Code of Federal Regulations: Containing a Codification of Documents of ...

§ 56.26 Authority of applicant.

Proof of the authority of any person applying for any grading service may be required at the discretion of the Administrator.

[20 F.R. 671, Feb. 1, 1955]

§ 56.27 Order of service.

Grading service shall be performed, insofar as practicable, in the order in which applications therefor are made except that precedence may be given to any application for an appeal grading. The service shall not be liable in damages accruing through acts of commission or omission in the administration of this part.

[20 F.R. 671, Feb. 1, 1955; 20 F.R. 757, Feb. 4, 1955]

(a) The following acts or practices or the causing thereof may be deemed sufficient cause for the debarment by the Administrator, of any person, including any agents, officers, subsidiaries or affiliates of such person, from all benefits of the act for a specific period. The rules of practice governing withdrawal of grading services set forth in Part 50 of this chapter shall be applicable to such debarment action.

(1) Misrepresentation, deceptive, or fraudulent act or practice. Any wilful misrepresentation or any deceptive or fraudulent act or practice found to be made or committed by any person in connection with:

(1) The making or filing of an application for any grading service, sampling service, or appeal service;

(ii) The making of the product accessible for sampling or grading;

(iii) The making, issuing or using or attempting to issue or use any grading

certificate, symbol, stamp, label, seal, or identification authorized pursuant to the regulations in this part;

(iv) The use of the terms "United States" or "U.S." in conjunction with the grade of the product;

(v) The use of any of the aforesaid terms or any official stamp, symbol, label, seal, or identification in the labeling or advertising of any product; or

(vi) The use of the terms "Government Grader," "Federal-State Graded" or terms of similar import in the labeling or advertising of any product.

(2) Use of facsimile forms. Using or attempting to use a form which simulates in whole or in part any certificate, symbol, stamp, label, seal or identification authorized to be issued or used under the regulations in this part.

(3) Willful violation of the regulations. Any willful violation of the regulations in this part or the act.

(4) Interfering with a grader or employee of the Service. Any interference with or obstruction or any attempted interference or obstruction of or assault upon any grader, licensee, or employee of the Service in the performance of his duties. The giving or offering, directly or indirectly, of any money, loan, gift, or anything of value to an employee of the Service or the making or offering of any contribution to or in any way supplementing the salary, compensation or expenses of an employee of the Service or the offering or entering into a private contract or agreement with an employee of the Service for any services to be rendered while employed by the Service.

(5) Misleading labeling. The use of the terms "Government Graded", "Federal-State Graded", or terms of similar import in the labeling or advertising of any product without stating in the label or advertisement the U.S. grade of the product as determined by an authorized grader.

(6) Miscellaneous. The existence of any of the conditions set forth in § 56.24 constituting the basis for the rejection of an application for grading service. [20 FR 9895, Dec. 23, 1955, as amended at 28 FR 6343, June 20, 1963; 35 FR 5664, Apr. 8, 1970]

§ 56.32 Retention authorities.

A grader may use retention tags or other devices and methods as approved

by the Administrator for the identification and control of shell eggs which are not in compliance with the regulations or are held for further examination and for any equipment, utensils, rooms or compartments which are found unclean or otherwise in violation of the regulations. Any such item shall not be released until in compliance with the regulations and retention identification shall not be removed by anyone other than a grader.

[35 FR 5664, Apr. 8, 1970]

IDENTIFYING AND MARKING PRODUCTS

§ 56.35

Authority to use, and approval of official identification.

(a) Authority to use official identification. Authority to officially identify product graded pursuant to this part is granted only to applicants who make the services of a grader or supervisor of packaging available for use in accordance with this part. Packaging materials bearing official identification marks shall be approved pursuant to §§ 56.35 to 56.39, inclusive, and shall be used only for the purpose for which approved and prescribed by the Administrator. Any unauthorized use or disposition of approved labels or packaging materials which bears any official identification may result in cancellation of the approval and denial of the use of labels or packaging material bearing official identification or denial of the benefits of the Act pursuant to the provisions of § 56.31.

(b) Approval of official identification. No label, container, or packaging material which bears official identification may contain any statement that is false or misleading. No label, container, or packaging material bearing official identification may be printed or prepared for use until the printers' or other final proof has been approved by the Administrator in accordance with the regulations in this part, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, and the regulations promulgated under these acts. The use of finished labels must be approved as prescribed by the Administrator. A grader may apply official identification stamps to shipping containers if they do not bear any statement that is false or misleading.

