on the basis of the time of two official graders required to render the service, includ ing the time required for the prepara tion of certificates and travel of such graders in connection with the per formance of the service. Provided, that when on appeal it is found that there was error in the original determination equal to or exceeding ten percent of the total number of similar units of the products involved, no charge will be made for the appeal service unless a special agreement therefor was made with the applicant in advance. (e) Fees for extra copies of certificates. In addition to copies of certificates fur nished under § 54.14, any financially in terested person may obtain not to ex ceed three copies of any such certifi cate within one year from its date of issuance upon payment of a fee, and not to exceed three copies of any such certificate at any time thereafter, while a copy of such certificate is on file in the Department. The fee for cop ies of certificates will be determined using the formulas in this section. [79 FR 67321, Nov. 13, 2014] § 54.28 Payment of fees and other charges. Fees and other charges for service shall be paid in accordance with the following provisions unless otherwise provided in the cooperative agreement under which the service is furnished. Upon receipt of billing for fees and other charges for service the applicant shall remit by check, draft, or money VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 32 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.29 order, made payable to the Agricul tural Marketing Service, USDA, pay ment for the service in accordance with directions on the billing, and such fees and charges shall be paid in advance if required by the official grader or other authorized official. MISCELLANEOUS § 54.29 Identification. All official graders and supervisors of grading shall have their Agricultural Marketing Service identification cards in their possession at all times while they are performing any function under the regulations and shall iden tify themselves by such cards upon re quest. § 54.30 Errors in service. When an official grader, supervisor of grading, or other responsible employee of the Branch has evidence of misgrading, or of incorrect certifi cation or other incorrect determina tion or identification as to the class, grade, other quality, or compliance of a product, he shall report the matter to his immediate supervisor. The super visor of grading will investigate the matter and, if he deems advisable, will report it to the owner or his agent. The supervisor of grading shall take appro priate action to correct errors found in the determination or identification of class, grade or other quality or compli ance of products if the products are still owned by the person who owned them when, and are still located at the establishment where, the incorrect service was rendered and if such service was rendered by a grader under the ju risdiction of such supervisor, and the supervisor of grading shall take ade quate measures to prevent the recur rence of such errors. § 54.31 Uniforms. All meat graders and their super visory personnel are required to wear clean, white, well-maintained outer frocks while performing any function under these regulations involving con tact with or the handling of any meat or meat product. [45 FR 19214, Mar. 25, 1980. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981] Subpart B [Reserved] Subpart C—Regulations Gov erning the Certification of Sanitary Design and Fabrica tion of Equipment Used in the Slaughter, Processing, and Packaging of Livestock and Poultry Products SOURCE: 66 FR 1198, Jan. 5, 2001, unless oth erwise noted. § 54.1001 Meaning of words. For the purposes of the regulations in this subpart, words in the singular form shall be deemed to impart the plural and vice versa, as the case may demand. § 54.1002 Terms defined. Act. The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.). Administrator. The Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), United States Department of Agriculture, or the representative to whom authority has been delegated to act in the stead of the Administrator. Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The Agricultural Marketing Service of the United States Department of Agri culture. Applicant. Any person who applies for service under the regulations in this subpart. Branch. The Dairy Grading Branch, Dairy Programs, Agricultural Mar keting Service. Chief. The Chief of the Dairy Grading Branch, Dairy Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, or the representa tive to whom authority has been dele gated to act in the stead of the Chief. Compliance. Conformity of a proc essing system, piece of processing equipment, or a utensil to identified standards. Department. The United States De partment of Agriculture. Deputy Administrator. The Deputy Ad ministrator of the Dairy Programs of the Agricultural Marketing Service or any officer or employee of the Dairy Programs to whom authority has here tofore been delegated, or to whom au thority may hereafter be delegated to VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 33 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.1004 act in the stead of the Deputy Adminis trator. Design Review Specialist. An employee of the Branch who determines and cer tifies or otherwise evaluates the com pliance of equipment or utensils under the regulations. Design Evaluation and Certification Service. The service established and conducted under the regulations for the evaluation and certification or other identification of the compliance of equipment or utensils used for the slaughter, processing or packaging of livestock and poultry products (Re ferred to hereinafter as ‘‘equipment’’ or ‘‘utensils’’) with sanitary specifica tions or standards. Fabricator. Commercial entity en gaged in the manufacture or assembly of equipment or utensils. Financially interested person. Any per son having a financial interest in the equipment or utensils involved, includ ing but not limited to the designer, fabricator, or user of the equipment or utensils. Legal Holiday. Those days designated as legal public holidays in Title 5, United States Code, section 6103(a). Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity, or Government agency. Processing. Cooking, baking, curing, heating, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, cut ting, fermenting, eviscerating, pre serving, dehydrating, freezing, or oth erwise manufacturing, and includes the packaging, canning, jarring, or other wise enclosing in a container. Program. The Dairy Programs of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Standards. The most recent version of standards for equipment and utensils formulated by the NSF/3–A Joint Com mittee on Food Processing Equipment (Referred to hereinafter as ‘‘NSF/3–A’’). The regulations. The regulations in this Subpart. § 54.1003 Designation of official certifi cates, memoranda, marks, and other identifications, for purposes of the Agricultural Marketing Act. Subsection 203(h) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended pro vides criminal penalties for various specified offenses relating to official certificates, memoranda, and marks or other identifications, issued or author ized under section 203 of said Act, and certain misrepresentations concerning the inspection or grading of agricul tural products under said section. For the purposes of said subsection and the provisions in this subpart, the terms listed in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section shall have the respective meanings specified: (a) ‘‘Official certificate’’ means any form of certification, either written or printed, used under the regulations to certify with respect to the evaluation, review, condition, or acceptance of equipment or utensils (including the compliance of equipment or utensils with applicable standards). (b) ‘‘Official memorandum’’ means any initial record of findings made by an authorized employee of the Dairy Grading Branch in the process of deter mining compliance, evaluating, or re viewing equipment or utensils pursu ant to the regulations, any processing or in plant-operation report made by an authorized Dairy Grading Branch employee in connection with deter mining compliance, evaluating, or re viewing equipment or utensils under the regulations, and any report made by an authorized employee of the Dairy Grading Branch of any other services performed pursuant to the regulations. (c) ‘‘Official mark’’ or ‘‘other official identification’’ means any form of mark or other identification, including those prescribed in § 54.1018; used under the regulations in marking any equip ment or utensils or displayed as an in dication that the equipment or utensils has been evaluated by AMS (including the compliance of the equipment or utensils with applicable standards). § 54.1004 Administration and imple mentation. The Administrator designates the ad ministration and implementation of the Certification of Sanitary Design and Fabrication of Equipment Used in the Processing of Livestock and Poul try Products service to the Dairy Grad ing Branch, Dairy Programs, Agricul tural Marketing Service. The Chief is charged with the administration, under the general supervision and direction of the Deputy Administrator, of the regulations and the Act insofar as they VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 34 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.1005 relate to equipment or utensils used to process livestock and poultry products. § 54.1005 Basis of service. (a) Certification of Sanitary Design and Fabrication of Equipment Used in the Slaughter, Processing, and Pack aging of Livestock and Poultry Prod ucts service shall be performed in ac cordance with the provisions of this subpart, the instructions and guide lines issued or approved by the Chief and the applicable standards developed by the NSF/3–A. (b) Copies of standards developed by NSF/3–A that AMS will inspect and certify to are available, for a nominal fee, from NSF International at www.nsf.org or contact Techstreet, 310 Miller Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48103; Phone (800) 699–9277. Copies of all other instructions and guidelines can be ob tained from, and copies of standards developed by NSF/3–A may be inspected at, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Dairy Programs, Dairy Grading Branch; Room 2746–S; 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250–6456. (c) All services provided in accord ance with the regulations shall be ren dered without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, polit ical beliefs, sexual orientation, or mar ital or family status. § 54.1006 Kind of service. Certification of Sanitary Design and Fabrication of Equipment Used in the Slaughter, Processing, and