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(d) The fee to be charged for an appeal grading, inspection, or laboratory analysis appeal, shall be based on the hourly rates as specified in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section. If the result of an appeal condition inspection discloses that a material error was made in the original inspection, no fee will be charged.

(e) A fee shall be charged for the appeal under § 55.410 (a) of a grader's or inspector's decision when (1) special travel was necessary to perform the appeal review, and (2) the grader's or inspector's decision was upheld on the appeal. In such cases, the fee shall be based on the hourly rates as specified in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section.

[36 FR 11795, June 19, 1971, as amended at 40 FR 49783, Oct. 24, 1975]

855.520 Fees for additional copies of certificates.

Additional copies of any certificates, other than those provided for in § 55.380, may be supplied to any interested party upon payment of a fee of $2 for each set of five or fewer copies.

§ 55.530 Travel expenses and other charges.

Charges are to be made to cover the cost of travel and other expenses incurred by the Department in connection with rendering grading service. Such charges shall include the costs of transportation, per diem, shipping containers, postage, and any other expenses. Expenses are to be charged on an appeal certificate regardless of the grading results. Ten percent of the total expenses shall be added to cover administrative costs of the Department. The minimum expense charge shall be $0.50 per certificate.

§ 55.550 Laboratory analysis fees.

(a) The fees listed for the following individual laboratory analyses cover costs involved in the preparation and analysis of the product, certificate issuance, and personnel and overhead costs other than the expenses listed in § 55.530:

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(b) The fee charge for any laboratory analysis not listed in paragraph (a) of this section, or for any other applicable services rendered in the laboratory shall be based on the time required to perform such analysis or render such service. The hourly rate shall be $15.40.

[40 FR 49783, Oct. 24, 1975] § 55.560

Charges for continuous inspection and grading service on a resident basis.

Fees to be charged and collected for service on a resident basis shall be those provided in this section. The fees to be charged for any appeal grading or inspection shall be as provided in § 55.510.

(a) Charges. The charges for the service shall be paid by the applicant and shall include items listed in this section as are applicable. Payment for the full cost of the service rendered to the applicant shall be made by the applicant to the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Such full costs shall comprise such of the items listed in this section as are due and inIcluded in the bill or bills covering the period or periods during which the grading and inspection service was rendered. Bills will be rendered by the 10th day following the end of the billing period in which the service was rendered and are payable upon receipt.

(1) An inauguration charge of $200 will be made at the time an application for service is signed except when the application is required because of a change in name or ownership. If service is not installed within 6 months from the date the application is filed, or if service is in

active due to an approved request for removal of a grader(s) or inspector(s) for a period of 6 months, the application will be considered terminated, but a new application may be filed at any time. In addition, there will be a charge of $300 if the application is terminated at the request of the applicant for reasons other than for a change in location, within 12 months from the date of the inauguration of service.

(2) A charge to cover the actual cost to AMS for the travel (including the cost of movement of household goods and dependents) and per diem with respect to each grader or inspector who is transferred from an official station to the designated headquarters when service is inaugurated.

(3) A charge for the salary and other costs, as specified in this subparagraph, for each grader or inspector while assigned to a plant, except that no charge will be made when the assigned grader or inspector is temporarily reassigned by AMS to perform grading or inspection service for other than the applicant. Base salary rates will be determined on a national average for all official plants operating in States under a Federal Trust Fund Agreement where Federal graders or a combination of Federal and State graders are used, by averaging the salary rates paid to each full-time Federal or State grader assigned to such plants. There will be two base salary rates-one for grading or inspection service performed at the GS-7 level, and one for grading or inspection service performed at the GS-9 level. Charges to plants are as follows:

(i) For all regular hours of work scheduled and approved as an established tour of duty for a plant, the regular rate charge will be made. The regular rate charge will be determined by adding an amount to the base salary rate to cover the costs to AMS for such items as the Employer's Tax imposed under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.) for Old Age and Survivor's Benefits under the Social Security System, retirement benefits, groups life insurance, severance pay, sick leave, annual leave, additional salary and travel costs for relief grading service, accident payments, certain moving costs, and related servicing costs.

(ii) All hours worked by an assigned grader or inspector or another grader or inspector in excess of the approved tour of duty, or worked on a nonscheduled workday, or actually worked on a holiday

in excess of the tour of duty, will be considered as overtime. The charge for such overtime will be 150 percent of the grader's or inspector's base salary rate plus an added 10 percent for administrative overhead charges.

(iii) For work performed on a holiday which is within the established tour of duty approved for a plant, the added charge will be the same as the grader's or inspector's base rate plus an added 10 percent for administrative overhead

charges.

(iv) For work performed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., night differential charges (for regular, overtime, or holiday hours worked during this period) will be at the applicable rates established plus 10 percent of the base rate.

(v) For all hours of work performed in a plant without an approved tour of duty, the charge will be one of the applicable hourly rates in § 55.510.

(vi) For work performed by an employee of another Federal agency on a part-time basis for the Poultry Division, AMS, the charge will be the established hourly rate agreed to between the two agencies for cross-utilized employees.

(4) An administrative overhead charge of 10 percent for all charges made to the applicant for expenses incurred by each grader or inspector assigned while performing service at the applicant's request.

(5) An administrative service charge equal to 25 percent of the grader's or inspector's total salary costs. A minimum charge of $80 will be made each billing period.

(b) Other provisions. (1) The applicant shall designate in writing the employees of the applicant who will be required and authorized to furnish each grader or inspector with such information as may be necessary for the performance of the service.

(2) AMS will provide, as available, an adequate number of graders or inspectors to perform the service. The number of graders or inspectors required will be determined by AMS based on the expected demand for service.

(3) The service shall be provided at designated locations and shall be continued until the service is suspended, withdrawn, or terminated by:

(i) Mutual consent;

(ii) Thirty (30) days' written notice, by either the applicant or AMS specifying the date of suspension, withdrawal, or termination;

(iii) One (1) day's written notice by AMS to the applicant if the applicant fails to honor any invoice within thirty (30) days after date of invoice covering the cost of the grading and inspection service; or

(iv) Termination of the service pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (v) of this subparagraph;

(v) Grading and inspection service shall be terminated by AMS, acting pursuant to any applicable laws, rules, and regulations, debars the applicant from receiving any further benefits of the service.

(4) Graders or inspectors will be required to confine their activities to those duties necessary in the rendering of service and such closely related activities as may be approved by the Administrator.

(5) When similar services are furnished to the same applicant under Part 56 or Part 70 of this chapter, the charges listed in this section shall not be repeated.

[36 FR 11795, June 19, 1971, as amended at 37 FR 9458, May 11, 1972; 37 FR 12918, June 30, 1972; 38 FR 35228, Dec. 26, 1973; 40 FR 49784, Oct. 24, 1975]

§ 55.570 Fees for service performed under cooperative agreement.

The fees to be charged and collected for any service performed under cooperative agreement shall be those provided for by such agreement.

SANITARY AND PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS § 55.600

General.

Except as otherwise approved by the Administrator, the sanitary, processing, and facility requirements, as applicable, shall be the same for the product processed under this part as for egg products processed under §§ 59.500 through 59.580 (c) of this chapter and § 55.650. § 55.650 Inspection and grading.

Examinations of the ingredients, processing, and the product shall be made to assure the production of a wholesome, unadulterated, and properly labeled product. Such examinations include, but are not being limited to:

(a) Sanitation checks of plant premises, facilities, equipment, and processing operations.

(b) Checks on ingredients and additives used in products to assure that they are not adulterated, are fit for use as human food, and are stored, handled, and used in a sanitary manner.

(c) Examination of the eggs or egg products used in the products to assure they are wholesome, not adulterated, and comply with the temperature, pasteurization, or other applicable requirements.

(d) Inspection during the processing and production of the product to determine compliance with any applicable standard or specification for such product.

(e) Examination during processing of the product to assure compliance with approved formulas and labeling.

(f) Test weighing and organoleptic examinations of finished product. Subpart B-Official U.S. Standards for Palatability Scores for Dried Whole Eggs

$ 55.800 Preparation of samples for palatability test.

Reconstitute 33 grams of dried whole egg powder as completely as possible with 90 grams of distilled water in a suitable, clean container. Add the water and mix until the mixture is smooth and free from lumps. Place the container in gently boiling water and stir the mixture while coagulation takes place. When coagulated to the consistency of scrambled eggs, the sample is ready for the palatability test.

§ 55.820 Palatability scores for dried whole eggs.

The palatibility score of the prepared sample shall be determined by a panel of officially qualified graders of dried eggs of the Agricultural Marketing Service, and shall be rated in accordance with the following table:

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56.230 Grade. 56.231

Summary of grade. 56.232 Weight classes. 56.234 Packaging material.

AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 56 issued under sec. 205, 60 Stat. 1090, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 1624.

NOTE: Nomenclature changes to Part 56 appear at 37 F.R. 8059, Apr. 25, 1972.

Subpart A-Grading of Shell Eggs DEFINITIONS

§ 56.1 Meaning of words and terms defined.

For the purpose of the regulations in this part, words in the singular shall be deemed to import the plural and vice versa, as the case may demand, and unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, as follows:

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

"Administrator" means the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service of the Department or any other officer or employee of the Department to

whom there has heretofore been delegated, or to whom there may hereafter be delegated the authority to act in his stead.

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

"Cage mark" means any stain-type mark caused by an egg coming in contact with a material that imparts a rusty or blackish appearance to the shell.

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

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

"Condition" means any condition (including, but not being limited to, the state of preservation, cleanliness, soundness, wholesomeness, or fitness for human food) of any product which affects its merchantability.

"Department" means the United States Department of Agriculture.

"Eggs of current production" means shell eggs which have moved through usual marketing channels since the time they were laid and have not been held in refrigerated storage in excess of 30 days. "Refrigerator or storage eggs" means shell eggs which have been held under refrigeration for a period of more than 30 days.

"Grader" means any employee of the Department authorized by the Secretary, or any other person to whom a license has been issued by the Secretary, to investigate and certify, in accordance with the act and this part, to shippers of products and other interested parties the class, quality, quantity, and condition of such products.

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

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