&&The product before the Agency is Nature's Intent 11-0-0 organic based feather meal. It is composed of hydrolyzed poultry feathers (meal) and lignosulfonate. The feather meal is blended and augured into granules and sprayed with a mixture of water and lignosulfonate, and is then heat dried. The feather meal is what renders the product organic, with no chemical fertilizers added.&&&&The finished product is exported to various importers in Canada as a fertilizer. It is shipped in either 50 pound bags or 2,000 pound tote bags.&&&&The 11-0-0 package marking is a fertilizer industry standard which denotes the percentage by weight of the three major nutrients required for healthy plant growth, always in the same order: nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium (N-P-K). Accordingly, the goods contain 11% water insoluble nitrogen.&&&&Rich in nitrogen, feather meal provides quick nutrient enrichment and slow feed, allowing plants to metabolize nitrogen materials at their own pace.&&

&&Section 10 of the Customs Tariff directs that classification of imported goods shall be determined in accordance with the General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System. Section 11 of the Customs Tariff states that in interpreting the headings and subheadings, regard shall be had to the World Customs Organization's Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System.&&&&General Interpretative Rule (GIR) 1 directs that titles of Sections, Chapters and sub-Chapters are provided for ease of reference only. For legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the heading (4 digits). Similarly, GIR 6 directs that classification shall be determined according to the terms of a subheading (6 digits).&&&&Chapter 31 of the Customs Tariff covers fertilizers. Heading 31.01 covers animal or vegetable fertilizers, whether or not mixed together or chemically treated, and fertilizers produced by the mixing or chemical treatment of animal or vegetable products. The chemical treatment using lignosulfonate is the sole chemical processing that the feather meal undergoes. The lignosulfonate (sulfite and lignin) is used as a conditioner which aids in anti-caking and anti-dusting during the production of the feather meal granules.&&&&Heading 23.01(flours, meals and pellets, of meat) was considered. However, although poultry is considered meat for purposes of heading 23.01, the heading does not include animal products that are not meat in nature, such as bones, horns, shells, etc. See Explanatory Note (1) to heading 23.01. Similarly, feather meal is part of an animal but not meat.&&&&Heading 31.01 covers animal or vegetable fertilizers, whether or not mixed together or chemically treated. The goods are excluded from heading 31.05 as they are not put up in tablets or packages of a gross weight of 10kg or less.&&