CHAPTER 4. Meat and Poultry Inspection

Chapter 4 repealed and added by Stats. 1970, Ch. 1385.

§§ 18650–18935 · 111 sections

ARTICLE 1. Definitions and Short Title §§ 18650–18677 · 28 sections
- § 18650 This chapter shall be known as the California Meat and Poultry Inspection Act.
- § 18651 Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this article govern the construction of this chapter.
- § 18652 “Adulterated” means any livestock product or poultry product which is in violation of Article 4 (commencing with Section 18751) of this chapter.
- § 18653 “Animal food manufacturer” means any person that is engaged in the business of preparing any animal food which is derived wholly or in part from any livestock…
- § 18654 “Broker” means any person that is engaged in the business of buying or selling any livestock product or poultry product on commission, or otherwise negotiating…
- § 18655 “Capable of use as human food” means any livestock or poultry carcass, or any part or product of any such carcass, unless it is denatured or otherwise…
- § 18656 “Container” or “package” means any box, can, tin, cloth, plastic, or other receptacle, wrapper, or cover.
- § 18657 “Federal acts” means the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act.
- § 18658 “Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” means the act so entitled, approved June 25, 1938 (52 Stat. 1040; 21 U.S.C., Sec. 301 et seq.), and acts amendatory…
- § 18659 “Federal Meat Inspection Act” means the act so entitled approved March 4, 1907 (34 Stat. 1260; 21 U.S.C., Sec. 71 et seq.), as amended by the Wholesome Meat…
- § 18660 “Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act” means the act so entitled approved August 28, 1957 (71 Stat. 441; 21 U.S.C., Sec. 451 et seq.), as amended by the…
- § 18661 “Inspector” means an employee of the department authorized to perform any inspection function under this chapter.
- § 18662 “Label” means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon any article or the immediate container of any article. It does not, however, include…
- § 18663 “Livestock” means any cattle, sheep, swine, goat, or any horse, mule or other equine, whether live or dead.
- § 18664 “Livestock product” means any carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product of any livestock.
- § 18665 “Meat food product” means any product which is capable of use as human food that is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any…
- § 18666 “Misbranded” means any livestock product or poultry product which is in violation of Article 5 (commencing with Section 18781) of this chapter.
- § 18667 “Official certificate” means any certificate which is prescribed by regulations of the director for issuance by an inspector or other person performing…
- § 18668 “Official device” means any device which is prescribed or authorized by the director for use in applying any official mark.
- § 18669 “Official establishment” means any establishment at which inspection of the slaughter of livestock or poultry, or the preparation of any livestock product or…
- § 18670 “Official inspection legend” means any symbol which is prescribed by the director that shows that an article was inspected and passed in accordance with this…
- § 18671 “Offical mark” means the official inspection legend or any other symbol which is prescribed by the director to identify the status of any article or livestock…
- § 18672 “Person” includes any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other business unit, and any officer, agent, or employee…
- § 18673 “Pesticide chemical,” “food additive,” “color additive,” and “raw agricultural commodity” shall have the same meanings as under the Federal Food, Drug, and…
- § 18674 “Prepared” means slaughtered, canned, salted, stuffed, rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise manufactured or processed.
- § 18675 “Poultry” means any domesticated bird, whether live or dead.
- § 18676 “Poultry product” means any poultry carcass, any part of a poultry carcass, or any product which is made wholly or in part from any poultry carcass or any part…
- § 18677 “Renderer” means any person that is engaged in the business of rendering any livestock or poultry carcass, or any part or product of such a carcass, except…
ARTICLE 2. General Provisions §§ 18691–18697 · 7 sections
- § 18691 Meat, meat food products, poultry, and poultry products are an important source of the nation’s total supply of food. It is essential in the public interest…
- § 18692 It is the objective of this chapter to provide for meat and poultry products inspection programs that will impose and enforce requirements with respect to…
- § 18693 The regulations which are adopted pursuant to this chapter shall conform, so far as possible, to the rules, regulations, and standards of the United States…
- § 18694 This chapter applies to any person, establishment, animal, or article regulated under the federal acts only to the extent provided for in the federal acts. The…
- § 18695 If slaughtering or carcass preparation or processing of any meat, meat products, poultry, or poultry product is conducted in an establishment where state…
- § 18696 The director may cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States in administration of this chapter to effectuate the purposes stated in…
- § 18697 The director may do all of the following: (a) Recommend to the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States for appointment to the advisory committees…
ARTICLE 3. Inspections and Regulations §§ 18721–18738 · 18 sections
- § 18721 To accomplish the purposes of Article 2 (commencing with Section 18691) of this chapter, the director shall require ante mortem and post mortem inspections,…
- § 18722 The director shall require the identification of livestock and poultry for inspection purposes, and the marking and labeling of any livestock product or…
- § 18723 The director shall prohibit the entry into official establishments of any livestock product or poultry product which was not prepared under federal inspection…
- § 18724 The director shall require that when any livestock product or poultry product leaves official establishments it shall bear directly thereon or on its…
- § 18725 The director shall investigate the sanitary conditions of each establishment required to have inspection under Section 18721 and shall withdraw or otherwise…
- § 18726 The director shall prescribe sanitation requirements for all establishments required to have inspection under Section 18721.
