United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Service

Federal Grain Inspection Service

Program Notice FGIS-PN-19-04 April 12, 2019

Distribution: FGIS, OSP, Industry Originating Office: FMD PPMAB

Cover

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INSPECTION OF FLOOD DAMAGED GRAIN

Contents

INSPECTION OF FLOOD DAMAGED GRAIN�������������������������������������������������������������������������1

1.PURPOSE�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

2.REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

3.BACKGROUND ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

4.PROCEDURES ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

5.FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������

6.QUESTIONS �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
FGIS Notice PN-19-04 April 12, 2019

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1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this notice is to provide guidance for grading and certifying flood 

damaged grain with use of the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) Interpretive Line 

Print/Inspection of Flood Damaged Grain and reporting actionable lots to the Food and 

Drug Administration (FDA)

2. REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

This notice supersedes Program Notice FGIS-PN-17-05, “Inspection of Flood Damaged 

Grain,” dated 09-28-2017, and is being re-issued as a result of flooding in 2019.

3. BACKGROUND 

FGIS and FDA have certain mutual objectives in carrying out their respective service 

and regulatory functions. In accordance with the FGIS-FDA Memorandum of

Understanding, FGIS reports to FDA certain lots of grain, rice, pulses, or food products 

which are considered “actionable” under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

Events such as higher than normal spring rainfall and levee failures can result in 

significant flooding and may put stored grain at risk. 

Generally, for human food crops, if the edible portion of a crop is exposed to 

contaminated flood waters it is considered “adulterated” under the Federal Food, 

Drug, and Cosmetic Act and should not enter the human food supply. This is because

there are no practical methods of reconditioning, or processing, these edible portions.

Reconditioning is only acceptable when it can provide a reasonable assurance of food 

safety. Accordingly, FGIS has developed procedures for inspecting flood damaged 

grain

4. PROCEDURES

Grain materially affected by flooding is considered as distinctly low quality (DLQ) 

and certified as U.S. Sample Grade. In addition, official personnel must report 

identifiable lots that are DLQ to the district FDA office as “actionable” in accordance 

with Directive 9060.2, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FGIS-FDA MEMORANDUM OF

UNDERSTANDING dated 5-1-97

The determination of DLQ is based on the appearance and condition of the lot 

or sample as a whole. Grain affected by flooding is evaluated on a portion of 

approximately 400 grams with the use of the FGIS Interpretive Line Print (ILP), 

Inspection of Flood Damaged Grain
FGIS Notice PN-19-04 April 12, 2019

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Note: Only officially sampled lots are considered as “actionable” under FDA

reporting criteria. Therefore, do not report to FDA any submitted samples that are 

DLQ because of flood damage.

If a sample does not meet the DLQ designation, but the kernels are materially damaged 

(stained) by flooding and meet a current Visual Reference Image, consider the kernels 

as damaged and count toward the total percentage of damaged kernels in the sample.

5. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Will there be an ILP specific to Flood Damaged soybeans?

A. No. The existing ILP titled Flood Damaged Grain, while depicting corn, is suita

for determining flood damaged grain for all grains. FGIS encourages sending 

Opinion samples, especially soybean samples, to the Board of Appeals and 

Review

Q. If a railcar that is made DLQ due to Flood Damaged Grain, is it permissible 

probe the railcar for condition (as a reinspection for example)?

A. Yes for a domestic train (not for rail to Canada or Mexico.  FGIS Directive 917

REVIEW INSPECTIONS OF GRAINS AND COMMODITIES states that “If a lot is 

sampled using an on-line sampling device during continuous loading, all review 

inspections except for condition factors (i.e., odor, infestation, and heating) ar

performed on the basis of the official file sample for single lots or an unworked 

portion of the sample for CuSum sublots. For domestic grain shipments,

reinspection and appeal inspections for condition factors may be performed on the 

basis of a new probe sample drawn from a lot that was sampled during continuous 

loading.

A rail car is considered a domestic movement of grain (unless bound for Canada 

or Mexico). FGIS considers grain made DLQ due to Flood Damaged Grain as a

condition factor similar to odor, infestation, and heating. Therefore, if an applicant

asks that a new sample be taken by probe for reinspection/review inspection of 

grain made DLQ on Flood Damage, the request can be honored.

Q. What about grain that was in a flooded bin but above the water line? 

A. Official service providers will not know if grain was above or below the water line,

therefore applying the ILP is of paramount importance. As a reminder, grain

exposed to flood water is considered adulterated by FDA and cannot be allowed 

for blending.

Official service providers should be extra vigilant in examining grain samples for 

the presence of mold or mold damage on the surface of kernels and odor.
FGIS Notice PN-19-04 April 12, 2019

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6. QUESTIONS

Direct any questions concerning this policy to AMS-FGIS Policies Procedures and 

Market Analysis Branch. Direct any questions concerning grading guidelines to the 

Board of Appeals and Review at (816) 891-0421. Official service providers needing the 

Flood Damaged Grain ILP should contact the Digital media group at 

(816) 891-0499