Livestock (Grading, Certification, and Standards) (7 CFR 53.1-53.21)

7 SUBCHAPTER C—REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS UNDER THE AGRICULTURAL MARKETING ACT OF 1946 AND THE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT (CONTINUED) PART 53—LIVESTOCK (GRADING, CERTIFICATION, AND STANDARDS) Subpart A—Regulations DEFINITIONS Sec. 53.1 Meaning of words. 53.2 Designation of official certificates, memoranda, marks, other identifica tions, for purposes of the Agricultural Marketing Act. ADMINISTRATION 53.3 Authority. SERVICE 53.4 Kind of service. 53.5 Availability of service. 53.8 How to obtain service. 53.9 Order of furnishing service. 53.10 When request for service deemed made. 53.11 Withdrawal of application or request for service. 53.12 Authority of agent. 53.13 Denial or withdrawal of service. 53.14 Financial interest of official grader. 53.15 Accessibility to livestock. 53.16 Official certificates. 53.17 Advance information concerning serv ice rendered. CHARGES FOR SERVICE 53.18 Fees and other charges for service. 53.19 Payment of fees and other charges. MISCELLANEOUS 53.20 Identification. 53.21 Errors in service. Subpart B [Reserved] AUTHORITY: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627. SOURCE: 42 FR 53902, Oct. 4, 1977, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—Regulations DEFINITIONS § 53.1 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: Acceptance service. The service estab lished and conducted under the regula tions for the determination and certifi cation or other identification of the compliance of livestock with specifica tions. Act. The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (Title II of the act of Congress approved August 14, 1946, 60 Stat. 1087, as amended by Pub. L. 272, 84th Cong., 69 Stat. 553, 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627). 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. Applicant. Any person who has ap plied for service under the regulations. Branch. The Livestock Market News Branch of the Division. 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 livestock based on essential physical character istics that differentiate between major groups of the same kind of species. Compliance. Conformity of livestock to the specifications under which the livestock was purchased or sold, with particular reference to the weight, quality or other characterics of live stock. 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. VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00017 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 8 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 53.2 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. Livestock, Poultry, Grain and Seed Division. Financially interested person. Any per son having a financial interest in the livestock involved, including but not limited to the shipper, receiver, pro ducer, seller, buyer, or carrier of the livestock or products. Grade. (1) As a noun, this term means an important commercial subdivision of livestock based on certain definite and preference determining factors, such as, but not limited to, conforma tion, finish, and muscling in livestock. (2) As a verb, this term means to de termine the class, grade, or other qual ity of livestock according to applicable standards for such livestock. 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 live stock under standards. Legal holiday. Those days designated as legal public holidays in title 5, United States Code, section 6103(a). Livestock. Cattle, sheep, swine, or goats. 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 livestock under the regulations. Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity, or Government agency. Regulations. The regulations in this subpart. Service. Grading service or acceptance service. Specifications. Description with re spect to the class, grade, other quality, quantity or condition of livestock 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. An official person des ignated by the Director or Chief to su pervise and maintain uniformity and accuracy of service under the regula tions. [42 FR 53902, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 63 FR 72101, Dec. 31, 1998] § 53.2 Designation of official certifi cates, memoranda, marks, other identifications, for purposes 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, including that prescribed in § 53.16, used under the regulations to certify with respect to the inspection, class, grade, quality, size, quantity, or condi tion of livestock with applicable speci fications. (b) Official memorandum means any initial record of findings made by an authorized person in the process of grading, determining compliance, or inspecting, pursuant to the regula tions, any processing or plant-oper ation report made by an authorized person in connection with grading, de termining 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, used under the regulations in marking livestock thereof, to show inspection, class, VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00018 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 9 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 53.12 grade, quality, size, quantity, or condi tion of the livestock (including the compliance of livestock with applicable specifications), or to maintain the identity of livestock for which service is provided under the regulations. ADMINISTRATION § 53.3 Authority. The Director is charged with the ad ministration of the regulations and the Act insofar as they relate to livestock. SERVICE § 53.4 Kind of service. 