- § 18727 The director shall require the following classes of persons to keep such records and for such periods as he may specify, to fully and correctly disclose all…
- § 18728 The director may refuse to provide inspection service to any establishment that fails to destroy any condemned product as required pursuant to Section 18722…
- § 18729 The director may refuse to provide inspection service under this chapter with respect to any establishment for any cause specified in Section 401 of the…
- § 18730 The director may order any labeling or container to be withheld from use if he determines that the labeling is false or misleading or the container is of a…
- § 18731 The director may prescribe the size and style of any type which is to be used for labeling information required pursuant to this chapter, and definitions and…
- § 18732 The director may prescribe conditions of storage and handling of any livestock product or poultry product by any person engaged in the business of buying,…
- § 18733 Equines shall be slaughtered and prepared in establishments separate from any establishment where any other livestock is slaughtered or any product of any…
- § 18734 Every person that is engaged in business in intrastate commerce as a broker, renderer, animal food manufacturer, or wholesaler or public warehouseman of any…
- § 18735 The director may adopt, by reference or otherwise, such provisions of the rules and regulations under the federal acts, with such changes therein as he deems…
- § 18736 The director may appoint and prescribe the duties of such inspectors and other personnel as he deems necessary for the efficient execution of the provisions of…
- § 18737 No inspection of any product placed in any container at any official establishment shall be deemed to be complete until the product is sealed or enclosed in…
- § 18738 For purposes of any inspection of any product required by this chapter, any inspector authorized by the director shall have access at all times, by day or…
ARTICLE 4. Adulteration §§ 18751–18759 · 9 sections
- § 18751 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated if it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health, but in…
- § 18752 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated in each of the following cases: (a) It bears or contains, by reason of administration of any substance to the…
- § 18753 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated if it consists, in whole or in part, of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or is for any other reason…
- § 18754 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated if it has been prepared, packed, or held under unsanitary conditions by which it may have become contaminated…
- § 18755 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated if it is, in whole or in part, the product of an animal, including any poultry, which has died otherwise than by…
- § 18756 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated if its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the…
- § 18757 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated if it has been intentionally subjected to radiation, unless the use of the radiation was in conformity with a…
- § 18758 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated in each of the following cases: (a) Any valuable constituent has been in whole or in part omitted or abstracted…
- § 18759 A livestock or poultry product is adulterated if it is margarine containing animal fat and any of the raw material used in it consisted, in whole or in part,…
ARTICLE 5. Misbranding §§ 18781–18789 · 9 sections
- § 18781 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded in each of the following cases: (a) Its labeling is false or misleading in any particular. (b) It is offered for…
- § 18782 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded unless it bears a label showing all of the following: (a) The name and place of business of the manufacturer,…
- § 18783 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded if any word, statement, or other information required by, or under authority of, this chapter to appear on the…
- § 18784 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded if it purports to be, or is represented, as a food for which a definition and standard of identity or composition…
- § 18785 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded if it purports to be, or is represented as, a food for which a standard or standards of fill of container have…
- § 18786 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded if it is not subject to the provisions of Section 18784, unless its label bears the common or usual name of the…
- § 18787 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded if it purports to be, or is represented to be, for special dietary uses, unless its label bears such information…
- § 18788 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded if it bears or contains any artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, or chemical preservative, unless it is so…
- § 18789 A livestock or poultry product is misbranded if it fails to bear, directly upon the livestock or poultry product and on its container, as the director may…
ARTICLE 6. Exemptions §§ 18811–18814 · 4 sections
- § 18811 For the purposes of Article 2 (commencing with Section 18691) of this chapter, the director may exempt the operations of any person from inspection or other…
- § 18812 The director shall exempt from inspection the slaughtering and preparation by any person of any livestock or poultry of his own raising, exclusively for use by…
- § 18813 The director shall not provide inspection under this chapter at any establishment for the slaughter of livestock or poultry or the preparation of any livestock…
- § 18814 (a) This chapter shall apply to a retail store only to the same extent as the federal acts and regulations issued thereunder are applicable to retail stores,…
ARTICLE 7. Violations §§ 18841–18857 · 17 sections
- § 18841 It is unlawful for any person to slaughter any livestock or poultry, or prepare any livestock or poultry product which is capable of use as human food, at any…
- § 18842 It is unlawful for any person to sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in intrastate commerce, any article required…
- § 18843 It is unlawful for any person to do, with respect to any livestock, poultry, livestock product, or poultry product which is capable of use as human food, any…
- § 18844 It is unlawful for any person to sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in intrastate commerce, or from an official…
- § 18845 It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of the regulations promulgated by the director under this chapter.
