[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR52.2]

[Page 524-528]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
                        DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 52--PROCESSED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, PROCESSED PRODUCTS THEREOF, AND CERTAIN OTHER PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS \1\--Table of Contents
 
       Subpart--Regulations Governing Inspection and Certification
 
Sec. 52.2  Terms defined.

    Words in the regulations in this part in the singular form shall be 
deemed to import the plural and vice versa, as the case may demand. For 
the purposes of the regulations in this part, unless the context 
otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the following 
meanings:
    Acceptance number. ``Acceptance number'' means the number in a 
sampling plan that indicates the maximum number of deviants permitted in 
a sample of a lot that meets a specific requirement.

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    Act. ``Act'' means the applicable provisions of the Agricultural 
Marketing Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 1087 et seq., as amended; 7 U.S.C. 1621 
et seq.), or any other act of Congress conferring like authority.
    Administrator. ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of the 
Agricultural Marketing Service.
    Applicant. ``Applicant'' means any interested party who requests 
inspection service under the regulations in this part.
    Approved plant. See ``Plant, approved''.
    Case. ``Case'' means the number of containers (cased or uncased) 
which, by the particular industry are ordinarily packed in a shipping 
container.
    Case or shipping case. ``Case'' or ``shipping case'' means a unit 
consisting of a given number of primary containers of the same size, the 
number and arrangement per unit conforming to customary trade practice. 
For products not physically assembled into a shipping case (i.e. stacked 
bright) case means simulating the containers in such lot into a unit 
consisting of the same number of primary containers corresponding to 
customary trade practice (or corresponding to the unit as defined 
above).
    Certificate of loading. Certificate of loading means a statement, 
either written or printed, issued pursuant to the regulations in this 
part, relative to checkloading of a processed product subsequent to 
inspection thereof. The certificate of loading may be issued in lieu of 
an official inspection certificate when the same inspection procedures 
are applied and when authorized by the Administrator.
    Certificate of sampling. ``Certificate of sampling'' means a 
statement, either written or printed issued pursuant to the regulations 
in this part, identifying officially drawn samples and may include a 
description of condition of containers and the condition under which the 
processed product is stored.
    Class. See ``Grade.''
    Condition. ``Condition'' means the degree of soundness of the 
product which may affect its merchantability and includes, but is not 
limited to those factors which are subject to change as a result of age, 
improper preparation and processing, improper packaging, improper 
storage or improper handling.
    Department. ``Department'' means the United States Department of 
Agriculture.
    Deviant. ``Deviant'' means a sample unit affected by one or more 
deviations or a sample unit that varies in a specifically defined manner 
from the requirements of a standard, specification, or other inspection 
document.
    Deviation. ``Deviation'' means any specifically defined variation 
from a particular requirement.
    Grade or class. ``Grade'' or ``class'' designates a level or rank of 
quality.
    Grader. See ``Inspector''.
    In-plant sampler. In-plant sampler means any employee of the 
Department authorized by the Administrator to draw samples of processed 
products and perform a limited number of miscellaneous duties in a plant 
operating under contract.
    Inspection certificate. ``Inspection certificate'' means a 
statement, either written or printed, issued pursuant to the regulations 
in this part, setting forth in addition to appropriate descriptive 
information relative to a processed product, and the container thereof, 
the quality and condition, or any part thereof, of the product and may 
include a description of the conditions under which the product is 
stored.
    Inspection service. (See Inspection service, general below.)
    Inspection service, general:
    (a) The sampling pursuant to the regulations in this part;
    (b) The determination pursuant to the regulations in this part of:
    (1) Essential characteristics such as style, type, size, sirup 
density or identity of any processed product which differentiates 
between major groups of the same kind;
    (2) The class, quality and condition of any processed product, 
including the condition of the container thereof by the examination of 
appropriate samples;
    (c) The issuance of any certificate of sampling, inspection 
certificates, or certificates of loading of a processed product, or any 
report relative to any of the foregoing; or

