(a) General. The official inspection for grade of bulk or sacked grain loaded aboard, or being loaded aboard, or discharged from two or more carriers or containers (including barges designed for loading aboard a ship) as a combined lot shall be performed according to the provisions of this section and procedures prescribed in the instructions.

(b) Application procedure—(1) For inspection during loading, unloading, or at rest. Applications for official inspection of grain as a combined lot must:

(i) Be filed in accordance with § 800.116;

(ii) Show the estimated quantity of grain that is to be certified as one lot;

(iii) Show the contract grade, and if applicable; other inspection criteria required by the contract; and

(iv) Identify each carrier into which grain is being loaded or from which grain is being unloaded.

(2) Recertification. An application for recertification as a combined lot of grain that has been officially inspected and certificated as two or more single lots shall (i) be filed not later than 2 business days after the latest inspection date of the single lots and (ii) show information specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(c) Inspection procedure; general—land carriers and barges—(1) Inspection during loading, or unloading, or at rest. Grain in two or more land carriers or barges that are to be officially inspected as a combined lot, must be sampled in a reasonably continuous operation. Representative samples must be obtained from the grain in each individual carrier and inspected in accordance with procedures as prescribed in the instructions.

(2) Recertification. Grain that has been officially inspected and certified as two or more single, composite, or average quality lots may be recertified as a combined lot provided that:

(i) The grain in each lot was sampled in a reasonably continuous operation;

(ii) The original inspection certificates issued for the single, composite, or average quality lots have been surrendered to official personnel;

(iii) Representative file samples of the single, composite, or average quality lots are available;

(iv) The grain in the single, composite, or average quality lots is of the same grade or better grade and quality than as specified in the written instructions provided by the shipper;

(v) Official personnel who performed the inspection service for the single, composite, or average quality lots and the official personnel who are to recertify the grain as a combined lot must determine that the samples used as a basis for the inspection of the grain in the single, composite, or average quality lots were representative at the time of sampling and have not changed in quality or condition; and

(vi) The quality or condition of the grain meets uniformity requirements established by the Service for official inspection of grain in combined lots.

(d) Weighted or mathematical average. Official factor and official criteria information shown on a certificate for grain in a combined lot shall, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (e) through (g) of this section, be based on the weighted or mathematical averages of the analysis of the sublots in the lot and shall be determined in accordance with the instructions.

(e) Infested grain. If the grain in a combined lot is offered for official inspection as it is being loaded aboard a carrier and the grain, or a portion of the grain, in a lot is found to be infested, according to applicable provisions of the Official U.S. Standards for Grain, the applicant shall be notified and may exercise options specified in the instructions. When grain in railcars or trucks with permanently enclosed tops is considered infested, the applicant shall be given the option of (1) receiving a grade certificate with a special grade designation indicating that the entire lot is infested or (2) fumigating the grain in the lot in accordance with instructions and receiving a grade certificate without the special grade designation.

(f) Grain uniform in quality. Samples obtained from grain officially inspected as a combined lot shall be examined for uniformity of quality. If the grain in the samples is found to be uniform in quality and the grain is loaded aboard or is unloaded from the carriers in a reasonably continuous operation, the grain in the combined lot shall be officially inspected and certificated as one lot. The requirements of this paragraph (f) and paragraph (c) of this section with respect to reasonably continuous loading or unloading do not apply to grain which is at rest in carriers when the grain is offered for inspection.

(g) Grain not uniform in quality. When grain officially inspected as a combined lot is found to be not uniform in quality or if the grain is not loaded or unloaded in a reasonably continuous operation, the grain in each portion, and any grain which is loaded or unloaded at different times, shall be officially sampled, inspected, graded, and certificated as single lots.

(h) Special certification procedures—(1) Grain not uniform in quality. When grain in a combined lot is found to be not uniform in quality under paragraph (g) of this section, the official inspection certificate for each portion of different quality shall show (i) the grade, identification, and approximate quantity of the grain and (ii) other information required by the instructions.

(2) Partial inspection. When an inbound movement of bulk grain is offered for official inspection at rest as a combined lot and all carriers are not fully accessible for sampling, the request for official inspection either shall be dismissed or a combined lot inspection shall be made on those carriers that are accessible. Those lots that are not accessible shall be handled in accordance with § 800.84. If the request is for an official inspection service on an outbound movement of grain at rest in a combined lot, the request shall be dismissed on the ground that the grain is not accessible for a correct “Out” inspection.

(3) Official mark. If grain in a combined lot is inspected for grade as it is being loaded aboard two or more carriers, upon request of the applicant, the following mark shall be shown on the inspection certificate: “Loaded under continuous official inspection” or “Loaded under continuous official inspection and weighing.”

(4) Combined-lot certification; general. Each official certificate for a combined-lot inspection service must show the identification for the “combined lot” or, at the request of the applicant, the identification of each carrier in the combined lot. If the identification of each carrier is not shown, the statement “Carrier identification available on the official work record” must be shown on the inspection certificate in the space provided for remarks. The identification and any seal information for the carriers may be shown in the Remarks section on the reverse side of the inspection certificate, provided that the statement “See reverse side” is shown on the face of the certificate in the space provided for remarks, or on an additional page.

(5) Recertification. If a request for a combined-lot inspection service is filed after the grain has been officially inspected and certified as single, composite, or average quality lots, the combined-lot inspection certificate must show, in addition to the requirements of paragraph (h)(4) of this section the following:

(i) The date of inspection of the grain in the combined lot (if the single, composite, or average quality lots were inspected on different dates, the latest of the dates must be shown);

(ii) A serial number other than the serial numbers of the official inspection certificates that are to be superseded;

(iii) The location of the grain, if at rest, or the name(s) of the elevator(s) from which or into which the grain in the combined lot was loaded or unloaded;

(iv) A statement showing the approximate quantity of grain in the combined lot;

(v) A completed statement showing the identification of any superseded certificates; and

(vi) If at the time of issuing the combined-lot inspection certificate the superseded certificates are not in the custody of the official personnel, a statement indicating that the superseded certificates have not been surrendered must be clearly shown in the space provided for remarks. If the superseded certificates are in the custody of official personnel, the superseded certificates must be clearly marked “Void.”

(i) Further combining. After a combined-lot inspection certificate has been issued, there shall be no further combining and no dividing of the certificate.

(j) Limitation. No combined-lot inspection certificate shall be issued (1) for any official inspection service other than as described in this section or (2) which shows a quantity of grain in excess of the quantity in the single lots.