USC - Duties of Secretary relating to agricultural products

View all text of Subchapter I [§ 1621 - § 1633]

§ 1622. Duties of Secretary relating to agricultural productsThe Secretary of Agriculture is directed and authorized:

(a) Determination of methods of processing, packaging, marketing, etc.; publication of results

(b) Determination of costs

(d) Elimination of artificial barriers to free movement

(e) Development of new markets

(1) In general

(2) Fees and penalties

(A) In general

(B) Deposit

(D) No requirement for use of services

(f) Increasing consumer education

(g) Collection and dissemination of marketing information

(h) Inspection and certification of products in interstate commerce; credit and future availability of funds; investment; certificates as evidence; penalties

(1) To inspect, certify, and identify the class, quality, quantity, and condition of agricultural products when shipped or received in interstate commerce, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of Agriculture may prescribe, including assessment and collection of such fees as will be reasonable and as nearly as may be to cover the cost of the service rendered, to the end that agricultural products may be marketed to the best advantage, that trading may be facilitated, and that consumers may be able to obtain the quality product which they desire, except that no person shall be required to use the service authorized by this subsection.

(2)

(A) Any fees collected under this subsection, late payment penalties, the proceeds from the sales of samples, and interest earned from the investment of such funds shall be credited to the trust fund account that incurs the cost of the services provided under this subsection and shall remain available without fiscal year limitation to pay the expenses of the Secretary incident to providing such services.

(B) Such funds may be invested by the Secretary in insured or fully collateralized, interest-bearing accounts or, at the discretion of the Secretary, by the Secretary of the Treasury in United States Government debt instruments.

(3) Any official certificate issued under the authority of this subsection shall be received by all officers and all courts of the United States as prima facie evidence of the truth of the statements therein contained.

(4) Whoever knowingly shall falsely make, issue, alter, forge, or counterfeit any official certificate, memorandum, mark, or other identification, or device for making such mark or identification, with respect to inspection, class, grade, quality, size, quantity, or condition, issued or authorized under this section or knowingly cause or procure, or aid, assist in, or be a party to, such false making, issuing, altering, forging, or counterfeiting, or whoever knowingly shall possess, without promptly notifying the Secretary of Agriculture or his representative, utter, publish, or use as true, or cause to be uttered, published, or used as true, any such falsely made, altered, forged, or counterfeited official certificate, memorandum, mark, identification, or device, or whoever knowingly represents that an agricultural product has been officially inspected or graded (by an authorized inspector or grader) under the authority of this section when such commodity has in fact not been so graded or inspected shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(5) Shell eggs packed under the voluntary grading program of the Department of Agriculture shall not have been shipped for sale previous to being packed under the program, as determined under a regulation promulgated by the Secretary.

(6)Identification of honey.—

(A)In general.—The use of a label or advertising material on, or in conjunction with, packaged honey that bears any official certificate of quality, grade mark or statement, continuous inspection mark or statement, sampling mark or statement, or any combination of the certificates, marks, or statements of the Department of Agriculture is hereby prohibited under this Act unless there appears legibly and permanently in close proximity (such as on the same side(s) or surface(s)) to the certificate, mark, or statement, and in at least a comparable size, the 1 or more names of the 1 or more countries of origin of the lot or container of honey, preceded by the words “Product of” or other words of similar meaning.

(B)Violation.—A violation of the requirements of subparagraph (A) may be deemed by the Secretary to be sufficient cause for debarment from the benefits of this Act only with respect to honey.

(i) Development of facilities for assembling, processing, transporting, etc.

(j) Improvement of transportation facilities and rates

(k) Collection and dissemination of marketing statistics

(l) Development of procurement standards and specifications

(m) Promotion of research for handling, storing, preserving, etc.

(n) Grading programTo establish within the Department of Agriculture a voluntary fee based grading program for—

(1) all fish of the order Siluriformes; and

(2) any additional species of farm-raised fish or farm-raised shellfish—

(A) for which the Secretary receives a petition requesting such voluntary fee based grading; and

(B) that the Secretary considers appropriate.

(o) General research, services, and activities

(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 203, 60 Stat. 1087; Aug. 9, 1955, ch. 632, § 1, 69 Stat. 553; Pub. L. 95–113, title II, § 206, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 920; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(2), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 153; Pub. L. 98–403, § 2, Aug. 28, 1984, 98 Stat. 1480; Pub. L. 98–443, § 9(j), Oct. 4, 1984, 98 Stat. 1708; Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(a) [title VII, § 755(a)], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681, 2681–34; Pub. L. 106–472, title III, § 303, Nov. 9, 2000, 114 Stat. 2069; Pub. L. 110–234, title X, § 10402(a), title XI, § 11016(a), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1349, 1368; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title X, § 10402(a), title XI, § 11016(a), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2110, 2130; Pub. L. 113–79, title VI, § 6202, title XII, § 12106(a)(4), Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 856, 981.)