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    (d) Performance by an inspector of any related services such as 
observing the preparation of the product from its raw state through each 
step in the entire process; observing conditions under which the product 
is prepared, processed, and packed; or observing plant sanitation as a 
prerequisite to the inspection of the processed product, either on a 
continuous or periodic basis, or checkloading the inspected processed 
product in connection with the distribution or marketing thereof.
    Inspection Service; types of. (a) Lot inspection means the 
inspection and grading of specific lots of processed fruits and 
vegetables which are located in plant warehouses, commercial storage, 
railway cars, trucks, or any other conveyance or storage facility.
    (b) Approved plant-lot inspection means the inspection and grading 
of specific lots of processed fruits and vegetables which are located in 
plant warehouses, commercial storage, railway cars, trucks, or any other 
conveyance or storage facility. However, under ``approved plant-lot 
inspection'', the inspection service has knowledge that the products 
were processed or packaged in plants meeting the ``plant approved'' 
definition. This means that the plant facilities, sanitation, and 
methods of operation have been surveyed and approved for specific 
product(s) by the Administrator as suitable and adequate for inspection 
or grading service in accordance with Sec. 52.81 through Sec. 52.83 of 
this part.
    (c) Continuous inspection is the conduct of inspection and grading 
services in an approved plant whereby one or more inspector(s) are 
present at all times the plant is in operation to make in-process checks 
on the preparation, processing, packing, and warehousing of all products 
under contract and to assure compliance with sanitary requirements.
    (d) Pack certification is the conduct of inspection and grading 
services in an approvement plant whereby one or more inspector(s) may 
make inspection of the preparation and processing of products under 
contract, but are not required to be present at all times the plant is 
in operation.
    (1) Under a Designated Lot-contract, inspector(s) will grade and 
certify only those lots designated by the applicant.
    (2) Under a Quality Assurance contract, inspector(s) will use 
information available from the applicant's quality control records to 
certify lots, as requested, and will grade lots at random as often as 
necessary to verify the reliability of the applicant's quality control 
system.
    Inspector or grader. ``Inspector'' or ``grader'' means any employee 
of the Department authorized by the Secretary or any other person 
licensed by the Secretary to investigate, sample, inspect, and certify 
in accordance with the regulations in this part to any interested party 
the class, quality and condition of processed products covered in this 
part and to perform related duties in connection with the inspection 
service.
    Inspector in charge. ``Inspector in Charge'' means any inspector 
designated on a plant working shift or in a field office laboratory as 
the inspector in charge of the inspection work when authorized by the 
Administrator to act in that capacity.
    Inspector, subordinate. ``Subordinate inspector'' means any 
inspector assigned to a plant or field office to work under the 
direction of an inspector-in-charge.
    Inspector's aide. ``Inspector's aide'' means any employee of the 
Department authorized to perform a limited number and type of duties 
under the close supervision of an inspector.
    Interested party. ``Interested party'' means any person who has a 
financial interest in the commodity involved.
    Licensed sampler. ``Licensed sampler'' means any person who is 
authorized by the Secretary to draw samples of processed products for 
inspection service, to inspect for identification and condition of 
containers in a lot, and may, when authorized by the Administrator, 
perform related services under the act and the regulations in this part.
    Lot. Lot means any number of containers of the same size and type 
which contain a processed product of the same type and style located in 
the same warehouse or conveyance, and which is available for inspection 
service at any time: Provided, that the

[[Page 527]]

number of containers comprising lot may not exceed the maximum number 
specified in the sampling plans in Sec. 52.38 of this Subpart: And 
further provided that:
    (a) If the applicant requests a separate inspection certificate 
covering a specific portion of a lot, such portion must be separately 
marked or otherwise identified in such a manner as to permit sampling, 
inspection, and certification of such portion as a separate lot; and
    (b) Under in-plant (in-process) inspection, the inspector is 
authorized to limit the number of containers of a processed product that 
may be included in a lot to a period of consecutive production 
equivalent to one production shift with a maximum of 24 hours of 
consecutive production.
    Officially drawn sample. ``Officially drawn sample'' means any 
sample that has been selected from a particular lot by an inspector, 
licensed sampler, or by any other person authorized by the Administrator 
pursuant to the regulations in this part.
    Person. ``Person'' means any individual, partnership, association, 
business trust, corporation, any organized group of persons (whether 
incorporated or not), the United States (including, but not limited to, 
any corporate agencies thereof), any State, county, or municipal 
government, any common carrier, and any authorized agent of any of the 
foregoing.
    Plant. ``Plant'' means the premises, buildings, structure, and 
equipment (including, but not being limited to machines, utensils, 
vehicles, and fixtures located in or about the premises) used or 
employed in the preparation, processing, handling, transporting and 
storage of fruits and vegetables, or the processed products thereof.
    Plant, approved. ``Approved plant'' means any plant in which the 
facilities, sanitation, and methods of operation have been surveyed and 
approved for specific product(s) by the Administrator as suitable and 
adequate for inspection or grading service in accordance with 
Secs. 52.81 through 52.83.
    Processed product. ``Processed product'' means any fruit, vegetable, 
or other food product covered under the regulations in this part which 
has been preserved by any recognized commercial process, including, but 
not limited to canning, freezing, dehydrating, drying, the addition of 
chemical substances, or by fermentation.
    Quality. ``Quality'' means the inherent properties of any processed 
product which determine the relative degree of excellence of such 
product, and includes the effects of preparation and processing, and may 
or may not include the effects of packing media, or added ingredients.
    Rejection number. ``Rejection number'' means the number in a 
sampling plan that indicates the minimum number of deviants in a sample 
that will cause a lot to fail a specific requirement.
    Sample. ``Sample'' means any number of sample units to be used for 
inspection.
    Sample unit. ``Sample unit'' means a container and/or its entire 
contents, a portion of the contents of one or more containers or other 
unit of commodity, or a composite mixture of a product used for 
inspection.
    Sampling. ``Sampling'' means the act of selecting samples of 
processed products for the purpose of inspection under the regulations 
in this part.
    Secretary. ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Department or 
any other officer or employee of the Department authorized to exercise 
the powers and to perform the duties of the Secretary in respect to the 
matters covered by the regulations in this part.
    Shipping container. ``Shipping container'' means an individual 
container designed for shipping a number of packages or cans ordinarily 
packed in a container for shipping or designed for packing unpackaged 
processed products for shipping.
    Unofficial sample. Unofficial sample means any sample that has been 
selected by any person other than an inspector or licensed sampler, or 
by any

[[Page 528]]

other person not authorized by the Administrator pursuant to the 
regulations in this part.

[22 FR 3535, May 22, 1957, as amended at 33 FR 9582, July 2, 1968; 35 FR 
14061, Sept. 4, 1970; 38 FR 25166, Sept. 12, 1973; 38 FR 26903, Sept. 
27, 1973; 40 FR 48934, Oct. 20, 1975. Redesignated at 42 FR 32514, June 
27, 1977 and further redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, and 
amended at 51 FR 20438, June 5, 1986; 58 FR 42413, Aug. 9, 1993]