7 USC 77 – Official inspection and weighing requirements; waiver; supervision by representatives of Secretary
(a) Official samples and certificates; waiver; excepted grains
Whenever standards or procedures are effective under section 76 of this title for any grain—
(1) no person shall ship from the United States to any place outside thereof any lot of such grain, unless such lot is officially weighed and officially inspected in accordance with such standards or procedures, and unless a valid official certificate showing the official grade designation and certified weight of the lot of grain has been provided by official inspection personnel and is promptly furnished by the shipper, or the agent of the shipper, to the consignee with the bill of lading or other shipping documents covering the shipment: Provided, That the Secretary shall waive the foregoing requirement in emergency or other circumstances that would not impair the objectives of this chapter whenever the parties to a contract for such shipment mutually agree to the waiver and documentation of such agreement is provided to the Secretary prior to shipment: Provided further, That the Secretary shall waive the requirement for official inspection whenever the parties to a contract for such shipment of a lot of grain (which is not sold, offered for sale, or consigned for sale by grade) from the United States to any place outside thereof mutually agree under the contract to ship such lot of grain without official inspection being performed and a copy of the contract is furnished to the Secretary prior to shipment;
(2) except as the Secretary may provide in emergency or other circumstances which would not impair the objectives of this chapter, all other grain transferred out of and all grain transferred into an export elevator at an export port location shall be officially weighed in accordance with such standards or procedure: Provided, That, unless the shipper or receiver requests that the grain be officially weighed, shipments of grain into an export elevator by any mode of transportation and grain transferred out of an export elevator to destinations within the United States shall not be officially weighed; and
(3) except as otherwise authorized by the Secretary, whenever a lot of grain is both officially inspected and officially weighed while being transferred into or out of a grain elevator, warehouse, or other storage or handling facility, an official certificate shall be issued showing both the official grade designation and the certified weight of the lot of grain.
(b) Supervision by representatives of Secretary
Terms Used In 7 USC 77
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- export elevator: means any grain elevator, warehouse, or other storage or handling facility in the United States as determined by the Secretary, from which grain is shipped from the United States to an area outside thereof. See 7 USC 75
- export port location: means a commonly recognized port of export in the United States or Canada, as determined by the Secretary, from which grain produced in the United States is shipped to any place outside the United States. See 7 USC 75
- grain: means corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, flaxseed, sorghum, soybeans, mixed grain, and any other food grains, feed grains, and oilseeds for which standards are established under section 76 of this title. See 7 USC 75
- lot: means a specific quantity of grain identified as such. See 7 USC 75
- official grade designation: means a numerical or sample grade designation, specified in the standards relating to kind, class, quality, and condition of grain, provided for in this chapter. See 7 USC 75
- official inspection: means the determination (by original inspection, and when requested, reinspection and appeal inspection) and the certification, by official inspection personnel of the kind, class, quality, or condition of grain, under standards provided for in this chapter, or the condition of vessels and other carriers or receptacles for the transportation of grain insofar as it may affect the quality or condition of such grain. See 7 USC 75
- official weighing: means the determination and certification by official inspection personnel of the quantity of a lot of grain under standards provided for in this chapter, based on the actual performance of weighing or the physical supervision thereof, including the physical inspection and testing for accuracy of the weights and scales and the physical inspection of the premises at which the weighing is performed and the monitoring of the discharge of grain into the elevator or conveyance (the terms "officially weigh" and "officially weighed" shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
- officially inspected: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
- officially weighed: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
- person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity. See 7 USC 75
- Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or delegates of the Secretary. See 7 USC 75
- United States: means the States (including Puerto Rico) and the territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia). See 7 USC 75
All official inspection and official weighing, whether performed by authorized employees of the Secretary or any other person licensed under section 84 of this title, shall be supervised by representatives of the Secretary, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may provide.
(c) Testing for aflatoxin contamination of corn shipped in foreign commerce
The Secretary is authorized and directed to require that all corn exported from the United States be tested to ascertain whether it exceeds acceptable levels of aflatoxin contamination, unless the contract for export between the buyer and seller stipulates that aflatoxin testing shall not be conducted.
(d) Disruption in grain inspection or weighing
In the case of a disruption in official grain inspections or weighings, including if the Secretary waives the requirement for official inspection due to an emergency under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall—
(1) immediately take such actions as are necessary to address the disruption and resume inspections or weighings;
(2) not later than 24 hours after the start of the disruption in inspection or weighing, submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes—
(A) the disruption; and
(B) any actions necessary to address the concerns of the Secretary relating to the disruption so that inspections or weighings may resume; and
(3) once the initial report in paragraph (2) has been made, provide daily updates until official inspection or weighing services at the site of disruption have resumed.