Packaging of Livestock and Poultry Products service under the regulations shall con sist of the evaluation, certification and/or identification, upon request by the applicant, of the adherence of the design and fabrication of equipment and utensils to sanitary principles and criteria under applicable standards identified in this subpart. Equipment or utensils having an identical design, materials of construction, and fabrica tion, except for scaling up or down in size, may be submitted for evaluation as a model line or series. Determina tion as to equipment or utensils com pliance with standards for materials of fabrication or method of fabrication may be based upon information re ceived from the fabricator. § 54.1007 Availability of service. Service under these regulations may be made available to the designers, fab ricators, users, or other interested per son or party, of the equipment or uten sils. Subject to the provisions of this subpart, services shall be performed only when a qualified design review specialist is available, and when the lo cation of the equipment or utensils, evaluation facilities and conditions, as determined by the Chief, are suitable for conducting such service. § 54.1008 How to obtain service. (a) Application. Any person may apply to the Chief for service under the regu lations with respect to equipment or utensils in which the applicant is fi nancially interested. The application shall be made on a form approved by the Chief. In any case in which the service is intended to be furnished at an establishment not operated by the applicant, the applicant shall be re sponsible for obtaining approval for accessability of the equipment or uten sil from the operator of such establish ment and such approval shall con stitute an authorization for any em ployees of the Department to enter the establishment for the purpose of per forming their functions under the regu lations. The application shall state: (1) The name and address of the es tablishment at which service is desired; (2) The name and post office address of the applicant; (3) Identification of the party that will be responsible for payment of all services rendered in response to the re quest; (4) The type of equipment or utensil presented for evaluation; (5) The date(s) on which service is re quested to be performed; and (6) The signature of the applicant (or the signature and title of the appli cant’s representative) and date of the request. (b) Notice of eligibility for service. The applicant for service will be notified whether the applicant’s application is approved. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 35 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.1014 § 54.1009 Order of furnishing service. Service under the regulations shall be furnished to applicants, insofar as practicable and subject to the avail ability of a qualified design review spe cialist, in the order in which requests therefor are received, insofar as con sistent with good management, effi ciency and economy. Precedence will be given, when necessary, to requests made by any government agency and to requests for appeal service under § 54.1021. § 54.1010 When request for service deemed made. A request for service under the regu lations shall be deemed to be made when received by the Branch. Records showing the date and time of the re quest shall be maintained. § 54.1011 Withdrawal of application or request for service. An application or a request for serv ice under the regulations may be with drawn by the applicant at any time be fore the application is approved or prior to performance of service. The applicant shall be responsible for pay ment, in accordance with § 54.1028 and § 54.1029, of any expenses already in curred by the Agricultural Marketing Service in connection therewith. § 54.1012 Authority of agent. Proof of the authority of any person making an application or a request for service under the regulations on behalf of any other person may be required at the discretion of the Deputy Adminis trator or Chief or other employee re ceiving the application or request under § 54.1008. § 54.1013 When an application may be rejected. (a) An application or a request for service may be denied by the design re view specialist, with the concurrence of the Deputy Administrator or Chief when: (1) For administrative reasons such as the non-availability of personnel to perform the service; (2) The application or request relates to equipment or utensils which are not eligible for service under § 54.1006; (3) The applicant fails to meet either the application requirements pre scribed in this subpart or the condi tions for receiving such service; (4) The equipment or utensil is owned by, or located on the premises of, a per son currently denied the benefits of the Act; (5) The applicant has substantial fi nancial ties to a person who is cur rently denied the benefits of the Act, or who has been adjudged, in an admin istrative or judicial proceeding, respon sible in any way for a current denial of benefits of the Act to any other person. (6) The applicant is currently denied services under the Act. (7) Any fees billed to the applicant are not paid within 30 days; or (8) The applicant has failed to comply with the Act or this subpart or with the instructions or guidelines issued hereunder. (b) The Chief shall provide notice to an applicant whose application is re jected, and shall explain the