7 U.S.C. 1622 and 1624; 21 U.S.C. 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.
Words used in this part in the singular form shall import the plural, and vice versa, as the case may demand.
For the purposes of this part, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, to mean:
Laws, regulations or other requirements of foreign countries and specifications of contracts for the purchase and sale of animal products, on occasion require vendors of such products to furnish official certificates concerning the class, quality, quantity, or condition of such products to be imported into such countries or to be delivered under the contracts. The service under this part, shall consist of the inspection of the processing, handling, and storage of the products at any plant at which service is furnished and the certification, on the basis of such requirements of foreign countries or such contract specifications, of the class, quality, quantity, or condition of such of the products as are found to conform to such requirements or specifications as the case may be. Processing procedures will be actually supervised. The operator of the plant shall fully inform the inspector with respect to, and the inspector shall actually observe, the processing procedures, handling, and storage of the products intended for certification. The inspector shall keep such records of the temperatures reached, the duration of time the temperatures are maintained, and the pounds of pressure under which the products are cooked in the course of processing, and such
Any person who is eligible under a cooperative agreement to receive service under this part may apply therefor to the Administrator, upon an application form which will be furnished by the Administrator upon request. The application form shall require the applicant to state, among other things, the forms of certificates desired.
Subject to § 156.8, service under this part will be furnished, upon application, within the limits of available Department personnel and facilities, at any plant the operator of which applies for or endorses the application for the service if the Administrator finds that: the forms of certificates desired by the applicant require the certification of class, quality, quantity, or condition; the plant and its methods of processing, handling and storage of the products intended for certification are adequate to warrant the issuance of the desired certificates; service is to be furnished under a cooperative agreement; and the requirements of § 156.7 are met.
The inspector shall sign and issue certificates in forms approved by the Administrator for animal products, if the inspector finds that the requirements as stated in the certification have been met. The original and one copy of each certificate shall be furnished to the applicant, and one copy of each certificate shall be retained by the Department until disposal is authorized in accordance with law. Additional copies may be furnished the applicant at his request upon payment of the fees prescribed in § 156.7. Copies of the certificates may be furnished without charge to other properly interested Federal agencies or under compulsory process.
Fees and charges, and user fees under 9 CFR part 130, for service (including travel and other expenses incurred in connection with the furnishing of service) under this part shall be paid by the applicant in accordance with the terms of the cooperative agreement under which service is furnished and in accordance with this section which shall be deemed to be incorporated in such agreement. If required by the Administrator, the fees and charges, and user fees under 9 CFR part 130, shall be paid in advance. Since the fees and charges, and user fees under 9 CFR part 130, are for the purpose of reimbursing the Department for all costs incurred in connection with the furnishing of service under this part, the appropriate fees and charges, and user fees under 9 CFR part 130, to cover any such costs shall be paid even though service is withheld pursuant to § 156.8.
(a) Service under this part will be refused if the conditions stated in §§ 156.5 and 156.6 are not met.
(b) Service under this part may be withdrawn from, or denied to, any applicant by the Administrator, for such period as the Administrator may prescribe, when the Administrator is satisfied, after opportunity for hearing before a proper official has been accorded the applicant, that the applicant or other operator of the plant where service has been or would be furnished under the application, or the agent or employee of such applicant or operator within the scope of his employment, has persistently failed to give the inspector full and correct information
(c) All final orders in any proceeding to deny or withdraw the service for any of the reasons set forth in paragraph (b) of this section (except orders required for good cause to be held confidential and not cited as precedents) shall be filed with the Hearing Clerk of the Department and be available to public inspection.