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 livestock under applicable standards. Class, grade and other quality may be determined under said standards for livestock. Acceptance service under the regulations shall consist of the de termination of the conformity of live stock to specifications approved by the Director or Chief and the certification and other identification of such live stock in accordance with specifica tions, upon request by the applicant. [42 FR 53902, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 63 FR 72101, Dec. 31, 1998] § 53.5 Availability of service. Service under these regulations may be made available with respect to live stock shipped or received in interstate commerce, and with respect to the livestock not so shipped or received if the Director or Chief determines that the furnishing of service for such live stock 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. § 53.8 How to obtain service. (a) Application. Any person may apply to the Director or Chief for service under the regulations with respect to livestock in which the applicant is fi nancially interested. The application shall be made on a form approved by the Director. (b) Notice of eligibility for service. The applicant for service will be notified whether his application 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 livestock for which the service is to be furnished under such application. Such requests shall be made at a market news office either directly or through any em ployee of the Agricultural Marketing Service who may be designated for such purposes. § 53.9 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. § 53.10 When request for service deemed made. A request for service under the regu lations shall be deemed to be made when received by a market news office. Records showing the date and time of the request shall be made and kept in such office. § 53.11 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, upon payment, in accordance with §§ 53.18 and 53.19, of any expenses already in curred by the Agricultural Marketing Service in connection therewith. § 53.12 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 VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00019 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 10 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 53.13 or the official in charge of the market news office or other employee receiving the application or request under § 53.8. § 53.13 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 willfully made any misrepresentation or has committed any other fraudulent or deceptive prac tice in connection with any application or request for service under the regula tions; (ii) has given or attempted to give, as a loan or for any other pur pose, any money, favor, or other thing of value, to any employee of the De partment authorized to perform any function under the regulations; (iii) has interfered with or obstructed, or at tempted to interfere with or to ob struct, any employee of the Depart ment in the performance of his duties under the regulations by intimidation, 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 identi fication; (v) has knowingly uttered, published, or used as true any such falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited certificate, memo randum, mark, identification, or de vice; (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 livestock bearing any such falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or coun terfeited mark or identification; or (vii) has in any manner not specified in this paragraph violated subsection 203(h) of the Act: 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 delay that he has possession of such item and, surrenders it to the Di rector or Chief or destroys it or brings it into compliance with the regulations by obliterating or removing the viola tive features under supervision of the Director or Chief: And provided, further, That paragraph (a)(1)(ii) through (vi) of this section shall not be deemed to be violated by any act committed by any person prior to the making of an appli cation for service under the regulations by the principal person. An application or a request for service may be re jected, or the benefits of the service may be otherwise denied to, or with drawn from, any person who, or whose employee or agent in the scope of his employment or agency, has committed any of the offenses specified in para graph (a)(1) (i) through (vii) of this sec tion after such application was made. Moreover, an application or a request for service made in the name of a per son otherwise eligible for service under the regulations may be rejected, or the benefits of the service may be other wise denied to, or withdrawn from, such a person (a) in case the service is or would be performed at an establish ment operated (1) by a corporation, partnership, or other person from whom the benefits of the service are currently being withheld under this paragraph, or (2) by a corporation, partnership, or other person having an officer, director, partner, or substan tial investor from whom the benefits of the service are currently being with held 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 per formed with respect to any livestock in which any corporation, partnership, or other person within paragraph (a)(1)(vii)(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 §§ 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 market news office with VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00020 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 11 Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA § 53.18 the concurrence of the Director or Chief: (1) For administrative reasons such as the nonavailability of per sonnel to perform the service; (2) for the failure to pay for service; (3) for other noncompliance with the condi tions on which service is available as provided in the regulations, except matters covered by paragraph (a) of this section; or (4) in case the person is a partnership, corporation, or other person from whom the benefits of the service are currently being withheld under paragraph (a) of this section. No tice of such denial 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 53902, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 60 FR 8464, Feb. 14, 1995] § 53.14 Financial interest of official grader. No official grader shall grade or de termine compliance of any livestock in which he or any of his relatives by blood or marriage is directly or indi rectly financially interested. § 53.15 Accessibility to livestock. (a) The applicant shall cause live stock, 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 and other employees of the Department responsible for maintaining uniformity and accuracy of service under the regu lations shall have access to all parts of establishments covered by approved ap plications for service under the regula tions, for the purpose of examining all livestock in the establishments which have been or are to be graded or exam ined for compliance with specifica tions. (b) [Reserved] § 53.16 Official certificates. (a) Required; exception. The official grader shall prepare, sign, and issue a livestock acceptance certificate cov ering livestock for which compliance has been determined. (b) Where weight is certified, the word ‘‘Not’’ shall be deleted from the phrases ‘‘Weights Not Verified.’’ (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 financially interested in livestock in volved with the concurrence of the ap plicant and upon payment of fees, as provided in § 53.18(d). § 53.17 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 livestock for such applicant may be transmitted by telegraph or telephone to him, or to any person designated by him, at his expense. CHARGES FOR SERVICE § 53.18 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 following provisions unless otherwise provided in the cooperative agreement under which the services are furnished, or as provided in § 53.8. (a) Fees based on hourly rates. Except as otherwise provided in this section, fees for service shall be based on the time required to render the service, calculated to the nearest 15-minute pe riod, including time required for the preparation of certificates and travel of the official grader in connection VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00021 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 12 7 CFR Ch. I (1–1–17 Edition) § 53.19 with the performance of service. A minimum charge for 1 hour shall be made for service pursuant to each re quest notwithstanding that the time required to perform service may be less than 60 minutes. The base hourly rate shall be $29.40 per hour for work per formed between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on legal holidays; $32.80 per hour for work performed before 6 a.m. or after 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and any time Saturday or Sunday except on legal holidays; and $58.80 per hour for all work performed on legal holidays. (b) Travel charges. When service is re quested at a place so distant from an official grader’s headquarters, or place of prior assignment on a circuitous routing that a total of one-half hour or more is required for the grader to trav el to such place and back to the head quarters, or to the next place of assign ment on a circuitous routing, the charge for such service shall include a mileage charge administratively deter mined by the Chief, and travel tolls, if applicable, for such travel prorated against all the applicants furnished the service involved on an equitable basis, or where the travel is made by public transportation (including hired vehi cle), a fee equal to the actual cost thereof. However, the applicant will not be charged a new mileage rate without notification before the service is rendered. (c) Per diem charges. When service is requested at a place away from the of ficial grader’s headquarters, the fee for such service shall include a per diem charge if the employee performing the service is paid per diem in accordance with existing travel regulations. Per diem charges to applicants will cover the same period of time for which the grader receives per diem reimburse ment. The per diem rate will be admin istratively determined by the Chief. However, the applicant will not be charged a new per diem rate without notification before the service is ren dered. (d) Fees for extra copies of certificates. In addition to copies of certificates fur nished under § 53.16, any financially in terested person may obtain not to ex ceed three copies of any such certifi cate within 1 year from its date of issuance upon payment of a fee of $1.00, 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, upon payment of a fee of $5.00. (e) Other charges. When costs, other than costs specified in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section, are in volved in providing the services, the applicant will be charged for these costs. The amount of these charges will be determined administratively by the Chief. However, the applicant will not be charged for such cost without notifi cation before the service is rendered of the charge for such item of expense. [42 FR 53902, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 47 FR 54927, Dec. 7, 1982; 48 FR 16874, Apr. 20, 1983] § 53.19 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 order, made payable to the Agricul tural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A., payment for the service in accordance with directions on the billing, and such fees and charges shall be paid in ad vance if required by the official grader or other authorized official. MISCELLANEOUS § 53.20 Identification. All official graders and supervisors shall have their Agricultural Mar keting Service identification cards in their possession at all times while they are performing any function under the regulations and shall identify them selves by such cards upon request. § 53.21 Errors in service. When an official grader, supervisor, or other responsible employee of the Branch has evidence of misgrading, or of incorrect certification or other in correct determination or identification as to the class, grade, other quality, or compliance of livestock, he shall report the matter to his immediate super visor. The supervisor will investigate VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:17 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 241014 PO 00000 Frm 00022 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 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