reason(s) for the rejection. If such notification is made verbally, written confirmation may be provided. § 54.1014 Accessibility of equipment and utensils; access to establish ments. (a) The applicant shall cause equip ment and utensils to be made easily ac cessible for examination and to be so placed, with adequate illumination to facilitate evaluation for compliance. The applicant shall furnish or make available any necessary tools; such as boroscope, profilometer, disassembly tools, ladders, radius gauges, and the like; necessary to complete the evalua tion. (b) Supervisors of USDA design re view specialists responsible for main taining uniformity and accuracy of service under the regulations shall have access to all parts of establish ments covered by approved applica tions for service under the regulations, for the purpose of examining all equip ment or utensils in the establishments which have been or are to be evaluated for compliance with standards or which bear any marks of compliance. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 36 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.1015 § 54.1015 Official reports, forms, and certificates. (a) Report. The design review spe cialist shall prepare, sign, and issue a narrative report covering the observa tions, comments and recommendations based on the evaluation for conform ance with standards of equipment and utensils as provided for in § 54.1005 and indicate the fees and other charges in curred for the services rendered. (b) Forms. Form DA–161 is the official certificate for equipment or utensils evaluated and is accepted under the regulations. Issuance of this certificate is optional at the request of the appli cant. (c) Distribution. The original report and official certificate (if requested) shall be delivered or mailed to the ap plicant or other persons designated by the applicant. Other copies shall be for warded as required by agency, pro gram, and branch instructions. Addi tional copies will be furnished to any person financially interested in the equipment or utensil involved with the concurrence of the applicant and upon payment of fees, as provided in § 54.1028 and § 54.1029. § 54.1016 Advance information con cerning service rendered. Upon request of any applicant, all or any part of the contents of any report issued to the applicant under the regu lations, or other notification con cerning the determination of compli ance of equipment or utensils for such applicant may be transmitted by fac simile transmission to the applicant, or to any person designated by the ap plicant at the applicant’s expense. § 54.1017 Authority to use official iden tification. The Chief may authorize an applicant or any persons designated by the appli cant to use the official identification symbol to mark equipment or utensils, or for display in descriptive or pro motional materials providing the equipment or utensils is evaluated pur suant to this subpart and found to be in compliance. § 54.1018 Form of official identification and approval for use. (a) The official identification symbol approved for use on equipment, uten sils, or descriptive or promotional ma terials shall appear in the form and de sign shown in Figure 1. (b) The official identification symbol on equipment or utensils shall be dis played by etching or the placement of a non-removable sticker located in close proximity to the equipment iden tification plate. (c) The official identification symbol is recommended to be at least 3⁄4 inch by 3⁄4 inch in size. Symbols which are smaller in size will be considered pro vided they are sufficiently large to be identifiable and legible. (d) The official identification symbol shall not be used in descriptive and promotional materials without prior approval by the Chief. The official identification symbol, if used, on the descriptive or promotional materials shall be printed as part of the text or format. (e) An applicant shall submit to the Chief of the Dairy Grading Branch, Dairy Programs, Agricultural Mar keting Service, U.S. Department of Ag riculture, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090–6456, an application, if one is not on file, requesting approval to use the official identification symbol on of ficially accepted equipment and in de scriptive or promotional materials. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 37 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.1019 § 54.1019 Renewal of acceptance cer tification. The manufacturer of any equipment or utensil which has been issued a re port or certification stating acceptance of compliance shall resubmit the de sign and fabrication details of any change in materials of construction, design, or fabrication which may im pair the cleanability or hygienic design of the equipment or utensil. If no change in materials of construction, design, or fabrication which may im pair the cleanability or hygienic design of the equipment or utensil has oc curred during the period of four years after the date of the most recent report stating acceptance of compliance or if no design or fabrication changes have been made, the applicant may submit a certificate of conformance signed by the chief engineering officer and the chief executive officer of the company stating that no design changes have been made to the specified equipment or utensil. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31 ER 0 5 JA 0 1 .0 0 0 < /G P H > lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 38 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.1020 § 54.1020 Appeal service; marking equipment or utensils on appeal; re quirements for appeal; certain de terminations not appealable. (a) Appeal service is a re-evaluation of the compliance of a piece of equip ment, portion of a piece of equipment, or utensil to design or fabrication cri teria according to the standards pre scribed by this subpart. (b) Only the original applicant or their representative may request ap peal service requesting a reevaluation of the original determination of the de sign and fabrication of the equipment or utensil for compliance with the standards specified in this subpart. (c) Appeal service will not be fur nished for: (1) A piece of equipment, portion of a piece of equipment, or utensil which has been altered or has undergone a material change since the original service. (2) For the purpose of obtaining an up-to-date report or certificate which does not involve a question as to the correctness of the original service for the piece of equipment, portion of a piece of equipment, or utensil. § 54.1021 Request for appeal service. (a) Except as otherwise provided in § 54.1020, an applicant or their rep resentative may request appeal service when the applicant or their representa tive disagree with the determination as to compliance with the standard of the piece of equipment, portion of a piece of equipment, or utensil as documented in the applicable report. (b) A request for appeal service shall be filed with the Chief, directly or through the design review specialist who performed the original service. The request shall state the reasons for the disagreement with the original de termination and may be accompanied by a copy of any previous certificate or report, or any other information which the applicant may have received re garding the piece of equipment, portion of a piece of equipment, or utensil at the time of the original service. Such request may be made orally (including by telephone) or in writing (including by facsimile transmission). If made orally, the Dairy Grading Branch em ployee receiving the request may re quire that it be confirmed in writing. § 54.1022 When request for appeal service may be withdrawn. A request for appeal service may be withdrawn by the applicant at any time before the appeal service has been performed, upon payment of any ex penses already incurred under the regu lations by the Branch in connection therewith. § 54.1023 Denial or withdrawal of ap peal service. A request for appeal service may be rejected or such service may be other wise denied to or withdrawn from any person in accordance with the proce dure set forth in § 54.1013(a), if it ap pears that the person or product in volved is not eligible for appeal service under § 54.1020, or that the identity of the piece of equipment, portion of a piece of equipment, or utensil has been lost; or for any of the causes set forth in § 54.1032. § 54.1024 Who shall perform appeal service. Appeal service for equipment or uten sils shall be performed by the Chief or a design review specialist designated by the Chief. No design review spe cialist may perform appeal service for any piece of equipment, portion of a piece of equipment or utensil for which the original design review specialist performed the initial evaluation serv ice. § 54.1025 Appeal reports. After appeal service has been per formed for any piece of equipment, por tion of a piece of equipment or uten sils, an official report shall be pre pared, signed, and issued referring spe cifically to the original report and stating the determination of the re evaluation of compliance of the piece of equipment, portion of a piece of equipment or utensil. § 54.1026 Superseded reports. The appeal report shall supersede the original report which, thereupon, shall become null and void for all or a por tion of the report pertaining to the ap peal service and shall not thereafter be VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 39 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 54.1032 deemed to show the compliance of the equipment or utensils described there in. However, the fees charged for the original service shall not be remitted to the applicant who filed the appeal. § 54.1027 Application of other regula tions to appeal service. The regulations in this subpart shall apply to appeal service except insofar as they are inapplicable. § 54.1028 Fees and other charges for service. Fees and other charges equal as near ly as may be to the cost of the services rendered shall be assessed and col lected from applicants in accordance with the provisions for Fees and Charges set forth in 7 CFR part 58, Sub part A, Regulations Governing the In spection and Grading Services of Manu factured or Processed Dairy Products, sections §§ 58.38, 58.39, 58.41, 58.42, and 58.43, as appropriate. § 54.1029 Payment of fees and other charges. Fees and other charges for service shall be paid upon receipt of billing for fees and other charges for service. The applicant shall remit by check, draft, or money order, made payable to the Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, payment for the service in ac cordance with directions on the billing, and such fees and charges shall be paid in advance if required by the official design review specialist or other au thorized official. § 54.1030 