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. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms shall have the following meaning:

Acceptable means suitable for the purpose intended by the AMS.

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

Administrator means the Administrator of the AMS 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 the Administrator's stead.

Agricultural Marketing Service or AMS means the Agricultural Marketing Service of the Department.

Ambient temperature means the air temperature maintained in an egg storage facility or transport vehicle.

Applicant means any interested person who requests any grading service.

Auditing services means the act of providing independent verification of written quality assurance and value added standards for production, processing and distribution of shell eggs. Auditing services are performed by graders authorized by the Secretary to perform such audits and the service provided will be in accordance with the provisions of this part for grading services, as appropriate.

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.

Chief of the Grading Branch means the Chief of the Grading Branch, Poultry Programs, AMS.

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 characteristic detected by sensory examination (visual, touch, or odor), including the state of preservation, cleanliness, soundness, or fitness for human food that affects the marketing of the product.

Consumer grades means U.S. Grade AA, A, and B.

Department means the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Eggs of current production means shell eggs that are no more than 21 days old.

Grademark means the official identification symbol (shield) used to identify eggs officially graded according to U.S. consumer grade standards.

Grader means any Federal or State employee or the employee of a local jurisdiction or cooperating agency to whom a license has been issued by the Secretary to investigate and certify in accordance with the regulations in this part, the class, quality, quantity, or condition of 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 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 AMS; (2) the act whereby the grader identifies, according to the regulations in this part, the graded product; (3) continuous supervision, in an official plant, of the handling or packaging of any product; and (4) any regrading or any appeal grading of a previously graded product.

Grading certificate means a statement, either written or printed, issued by a grader pursuant to the Act and the regulations in this part, relative to the class, quantity, quality, or condition of products.

Holiday or legal holiday means the legal public holidays specified by the Congress in paragraph (a) of section 6103, title 5, of the United States Code.

Identify means to apply official identification to products or the containers thereof.

Interested party means any person financially interested in a transaction involving any grading, appeal grading, or regrading of any product.

National supervisor means (a) the officer in charge of the shell egg grading service of the AMS, and (b) other employees of the Department designated by the national supervisor.

Nest run eggs means eggs which are packed as they come from the production facilities without having been washed, sized and/or candled for quality, with the exception that some Checks, Dirties, or other obvious undergrades may have been removed.

Office of grading means the office of any grader.

Official plant or official establishment means one or more buildings or parts thereof comprising a single plant in which the facilities and methods of operation therein have been approved by the Administrator as suitable and adequate for grading service and in which grading is carried on in accordance with the regulations in this part.

Official standards means the official U.S. standards grades, and weight classes for shell eggs maintained by and available from Poultry Programs, AMS.

Officially identified means eggs that have official marks applied to the product under the authority of the AMS in accordance with the act and its regulations.

Origin grading means a grading made on a lot of eggs at a plant where the eggs are graded and packed.

Packaging means the primary or immediate container in which eggs are packaged and which serves to protect, preserve, and maintain the condition of the eggs.

Packing means the secondary container in which the primary or immediate container is placed to protect, preserve, and maintain the condition of the eggs during transit or storage.

Person means any individual, partnership, association, business trust, corporation, or any organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not.

Potable water means water that has been approved by the State health authority or agency or laboratory acceptable to the Administrator as safe for drinking and suitable for food processing.

Product or products means shell eggs of the domesticated chicken.

Quality means the inherent properties of any product which determine its relative degree of excellence.

Quality assurance inspector means any designated company employee other than the plant owner, manager, foreman, or supervisor, authorized by the Secretary to examine product and to supervise the labeling, dating, and lotting of officially graded shell eggs and to assure that such product is packaged under sanitary conditions, graded by authorized personnel, and maintained under proper inventory control until released by an employee of the Department.

Regional director means any employee of the Department in charge of the shell egg grading service in a designated geographical area.

Regulations means the provisions in this entire part and such United States standards, grades, and weight classes as may be in effect at the time grading is performed.

Sampling means the act of taking samples of any product for grading or certification.

Secretary means the Secretary 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 the Secretary's stead.

Shell egg grading service means the personnel who are actively engaged in the administration, application, and direction of shell egg grading programs and services pursuant to the regulations in this part.

Shell eggs means shell eggs of domesticated chickens.

Shell protected means eggs which have had a protective covering such as oil applied to the shell surface. The product used shall be acceptable to the Food and Drug Administration.

Shipped for retail sale means shell eggs that are forwarded from the processing facility for distribution to the ultimate consumer.

State supervisor or Federal-State supervisor means any authorized and designated individual who is in charge of the shell egg grading service in a State.

United States Standards for Quality of Individual Shell Eggs means the official U.S. Standards, Grades, and Weight Classes for Shell Eggs (AMS 56) that are maintained by and available from Poultry Programs, AMS.

United States Standards, Grades, and Weight Classes for Shell Eggs (AMS 56) means the official U.S. standards, grades, and weight classes for shell eggs that are maintained by and available from Poultry Programs, AMS.

Washed ungraded eggs means eggs which have been washed and that are either sized or unsized, but not segregated for quality.

For Federal Register citations affecting § 56.1, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.