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 means the number in a sampling plan that indicates the maximum number of nonconformities permitted in a sample of a lot that meets a specific requirement.

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 means the Administrator of NOAA (Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere) or a designee.

Agency means the National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce.

Applicant means any interested party who requests inspection service under the regulations in this part.

Approved Establishment means an establishment which has been approved by the Agency pursuant to this Part and the NMFS Fishery Products Inspection Manual (SIP Manual) and utilizes inspection service on a contract basis.

Certificate of loading means an official certificate or document that makes a statement relative to check-loading of a fish or fishery product or other marine ingredient subsequent to inspection thereof issued pursuant to the regulations in this part.

Certificate of sampling means an official certificate or document that makes a statement pursuant to the regulations in this part identifying officially drawn samples and may include a description of the condition of containers and the condition under which the fish or fishery product or other marine ingredient is stored.

Class means a grade or rank of quality.

Condition means the degree of soundness of the product that may affect its merchantability and includes but is not limited to those factors that are subject to change due to age, improper preparation and processing, improper packaging, improper storage, or improper handling.

Cross-Licensed Inspector means a qualified person employed and licensed by the agency to perform specified inspection services under a joint Federal-State inspection service arrangement.

Department means the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Director means the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, or a designee.

Establishment means the premises, buildings, structures, facilities, and equipment (including machines, utensils, fixtures and transit vehicles) used with respect to the receipt, processing and transport of fish and fishery products and other marine ingredients.

Fish means a fresh or saltwater finfish, crustaceans, other forms of aquatic animal life (including, but not limited to, alligator, frog, aquatic turtle, jellyfish, sea cucumber, and sea urchin and the roe of such animals) other than birds or mammals, and including all mollusks, where such animal life is intended for human or animal consumption or for other non-food uses.

Fishery product means any human food product in which fish is a characterizing ingredient.

Inspection certificate means a statement, either written or printed, issued pursuant to the regulations in this part, setting forth the quality and condition of the product, or any part thereof, in addition to appropriate descriptive information relative to a fish, fishery product, or other marine ingredient, and the container thereof. It may also include a description of the conditions under which the product is stored.

Inspection service means:

(1) The performance of sampling pursuant to the regulations in this part;

(2) The determination pursuant to the regulations and requirements in this part:

(i) Assessing compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements pertaining to the interstate commerce of fish and fishery products or other marine ingredients for human or animal food;

(ii) Identifying the essential characteristics such as style, type, size, or identity of any fish or fishery product or other marine ingredient; or

(iii) Assessing the class, quality, and condition of any fish or fishery product or other marine ingredient, including the condition of the container thereof by the examination of appropriate samples;

(3) The issuance of any certificates of sampling, inspection certificates, or certificates of loading of a fish or fishery product or other marine ingredient, or any report relative to any of the foregoing; or

(4) The performance by an inspector of any related services, such as:

(i) Observing the preparation of the product from its raw state through each step in the entire process;

(ii) Observing the conditions under which the product is being harvested, prepared, handled, stored, processed, packed, preserved, transported, or held;

(iii) Observing the sanitation conditions as a prerequisite to the inspection of the processed product, either on a contract basis or periodic basis;

(iv) Check-loading the inspected processed product in connection with the marketing of the product; or

(v) Conducting any other type of service of a consultative or advisory nature related herewith as outlined in the NMFS Fishery Products Inspection Manual. Inspector 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.

Interested party means any person who has a financial interest in the fish or fishery product or other marine ingredient involved.

Licensed sampler means any person who is authorized by the Secretary to draw samples of fish and fishery products or other marine ingredients for inspection service, to confirm the identification and condition of containers in a lot, and may, when authorized by the Secretary, perform other related services under the act and the regulations in this part.

Lot means a defined quantity of product accumulated under conditions considered uniform for sampling purposes.

(1) For processors who manufacture fish and fishery products or other marine ingredients, a lot is a production unit as defined by mutual agreement between the processor and SIP, consisting of fish or fishery products or other marine ingredients of the same type, style, form and size, which have been marked or labeled as such and produced under conditions as nearly uniform as possible, during a single 8 hour shift (or as defined and approved) on an individual processing line.

(2) For establishments that receive fish or fishery products or other marine ingredients and perform no additional processing, such as distribution warehouses and foodservice distributors, a lot is defined by mutual agreement between the establishment and SIP and must consist of fish or fishery products or other marine ingredients located in a discrete grouping that consists of fish or fishery products or other marine ingredients of the same type, style and size and are marked or labeled as such. Except that: Fish or fishery products or other marine ingredients located in separate groups that differ from each other as to grade or other factors may be deemed as separate lots in some cases, for example:

(i) Fish or fishery products or other marine ingredients located in the same group bearing an identification mark different from other containers in that group may be deemed as separate lots;

(ii) Containers of fish or fishery products or other marine ingredients in a group bearing an identification mark different from other containers in that group, if determined to be of lower grade or deficient in other factors, may be deemed as separate lots; or

(iii) If the applicant requests more than one inspection certificate covering different portions of a lot, the quantity of the product covered by each certificate shall be deemed a separate lot.

Marine ingredient means any product of marine origin, whether or not intended for human consumption, including, but not limited to, fishmeal, fish oil, fish-based fertilizer, seaweed, kelp, and algae.

NMFS Fishery Products Inspection Manual (SIP Manual) means the online handbook, housed at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/seafood-commerce-certification/seafood-inspection-manual, that provides procedures of how services shall be scheduled, planned, conducted, and documented and describes services that conform to global activities that harmonize inspection protocols.

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 Secretary pursuant to the regulations in this part.

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.

Processing means, with respect to fish and fishery products and other marine ingredients, activities that an establishment engages in including handling, storing, preparing, heading, eviscerating, shucking, freezing, changing into different market forms, manufacturing, preserving, packing, labeling, dockside unloading, or holding.

Product means any fish or fishery product or other marine ingredient, whether or not destined for human consumption, presented to NMFS for inspection and/or certification service.

Quality means the inherent properties of any processed product that determine the relative degree of excellence of such product, includes the effects of preparation and processing, and may or may not include the effects of packing media or added ingredients.

Rejection number means the smallest number of nonconformities, defectives (or defects) in the sample or samples under consideration that will require rejection of the lot.

Sample means the number of sample units drawn from a lot for purposes of inspection to reach a decision regarding acceptance of the lot and for purposes of quality to reach a conclusion regarding conformity of the lot.

Sample unit means a “unit of product”, a primary container and its contents that makes up the sample that is inspected to determine whether it complies with regulatory criteria and that is quality assessed to determine whether it conforms to quality criteria.

Sampling means the process of selecting sample units that comprise the sample for the purpose of inspection and quality assessment under the regulations of this part.

Seafood Inspection Program (SIP) means the program within the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which offers inspection and grading services for seafood and other marine products as well as audit and consultative services to domestic and international processors, importers, and international competent food safety authorities.

Secretary means the Secretary of the Department of Commerce or any other officer or employee of the Department authorized to exercise the powers and to perform the duties of the Secretary with respect to the matters covered by the regulations in this part.

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 fish or fishery products or other marine ingredients for shipping.

Unofficially drawn sample means any sample that has been selected by any person other than an inspector or licensed sampler.

Wholesome means the minimum basis of acceptability for human food purposes of any fish or fishery product or other marine ingredient as defined in section 402 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended.