CLA-2-16: RR: NC: SP: 231 R01015
Mr. James E. Reynolds
John A. Steer Company
28 S. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, Pa 19106
RE: The tariff classification of beef injected with Canola oil and marbling mix from
Australia.
Dear Mr. Reynolds:
In your letter dated October 28, 2004, on behalf of your client Steiner & Company, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise, called “Meltique Beef,” will be produced from sub primal cuts of raw, boneless beef cuts, such as the striploin, tenderloin, chuck roll and ribeye. These cuts will be trimmed, first, to the buyers’ specifications. The trimmed cuts will then be mechanically tenderized and injected with a liquid mixture to produce a meat product consisting, by weight, of beef (81 percent) with the following additives,--viz., water (12 percent), vegetable oil (6 percent) and marbling mix (1 percent). The marbling mix, which contains small amounts of solids and flavoring ingredients, appear to provide the semblance of small marbling lines of fat in the finished product. The addition of the water/vegetable oil mixture is said to be similar to the French “larding” process. The soluble oil is inserted into lean meat “to baste the meat internally through the cooking process.” After the injection of the meat with the liquid mixture, the beef cuts are rolled in a polyethylene sheet to form a consistent shape, or are cut into portion controlled, consumer size servings,--as, for instance, into individual steaks. The wrapped steaks or beef cuts are then frozen before packaging in export cartons of random weights, between 45 and 60 pounds. After importation, the beef will be used in food service, restaurant and catering applications.
The applicable subheading for these frozen “Meltique Beef” cuts and steaks will be 1602.50.6000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other prepared or preserved meat, meat offal or blood:...of bovine animals:...other:...not containing cereals or vegetables:...other:...other. The rate of duty will be 1.8 percent ad valorem.
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 Thomas Brady at 646-733-3030.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division