28.176—Designation of official certificates, memoranda, marks, other identifications, and devices for purpose of the Agricultural Marketing Act.
Sub section 203(h) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by Public Law 272, 84th Congress, provides criminal penalties for various specified offenses relating to official certificates, memoranda, marks or other identifications, and devices for making such marks or identifications, issued or authorized under section 203 of said Act and certain misrepresentations concerning the inspection or grading of agricultural products under said section. For the purposes of said subsection and the provisions in this subpart, the terms listed below shall have the respective meanings specified:
(a)
Official certificate means any form of certification, either written or printed, used under this subpart to certify with respect to the inspection, sampling, class, grade, quality, quantity, or conditions 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, inspecting, or sampling, pursuant to this subpart, any processing or plant-operation report made by an authorized person in connection with grading, inspecting, or sampling under this subpart, and any report made by an authorized person of services performed pursuant to this subpart.
(c)
Official mark means the grade mark, inspection mark, and any other mark, approved by the Administrator and authorized to be affixed to any product, or affixed to or printed on the packaging material of any product, stating that the product was graded or inspected or both, or indicating the appropriate U.S. Grade or condition of the product, or for the purpose of maintaining the identity of products graded or inspected or both under this subpart.
(d)
Official identification means any United States (U.S.) standard designation of class, grade, quality, quantity, or condition specified in this subpart or any symbol, stamp, label, or seal indicating that the product has been officially graded or inspected and/or indicating the class, grade, quality, quantity, or condition of the product, approved by the Administrator and authorized to be affixed to any product, or affixed to or printed on the packaging material of any product.
(e)
Official device means a stamping appliance branding device, stencil, printed label or any other mechanically or manually operated tool that is approved by the Administrator for the purpose of applying any official mark or other identification to any product or the packaging material thereof.