Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73
§78 Use of official grade designations required; false or misleading grade designations for grain shipped out of the United States
Title 7 › Chapter CHAPTER 3— - GRAIN STANDARDS › § 78
Summary
When grain is sold, offered, or sent for sale and will be shipped across state lines or out of the country, it can only be called a particular grade by using the official U.S. grade name on ads, price quotes, contracts, invoices, bills of lading, tags, or bag labels. A company brand that does not look like an official grade is allowed. For interstate shipments, using one or more official grade factor names or other criteria is not treated as calling it a grade. For shipments leaving the United States, no one may knowingly use an official grade name or any other description that is false or misleading.
Full Legal Text
Title 7, §78
Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Whenever standards relating to kind, class, quality, or condition of grain are effective under section 76 of this title for any grain no person shall in any sale, offer for sale, or consignment for sale, which involves the shipment of such grain in interstate or foreign commerce, describe such grain as being of any grade in any advertising, price quotation, other negotiation of sale, contract of sale, invoice, bill of lading, other document, or description on bags or other containers of the grain, other than by an official grade designation, with or without additional information as to specified factors: Provided, That the description of such grain by any proprietary brand name or trademark that does not resemble an official grade designation, or with respect to interstate commerce, by the use of one or more grade factor designations set forth in the official United States standards for grain, or by other criteria shall not be deemed to be a description of grain as being of any grade.
(b)No person shall, in any sale, offer for sale, or consignment for sale, of any grain which involves the shipment of such grain from the United States to any place outside thereof, knowingly describe such grain by any official grade designation, or other description, which is false or misleading.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1977—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95–113 substituted “criteria” for “factor information”. 1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–582 substituted “standards relating to kind, class, quality, or condition of grain” for “standards”. 1968—Pub. L. 90–487 substituted provisions requiring the use of official grade designations and prohibiting the use of false or misleading description of grain shipped out of the United States, for provisions allowing the appeal to the Secretary from official grading, authorizing the payment of additional fees for employees required in making appeal inspections, and making the findings prima facie evidence of the grain’s true grade. 1958—Pub. L. 85–509 authorized payment of employees assigned to perform appeal inspection for all overtime, night, or holiday work, and permitted acceptance of reimbursement for any sums paid for such work.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1977 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–113 effective Oct. 1, 1977, see section 1901 of Pub. L. 95–113, set out as a note under section 1307 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 94–582 effective 30 days after Oct. 21, 1976, see section 27 of Pub. L. 94–582, as amended, set out as a note under section 74 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1968 Amendment Pub. L. 90–487, § 2, Aug. 15, 1968, 82 Stat. 770, provided that: “This Act [amending this section and section 71, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 84, 85, 86, and 87 of this title and enacting sections 87a to 87h of this title] shall become effective one hundred and eighty days after enactment hereof [Aug. 15, 1968], except that the repeal of the mandatory inspection provisions with respect to grain shipped or delivered for shipment in interstate commerce shall become effective thirty days after enactment hereof, and the provisions of section 6(a) and 13(a)(5) of the United States Grain Standards Act, as amended by this Act [subsec. (a) of this section and section 87b(a)(5) of this title] shall then become effective with respect to such grain.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 78
Title 7 — Agriculture
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73