If the label is printed or otherwise applied directly to the container, the principal display panels of such container shall for this purpose be considered as the label. The label shall contain the name, address, and ZIP Code of the packer or distributor of the product, the name of the product, a statement of the net contents of the container, and the U.S. grademark.

(c) Nutrition labeling. Nutrition information may be included on the label of consumer packaged shell eggs, providing, such labeling complies with the provisions of Title 21, Chapter 1, Part 1, Regulations for the Enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. Nutrition labeling is required when a nutritional claim or information is presented on the labeling of consumer packages. Labeling will not be approved by the Department without comments from the Food and Drug Administration regarding nutritional claims and test data. 140 FR 20055, May 8, 1975]

§ 56.36 Information required on, and form of grademark.

(a) Information required on grademark. (1) Except as otherwise authorized, each grademark provided for in this section shall conspicuously and legibly indicate the letters "USDA," and the U.S. grade of the product it identifies, such as "A Grade" (illustrated in Figure 2). The letters "USDA" shall be printed in a light color on and surrounded by a dark field, and the U.S. grade printed in a dark color on a light field.

(2) The size or weight class of the product such as "Large" and such terms as "Federal-State Graded" or words of similar import may be shown within the grademark, (illustrated in Figure 3). This information shall be printed in a dark color on a light field. However, such terms as "Federal-State Graded" need not be shown. The size or weight class of the product may be omitted from the grademark, provided, it appears prominently on the main panel of the carton.

(3) The plant number of the official plant preceded by the letter "P" may ap

gether in accordance with the above requirement.

(2) Eggs should be gathered from the nest at least twice, and preferably, three times a day.

(3) Eggs which require cleaning should be cleaned in accordance with the applicable provisions of § 56.76. Eggs may be treated by oil dipping, oil spraying, or oil-emulsion spraying: Provided, That methods used are such as will not cause objectionable cloudiness in the whites. Oil treating and cleaning operations must be in compliance with the sanitary requirements as provided in § 56.76.

(4) Eggs shall be cooled promptly after gathering to 60° F. or below and held at a reasonable constant temperature not to exceed 60° F. and at a relative humidity of approximately 70 percent.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the temperature of the eggs may rise to 70° F. during washing and packaging operations provided the eggs are moved promptly to a cooler or transported at a temperature of 60° F. or below.

(5) Eggs shall be transported and handled under such conditions as will prevent sweating and at a temperature of 60° F. or below.

(6) The temperature at which the eggs are held and displayed at the retail store shall not exceed 60° F.

(7) Periodic checks to determine the adequacy of the production and distribution programs shall be made by governmentally employed graders.

(b) Minimum requirements at packaging plant. (1) The quality factor of albumen firmness shall be determined by the broken-out score, measured in Haugh units, and the condition of the yolk shall be observed during such testing. The breakout test shall be made every other week unless the breakout records indicate a variation in individual eggs or averages beyond that normally expected for this program, in which case the breakout shall be made weekly. The test shall be accomplished at the assembly plant or at the farm in the event the eggs go directly from the farm to the store. Eggs which do not meet the requirements of AA quality with respect to shell texture or shape shall not be selected as part of any sample that is to be broken out and scored. Sampling, breakout testing, and maintenance of records of breakout test shall be done by or under the immediate supervision of a grader.

(2) The internal temperature of the eggs shall not be lower than 45° F. or higher than 60° F. at the time of making the breakout test. Eggs shall be placed under refrigeration at a temperature not to exceed 60° F. and a relative humidity of approximately 70 percent promptly after packaging.

(3) A flock may be eligible for entry under the program when a sample of 25 eggs drawn at random averages 76 Haugh units or higher; or when two samples of 25 eggs each drawn at random (one sample per week for two consecutive weeks) each averages 74 Haugh units or higher. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a flock shall not be eligible if any sample contains more than one egg measuring less than 60 Haugh units, and the yolk of all eggs in the sample shall have a well-rounded appearance with a reasonably uniform color.

(4) A flock may remain on the program: Provided, That (i) a moving average of 74 Haugh units or higher is maintained; (ii) that the yolks of all eggs have a well-rounded appearance with a reasonably uniform color; and (iii) that not more than one egg in any sample of 10 eggs or more measures less than 60 Haugh units.

