CLA-2-04:S:N:N229:870353

Mr. James Redman
Patrick Powers Customs Brokers Inc.
P.O. Box 30155
JFK Airport Station
Jamaica, NY 11430

RE: The tariff classification of BUFFALO MILK MOZZARELLA Cheese from Italy.

Dear Mr. Redman:

In your letter dated January 7, 1992, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of Crystal Food Import Corporation of East Boston, Massachusetts. The product in question is described as MOZZARELLA Cheese made from pure Water Buffalo milk, produced by C. Galdi SPA of Eboli, Italy. A sample of the product consisted of approximately eight ounces of a white cheese, in a retail plastic bag. The sample had the texture and mildly sweet, milky taste of a Buffalo milk mozzarella cheese. An analysis by the Customs Laboratory at New York found the sample to consist, by weight, of 55.8 percent moisture, 28.4 percent fat (64.1 percent on a dry basis), 15.4 percent protein, and 0.8 percent salt, with a pH of 6.1. The sample was found to be made from Buffalo milk.

The applicable subheading for this BUFFALO MILK MOZZARELLA Cheese will be 0406.90.8075, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for Other cheese:...Other, including mixtures of the above:... Other...Other:...Other:...Other. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
New York Seaport