(a)(1) The official inspection legend required by this part must be shown on all labels for inspected and passed fish and fish products and must be in the following form prescribed in 9 CFR 312.2(b)(1) for inspected and passed products of cattle, sheep, swine, and goats, or in another form to be prescribed by the Administrator, except that it need not be of the size illustrated, if it is of a sufficient size and color to be conspicuously displayed, and readily legible, and in the same proportions of letter size and boldness are maintained as illustrated:

(2) The official inspection legend shall contain the words “U.S. Inspected and Passed” or an abbreviation of those words approved by the Administrator.

(b) This official mark must be applied by mechanical means and must not be applied by a hand stamp.

(c)(1) The official inspection legend, or the approved abbreviation of the legend, must be printed on consumer packages and other immediate containers of inspected and passed fish products or on labels to be securely affixed to the containers of the products and may be printed or stenciled on the containers but must not be applied by rubber stamping.

(2) The official inspection legend may also be used for the purposes of marking shipping containers, band labels, and other articles with the approval of the Administrator.

(d) Whole gutted fish carcasses that have been inspected and passed in an official establishment and are intended for sale as whole gutted fish must be marked with the official inspection legend or properly packaged in an immediate container labeled with the official inspection legend and all other required labeling features, that will ensure that the fish carcasses are identified as “Inspected and Passed” and will not become misbranded while in commerce. The official inspection legend used for this purpose must be in the form illustrated below or in another form determined by the Administrator: