WCO Explanatory Notes reproduced for reference. © World Customs Organization. Verify against official WCO publication.
38.21 - Pre ared culture media for the development or maintenance of micro-organisms (iocPuding viruses and the like) ar of plant, human or animal cells. This heading covers various reparations in which bacteria, moulds, microbes, viruses, other micro-orgarusms and plant, fuman or animal cells required for medical purposes (e.g., for obtaining antibiotics) or for other scientific purposes or m industry e.g., in the manufacture of vinegar, lactic acid, butyl alcohol) can find nourishment and rnultip y or in which they can be maintained. \ They are usually prepared from meat extracts, fresh blood or blood serum, e gs, potatoes, alginates, agar-a ar eptones, gelatin, etc., and often contain additional ingre ents such as glucose, 1 cerof sbEum chloride, sodium citrate or dyes. Acids, digestive ferments or alkalis may be a%&dto bring them to the required degree of acidity or alkalinity, etc. i There are also other media, e.g., mixtures of sodium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium sulphate, potassium hydrogensulphate, potassium aspartate and ammonium lactate in distilled water. Certain culture media for viruses consist of living embryo. They are usually in li uid form (broths), pastes or powders but may also be in tablets or granule form,and are sterilise7i and put up in sealed glass bottles, tubes, ampoules or tins. The heading does not cover products not prepared as culture media, e.g. : (a) Agar-agar (heading 13.02). (b) Blood or egg albumin (heading 35.02). (c) Gelatin (heading 35.03). (d) Peptones (heading 35.04). (e) Alginates (heading 39.13). -
1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Separate chemically defined elements or compounds with the exception of the following : (1) Artificial graphite (heading 38.01); (2) Insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products, put up as described in heading 38.08; (3) Products put up as charges for fire-extinguishers or put up in fire-extinguishing grenades (heading 38.13); (4) Certified reference materials specified in Note 2 below; (5) Products specified in Note 3 (a) or 3 (c) below; (b) Mixtures of chemicals with foodstuffs or other substances with nutritive value, of a kind used in the preparation of human foodstuffs (generally heading 21.06); (c) Products of heading 24.04; (d) Slag, ash and residues (including sludges, other than sewage sludge), containing metals, arsenic or their mixtures and meeting the requirements of Note 3 (a) or 3 (b) to Chapter 26 (heading 26.20); (e) Medicaments (heading 30.03 or 30.04); or (f) Spent catalysts of a kind used for the extraction of base metals or for the manufacture of chemical compounds of base metals (heading 26.20), spent catalysts of a kind used principally for the recovery of precious metal (heading 71.12) or catalysts consisting of metals or metal alloys in the form of, for example, finely divided powder or woven gauze (Section XIV or XV). 2.- (A) For the purpose of heading 38.22, the expression “certified reference materials” means reference materials which are accompanied by a certificate which indicates the values of the certified properties, the methods used to determine these values and the degree of certainty associated with each value and which are suitable for analytical, calibrating or referencing purposes. (B) With the exception of the products of Chapter 28 or 29, for the classification of certified reference materials, heading 38.22 shall take precedence over any other heading in the Nomenclature. 3.- Heading 38.24 includes the following goods which are not to be classified in any other heading of the Nomenclature : (a) Cultured crystals (other than optical elements) weighing not less than 2.5 g each, of magnesium oxide or of the halides of the alkali or alkaline-earth metals; (b) Fusel oil; Dippel's oil; (c) Ink removers put up in packings for retail sale; (d) Stencil correctors, other correcting fluids and correction tapes (other than those of heading 96.12), put up in packings for retail sale; and (e) Ceramic firing testers, fusible (for example, Seger cones). 4.- Throughout the Nomenclature, “municipal waste” means waste of a kind collected from households, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, shops, offices, etc., road and pavement sweepings, as well as construction and demolition waste. Municipal waste generally contains a large variety of materials such as plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass, metals, food materials, broken furniture and other damaged or discarded articles. The term “municipal waste”, however, does not cover : (a) Individual materials or articles segregated from the waste, for example wastes of plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass or metals, electrical and electronic waste and scrap (including spent batteries) which fall in their appropriate headings of the Nomenclature; (b) Industrial waste;