(5) The biweekly or weekly average shall be computed by averaging the results obtained when testing eggs in accordance with either subdivision (1) or (ii) of this subparagraph. Samples shall be drawn at random from each flock, from a single shipment, every 2 weeks (or weekly when required).

(1) A sample of 10 eggs shall be tested when the moving average is below 80 Haugh units and not more than one egg in the sample shall measure less than 60 Haugh units.

(ii) A sample of 5 eggs may be tested when the moving average is 80 Haugh units or above and the sample contains no eggs which measure less than 60 Haugh units. If only one egg measures less than 60 Haugh units, an additional 5 eggs shall be tested. If this second 5-egg sample contains no eggs below 60 Haugh units, the average of the 10 eggs shall be used in determining the biweekly or weekly average.

(6) The moving average shall be computed by averaging the results of the latest 2 biweekly or 4 weekly (when required) Haugh unit entries of a flock.

(7) Any flock which has been on the program and is excluded for failure to meet the requirements may be reinstated

labeled with the grademark shown in Figures 2 and 3 of subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, or with the following grademark:

USDA

GRADE

LARGE

PRODUCED and MARKETED under FEDERAL - STATE QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM

FIGURE 7

[28 FR 6343, June 20, 1963, as amended at 32 FR 8230, June 8, 1967; 40 FR 20055, May 8, 1975]

§ 56.37 Lot marking of officially identified product.

Each carton identified with the grade marks shown in Figures 2, 3, or 6 of § 56.36 shall be legibly lot numbered on either the carton or the tape used to seal the carton. The lot number shall be the consecutive day of the year on which the eggs were packed (e.g., 132), except other lot numbering systems may be used when submitted in writing and approved by the Administrator.

[35 F.R. 5664, Apr. 8, 1970]

§ 56.38

Rescindment of approved labels. Once a year, or more often, if requested, each applicant shall submit to the Administrator a list, in triplicate, of approved labels which bear any official identification that have become obsolete, accompanied with a statement that such approvals are no longer desired. The approvals shall be identified by the date of approval, approval number, and the grade, weight class, and brand name of the product as applicable.

[40 FR 20056, May 8, 1975]

PREREQUISITES TO PACKAGING SHELL EGGS IDENTIFIED WITH CONSUMER GRADE MARKS

§ 56.39 Supervisor of packaging required.

The official identification of any graded product as provided in §§ 56.35 to 56.43, inclusive, shall be done only under the supervision of a grader or supervisor of packaging. The grader or supervisor of

137

packaging shall have supervision over the use and handling of all material bearing any official identification.

[28 FR. 6344, June 20, 1963]

§ 56.40 Grading requirements of shell eggs identified with consumer grademarks.

(a) Shell eggs to be identified with the marks illustrated in Figures 2, 3, and 6 of § 56.36 must be individually graded by a grader or by authorized personnel pursuant to § 56.11 and thereafter check graded by a grader.

(b) Shell eggs not graded in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section may be officially graded on a sample basis and the shipping containers may be identified with grademarks which contain the words "Sample Graded" and which are approved by the Administrator.

(c) Shell eggs which are to bear the U.S. consumer grade mark shall be packed only from eggs of current production. They shall not possess any undesirable odors or flavors.

[32 F.R. 8231, June 8, 1967] § 56.41

Check grading officially identified product.

Officially identified shell eggs packed or received in an official plant may be subject to final check grading prior to their shipment. Such product found not to be in compliance with the assigned official grade shall be placed under a retention tag until it is regraded to comply with the grade assigned or until the official identification is removed. [35 FR 5664, Apr. 8, 1970]

§ 56.42 Requirements for eggs pack. aged under Fresh Fancy Quality grade mark or AA grade mark as shown in Figures 4 and 5 of § 56.36. (a) Minimum requirements of procurement and distribution program. Each packing station or plant must have a satisfactory procurement and distribution program including, but not being limited to, the following requirements at the farm and retail store level as applicable:

(1) Eggs from each flock shall be packed separately and the shipping cases marked so as to facilitate segregation at the packing station. A flock consists of birds not varying in age by more than 60 days. In operations with a continuous replacement procedure, such as in cage operations, birds shall be grouped to