Identification. All official design review specialists and supervisors shall have their Agri cultural Marketing Service identifica tion cards in their possession at all times while they are performing any function under the regulations and shall identify themselves by such cards upon request. § 54.1031 Errors in service. When a design review specialist, su pervisor, or other responsible employee of the Branch has evidence of inac curate evaluation, or of incorrect cer tification or other incorrect deter mination or identification as to the compliance of a piece of equipment or utensil, such person shall report the matter to the Chief. The Chief will in vestigate the matter and, if deemed ad visable, will report any material errors to the owner or the owner’s agent. The Chief shall take appropriate action to correct errors found in the determina tion of compliance of equipment or utensils, and the Chief shall take ade quate measures to prevent the recur rence of such errors. § 54.1032 Denial or withdrawal of serv ice. (a)(1) Bases for denial or withdrawal. An application or a request for service may be rejected, or the benefits of the service may be otherwise denied to, or withdrawn from, any person who, or whose employee or agent in the scope of the person’s employment or agency: (i) Has wilfully made any misrepre sentation or has committed any other fraudulent or deceptive practice in con nection with any application or request for service under the regulations; (ii) Has given or attempted to give, as a loan or for any other purpose, any money, favor, or other thing of value, to any employee of the Department au thorized to perform any function under the regulations; (iii) Has interfered with or ob structed, or attempted to interfere with or to obstruct, any employee of the Department in the performance of duties under the regulations by intimi dation, threats, assaults, abuse, or any other improper means; (iv) Has knowingly falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited any official certificate, memorandum, mark, or other identification; (v) Has knowingly uttered, published, or used as true any such falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited certificate, memorandum, mark or identification; (vi) Has knowingly obtained or re tained possession of any such falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or coun terfeited certificate, memorandum, mark or identification, or of any equip ment or utensil bearing any such false ly made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited mark or identification; (vii) Has applied the designation ‘‘USDA Accepted Equipment’’, ‘‘AMS VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 40 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 54.1033 Accepted Equipment’’, ‘‘USDA Ap proved Equipment’’, ‘‘AMS Approved Equipment’’, ‘‘Approved By USDA’’, ‘‘Approved By AMS’’, ‘‘Accepted By USDA’’, ‘‘Accepted By AMS’’, ‘‘USDA Approved’’, ‘‘USDA Accepted’’, ‘‘AMS Approved’’, ‘‘AMS Accepted’’, or any other variation of wording which states or implies official sanction by the United States Department of Agri culture by stamp, or brand directly on any equipment or utensil, or used as part of any promotional materials which has not been inspected and deemed in compliance with this sub part; or, (viii) Has in any manner not specified in this paragraph violated subsection 203(h) of the AMA: Provided, That para graph (a)(1)(vi) of this section shall not be deemed to be violated if the person in possession of any item mentioned therein notifies the Deputy Adminis trator or Chief without such delay that such person has possession of such item and, in the case of an official identi fication, surrenders it to the Chief, and, in the case of any other item, sur renders it to the Deputy Administrator or Chief or destroys it or brings it into compliance with the regulations by ob literating or removing the violative features under supervision of the Dep uty Administrator or Chief: And pro vided further, That paragraphs (a)(1) (ii) through (vii) of this section shall not be deemed to be violated by any act committed by any person prior to the making of an application of service under the regulations by the principal person. An application or a request for service may be rejected or the benefits of the service may be otherwise denied to, or withdrawn from, any person who operates an establishment for which such person has made application for service if, with the knowledge of such operator, any other person conducting any operations in such establishment has committed any of the offenses specified in paragraphs (a)(1) (i) through (vii) of this section after such application was made. Moreover, an ap plication or a request for service made in the name of a person otherwise eligi ble for service under the regulations may be rejected, or the benefits of the service may be otherwise denied to, or withdrawn from, such a person: (A) In case the service is or would be performed at an establishment oper ated: (1) By a corporation, partnership, or other person from whom the benefits of the service are currently being with held under this paragraph; or (2) By a corporation, partnership, or other person having an officer, direc tor, partner, or substantial investor from whom the benefits of the service are currently being withheld and who has any authority with respect to the establishment where service is or would be performed; or (B) In case the service is or would be performed with respect to any product in which any corporation, partnership, or other person within paragraph (a)(1)(viii)(A)(1) of this section has a contract or other financial interest. (2) Procedure. All cases arising under this paragraph shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Practice Governing Formal Adjudicatory Pro ceedings Instituted by the Secretary Under Various Statutes set forth in 7 CFR §§ 1.130 through 1.151 and the Sup plemental Rules of Practice in part 50, 7 CFR § 50.1 et seq. (b) Filing of records. The final orders in formal proceedings under paragraph (a) of this section to deny or withdraw the service under the regulations (ex cept orders required for good cause to be held confidential and not cited as precedents) and other records in such proceedings (except those required for good cause to be held confidential) shall be filed with the Hearing Clerk and shall be available for inspection by persons having a proper interest there in. § 54.1033 Confidential treatment. Every design review specialist pro viding service under these regulations shall keep confidential all information secured and not disclose such informa tion to any person except an author ized representative of the Department. § 54.1034 OMB control numbers as signed pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The following control number has been assigned to the information col lection requirements in 7 CFR part 54, subpart C, by the Office of Management VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B 41 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA Pt. 56 and Budget pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chap ter 35). 7 CFR section where requirements are described Current OMB control No. 54.1008(a) ......................................................... 0581–0126 54.1017 .............................................................. 0581–0126 54.1018(e) ......................................................... 0581–0126 54.1019 .............................................................. 0581–0126 54.1020 .............................................................. 0581–0126 54.1021 .............................................................. 0581–0126 PART 56—VOLUNTARY GRADING OF SHELL EGGS Subpart A—Grading of Shell Eggs DEFINITIONS Sec. 56.1 Meaning of words and terms defined. 56.2 Designation of official certificates, memoranda, marks, other identifica tions, and devices for purposes of the Ag ricultural Marketing Act. GENERAL 56.3 Administration. 56.4 Basis of grading service. 56.5 Accessibility of product. 56.6 Supervision. 56.7 Nondiscrimination. 56.8 Other applicable regulations. 56.9 OMB control number. LICENSED AND AUTHORIZED GRADERS 56.10 Who may be licensed and authorized. 56.11 Financial interest of graders. 56.12 Suspension of license; revocation. 56.13 Cancellation of license. 56.14 Surrender of license. 56.15 Political activity. 56.16 Identification. 56.17 Equipment and facilities for graders. 56.18 Schedule of operation of official plants. 56.19 Prerequisites to grading. APPLICATION FOR GRADING SERVICE 56.20 Who may obtain grading service. 56.21 How application for service may be made; conditions of service. 56.22 Filing of application. 56.23 Form of application. 56.24 Rejection of application. 56.25 Withdrawal of application. 56.26 Authority of applicant. 56.27 Order of service. 56.28 Types of service. 56.29 Suspension or withdrawal of plant ap proval for correctable cause. 56.30 Application for grading service in offi cial plants; approval. REPORTS 56.31 Report of grading work. 56.32 Information to be furnished to grad ers. 56.33 Report of violations IDENTIFYING AND MARKING PRODUCTS 56.35 Authority to use, and approval of offi cial identification. 56.36 Form of grademark and information required. 56.37 Lot marking of officially identified shell eggs. 56.38 Retention authorities. PREREQUISITES TO PACKAGING SHELL EGGS IDENTIFIED WITH GRADEMARKS 56.39 Quality assurance inspector required. 56.40 Grading requirements of shell eggs identified with grademarks. 56.41 Check grading officially identified product. 56.42–56.43 [Reserved] FEES AND CHARGES 56.45 Payment of fees and charges. 56.46 On a fee basis. 56.47 Fees for appeal grading or review of a grader’s decision. 56.49 Travel expenses and other charges. 56.52 Charges for continuous grading per formed on a resident basis. 56.53 Fees or charges for grading service performed under cooperative agreement. 56.54 Charges for continuous grading per formed on a nonresident basis. GRADING CERTIFICATES 56.55 Forms. 56.56 Issuance. 56.57 Disposition. 56.58 Advance information. APPEAL OF A GRADING OR DECISION 56.60 Who may request an appeal grading or review of a grader’s decision. 56.61 Where to file an appeal. 56.62 How to file an appeal. 56.63 When an application for an appeal grading may be refused. 56.64 Who shall perform the appeal. 56.65 Procedures for appeal gradings. 56.66 Appeal grading certificates. DENIAL OF SERVICE 56.68 Debarment. 56.69 Misrepresentation, deceptive, or fraud ulent act or practice. 56.70 Use of facsimile forms. 56.71 Willful violation of the regulations. 56.72 Interfering with a grader or employee of the AMS. 56.73 Misleading labeling. 56.74 Miscellaneous. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V3.TXT 31lp o w e ll o n D S K 5 4 D X V N 1 O F R w ith $ $ JO B