- § 18846 It is unlawful for any brand manufacturer, printer, or other person to cast, print, lithograph, or otherwise make any device containing any official mark or…
- § 18847 It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following: (a) Forge any official device, mark, or certificate. (b) Without authorization from the director to…
- § 18848 It is unlawful for any person to sell any dressed carcass of any livestock or poultry which is intended for food purposes, or any prepared meat or meat food…
- § 18849 It is unlawful for any person to sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in intrastate commerce, any carcass of any…
- § 18850 It is unlawful for any person to buy, sell, transport, or offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in intrastate commerce, any…
- § 18851 It is unlawful for any person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or transporting, in intrastate commerce, dead, dying, disabled, or diseased animals,…
- § 18852 It is unlawful for any person to give, pay, or offer, directly or indirectly, to any officer or employee of this state authorized to perform any of the duties…
- § 18853 It is unlawful for any officer or employee of this state authorized to perform any of the duties prescribed by this chapter to accept any money, gift, or other…
- § 18854 It is unlawful for any person to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any person while engaged in or on account of the…
- § 18855 It is unlawful for any person to neglect or refuse to attend and testify or to answer any lawful inquiry, or to produce documentary evidence, if such evidence…
- § 18856 It is unlawful for any person to willfully make, or cause to be made, any false entry or statement of fact in any report required to be made under this chapter…
- § 18857 It is unlawful for any person required by this chapter to file any annual or special report to fail so to do within the time fixed by the director for filing…
ARTICLE 8. Products in Violation §§ 18871–18874 · 4 sections
- § 18871 Since it cannot be determined with certainty, by any present known method of inspection, whether meat, including any poultry meat, is unwholesome unless the…
- § 18872 Whenever any livestock product or poultry product or any product exempted from the definition of a livestock product and from the definition of a poultry…
- § 18873 Any livestock product or poultry product or any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased livestock or poultry that is being transported in intrastate commerce, or is…
- § 18874 The provisions of Section 18873 shall in no way derogate from authority for condemnation or seizure conferred by other provisions of this chapter, or other…
ARTICLE 9. Investigations §§ 18901–18908 · 8 sections
- § 18901 The director may gather and compile information, and investigate the organization, business, conduct, practices, management, and the relation to other persons…
- § 18902 The director may require, by general or special orders, persons subject to this chapter engaged in intrastate commerce, to file with him, in such form as he…
- § 18903 For the purpose of this chapter, the director shall at all reasonable times have access to examine and to copy any documentary evidence of any person being…
- § 18904 Attendance of witnesses, and the production of documentary evidence, may be required at any designated place of hearing. In case of disobedience to a subpoena…
- § 18905 The superior court within the jurisdiction of which such inquiry is carried on may, in case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena issued to any person,…
- § 18906 The director may order testimony to be taken by deposition in any proceeding or investigation pending under this chapter at any stage of such proceeding or…
- § 18907 Witnesses summoned before the director shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the superior court of this state, and witnesses whose…
- § 18908 No person shall be excused from attending and testifying, or from producing books, papers, schedules of charges, contracts, agreements, or other documentary…
ARTICLE 10. Penalties §§ 18931–18935 · 7 sections
- § 18931 Upon the issuance of an order of the director pursuant to Section 18725, 18728, 18729, or 18730, the operator of the establishment may seek administrative…
- § 18932 Any person who is found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations promulgated under this chapter is subject to imprisonment…
- § 18932.1 Any person that violates any provision of this chapter, or any regulation that is issued pursuant to it, is liable civilly for a penalty not to exceed five…
- § 18932.2 (a) In lieu of any civil action brought pursuant to Section 18932.1 and in lieu of seeking prosecution pursuant to Section 18932, the secretary may levy an…
- § 18933 Any person who, as principal or agent, employer or employee, adulterates any meat or meat food product or poultry product intended for sale as human food with…
- § 18934 In addition to the remedies provided in this chapter, the department may bring an action in superior court and such court shall have jurisdiction upon hearing…
- § 18935 Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring the director to report for prosecution or to institute injunction proceedings for any minor violation…