CLA-2-04:OT:RR:NC:N2:231
Mr. Javier Artigas
Artgue International Inc.
6734 NW 72 Ave.
Miami, FL 33166
RE: The tariff classification of sour cream from Honduras.
Dear Mr. Artigas:
In your letters received here on May 23 and June 24, 2013, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of America Export and Import, aka Amexim International Inc. (Miami, FL).
Samples and the manufacturer’s technical report accompanied your request. The product is identified as Lacthosa “Dairy Sour Cream Sula—Formula II.” The sample is a thick, creamy, off-white liquid having a slightly salty, slightly acidic flavor. It is packed in a sealed, 1-lb plastic bag. The ingredients, as stated in the technical report, are 76.28% fresh pasteurized fluid milk (containing 3.6% fat), 21.03% butter (containing 82% milk fat), and less than 1% each of salt, carrageenan, skim milk powder, whey powder, disodium phosphate, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and lactic culture.
The manufacturing process is described as follows:
Heating of the milk, milk fat, and minor ingredients mixture up to 75°C in stainless steel process tanks.
When the mixture reaches 75°C, it is maintained at this temperature for 30 min.
Homogenization.
Cooling of the cream at 28°C.
Inoculation of the mixture with lactic culture.
Packing.
Fermentation at ambient temperature.
Refrigerated storage and distribution.
The finished product is said to have a fat content of 20% and a titratable acidity of 0.65% (lactic acid). Based on the information provided, it appears that the product is a reconstituted or recombined cream that has been fermented to become sour cream.
The applicable subheading for the above-described “Dairy Sour Cream Sula—Formula II,” if entered under quota, will be 0403.90.0400, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, yogurt, kephir and other fermented or acidified milk and cream, whether or not concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavored or containing added fruit, nuts or cocoa: other: sour cream containing not over 45% by weight of butterfat; …; fluid: sour cream: described in additional U.S. note 5 to chapter 4 and entered pursuant to its provisions. The general rate of duty will be 3.2 cents per liter.
The applicable subheading for the above-described “Dairy Sour Cream Sula—Formula II,” if entered after the quota has closed, will be 0403.90.1600, HTSUS, which provides for buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, yogurt, kephir and other fermented or acidified milk and cream, whether or not concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavored or containing added fruit, nuts or cocoa: other: sour cream containing not over 45% by weight of butterfat; …; fluid: sour cream: other. The general rate of duty will be 77.2 cents per liter.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Importations of this merchandise are subject to regulations administered by various U.S. agencies. Requests for information regarding applicable regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) may be addressed to that agency at the following location:
USDA
APHIS, VS, NCIE
Products Program
4700 River Road, Unit 40
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231
Tel: (301) 851-3300
Email: [email protected]
This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling the FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Nathan Rosenstein at (646) 733-3030.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division