7 USC 87a – Records
(a) Samples of grain
Every official agency, every State agency delegated authority under this chapter, and every person licensed to perform any official inspection or official weighing or supervision of weighing function under this chapter shall maintain such samples of officially inspected grain and such other records as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe for the purpose of administration and enforcement of this chapter.
(b) Period of maintenance
Terms Used In 7 USC 87a
- 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
- official agency: means any State or local governmental agency, or any person, designated by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f) of section 79 of this title for the conduct of official inspection (other than appeal inspection), or subsection (c) of section 79a of this title for the conduct of official weighing or supervision of weighing (other than appeal weighing). 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
- 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
- State: means any one of the States (including Puerto Rico) or territories or possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia). See 7 USC 75
- supervision of weighing: means such supervision by official inspection personnel of the grain-weighing process as is determined by the Secretary to be adequate to reasonably assure the integrity and accuracy of the weighing and of certificates which set forth the weight of the grain and such physical inspection by such personnel of the premises at which the grain weighing is performed as will reasonably assure that all the grain intended to be weighed has been weighed and discharged into the elevator or conveyance. 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
Every official agency, every State agency delegated authority under this chapter, and every person licensed to perform any official inspection or official weighing or supervision of weighing function under this chapter required to maintain records under this section shall keep such records for a period of five years after the inspection, weighing, or transaction, which is the subject of the record, occurred: Provided, That grain samples shall be required to be maintained only for such period not in excess of ninety days as the Secretary, after consultation with the grain trade and taking into account the needs and circumstances of local markets, shall prescribe; and in specific cases other records may be required by the Secretary to be maintained for not more than three years in addition to the five-year period whenever in the judgment of the Secretary the retention of such records for the longer period is necessary for the effective administration and enforcement of this chapter.
(c) Access to records; audits
Every official agency, every State agency delegated authority under this chapter, and every person licensed to perform any official inspection or official weighing or supervision of weighing function under this chapter required to maintain records under this section shall permit any authorized representative of the Secretary or the Comptroller General of the United States to have access to, and to copy, such records at all reasonable times. The Secretary shall, from time to time, perform audits of official agencies and State agencies delegated authority of this chapter in such manner and at such periodic intervals as the Secretary deems appropriate.
(d) Maintenance of records by persons or entities receiving official inspection or weighing services; access to records and facilities
Every State, political subdivision thereof, or person who is the owner or operator of a commercial grain elevator, warehouse, or other storage or handling facility or is engaged in the merchandising of grain other than as a producer, and who, at any time, has obtained or obtains official inspection or weighing services shall maintain such complete and accurate records for such period of time as the Secretary may, by regulation, prescribe for the purpose of the administration and enforcement of this chapter, and permit any authorized representative of the Secretary, at all reasonable times, to have access to, and to copy, such records and to have access to any grain elevator, warehouse, or other storage or handling facility used by such persons for handling of grain.