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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 601. Definitions
As used in this chapter, except as otherwise specified, the
following terms shall have the meanings stated below:
(a) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture of
the United States or his delegate.
(b) The term "firm" means any partnership, association, or other
unincorporated business organization.
(c) The term "meat broker" means any person, firm, or corporation
engaged in the business of buying or selling carcasses, parts of
carcasses, meat, or meat food products of cattle, sheep, swine,
goats, horses, mules, or other equines on commission, or otherwise
negotiating purchases or sales of such articles other than for his
own account or as an employee of another person, firm, or
corporation.
(d) The term "renderer" means any person, firm, or corporation
engaged in the business of rendering carcasses or parts or products
of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or
other equines, except rendering conducted under inspection or
exemption under this subchapter.
(e) The term "animal food manufacturer" means any person, firm,
or corporation engaged in the business of manufacturing or
processing animal food derived wholly or in part from carcasses, or
parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats,
horses, mules, or other equines.
(f) The term "State" means any State of the United States and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(g) The term "Territory" means Guam, the Virgin Islands of the
United States, American Samoa, and any other territory or
possession of the United States, excluding the Canal Zone.
(h) The term "commerce" means commerce between any State, any
Territory, or the District of Columbia, and any place outside
thereof; or within any Territory not organized with a legislative
body, or the District of Columbia.
(i) The term "United States" means the States, the District of
Columbia, and the Territories of the United States.
(j) The term "meat food product" means any product capable of use
as human food which is made wholly or in part from any meat or
other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, or goats,
excepting products which contain meat or other portions of such
carcasses only in a relatively small proportion or historically
have not been considered by consumers as products of the meat food
industry, and which are exempted from definition as a meat food
product by the Secretary under such conditions as he may prescribe
to assure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses
contained in such product are not adulterated and that such
products are not represented as meat food products. This term as
applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable
to that provided in this paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep,
swine, and goats.
(k) The term "capable of use as human food" shall apply to any
carcass, or part or product of a carcass, of any animal, unless it
is denatured or otherwise identified as required by regulations
prescribed by the Secretary to deter its use as human food, or it
is naturally inedible by humans.
(l) The term "prepared" means slaughtered, canned, salted,
rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise manufactured or processed.
(m) The term "adulterated" shall apply to any carcass, part
thereof, meat or meat food product under one or more of the
following circumstances:
(1) if it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious
substance which may render it injurious to health; but in case
the substance is not an added substance, such article shall not
be considered adulterated under this clause if the quantity of
such substance in or on such article does not ordinarily render
it injurious to health;
(2)(A) if it bears or contains (by reason of administration of
any substance to the live animal or otherwise) any added
poisonous or added deleterious substance (other than one which is
(i) a pesticide chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity;
(ii) a food additive; or (iii) a color additive) which may, in
the judgment of the Secretary, make such article unfit for human
food;
(B) if it is, in whole or in part, a raw agricultural commodity
and such commodity bears or contains a pesticide chemical which
is unsafe within the meaning of section 346a of this title,
(C) if it bears or contains any food additive which is unsafe
within the meaning of section 348 of this title,
(D) if it bears or contains any color additive which is unsafe
within the meaning of section 379e of this title: Provided, That
an article which is not adulterated under clause (B), (C), or (D)
shall nevertheless be deemed adulterated if use of the pesticide
chemical, food additive, or color additive in or on such article
is prohibited by regulations of the Secretary in establishments
at which inspection is maintained under this subchapter;
(3) if it consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid,
or decomposed substance or is for any other reason unsound,
unhealthful, unwholesome, or otherwise unfit for human food;
(4) if it has been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary
conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or
whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health;
(5) if it is, in whole or in part, the product of an animal
which has died otherwise than by slaughter;
(6) if its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any
poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents
injurious to health;
(7) if it has been intentionally subjected to radiation, unless
the use of the radiation was in conformity with a regulation or
exemption in effect pursuant to section 348 of this title;
(8) if any valuable constituent has been in whole or in part
omitted or abstracted therefrom; or if any substance has been
substituted, wholly or in part therefor; or if damage or
inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or if any substance
has been added thereto or mixed or packed therewith so as to
increase its bulk or weight, or reduce its quality or strength,
or make it appear better or of greater value than it is; or
(9) if it is margarine containing animal fat and any of the raw
material used therein consisted in whole or in part of any
filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance.
(n) The term "misbranded" shall apply to any carcass, part
thereof, meat or meat food product under one or more of the
following circumstances:
(1) if its labeling is false or misleading in any particular;
(2) if it is offered for sale under the name of another food;
(3) if it is an imitation of another food, unless its label
bears, in type of uniform size and prominence, the word
"imitation" and immediately thereafter, the name of the food
imitated;
(4) if its container is so made, formed, or filled as to be
misleading;
(5) if in a package or other container unless it bears a label
showing (A) the name and place of business of the manufacturer,
packer, or distributor; and (B) an accurate statement of the
quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure, or
numerical count: Provided, That under clause (B) of this
subparagraph (5), reasonable variations may be permitted, and
exemptions as to small packages may be established, by
regulations prescribed by the Secretary;
(6) if any word, statement, or other information required by or
under authority of this chapter to appear on the label or other
labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such
conspicuousness (as compared with other words, statements,
designs, or devices, in the labeling) and in such terms as to
render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary
individual under customary conditions of purchase and use;
(7) if it purports to be or is represented as a food for which
a definition and standard of identity or composition has been
prescribed by regulations of the Secretary under section 607 of
this title unless (A) it conforms to such definition and
standard, and (B) its label bears the name of the food specified
in the definition and standard and, insofar as may be required by
such regulations, the common names of optional ingredients (other
than spices, flavoring, and coloring) present in such food;
(8) if it purports to be or is represented as a food for which
a standard or standards of fill of container have been prescribed
by regulations of the Secretary under section 607 of this title,
and it falls below the standard of fill of container applicable
thereto, unless its label bears, in such manner and form as such
regulations specify, a statement that it falls below such
standard;
(9) if it is not subject to the provisions of subparagraph (7),
unless its label bears (A) the common or usual name of the food,
if any there be, and (B) in case it is fabricated from two or
more ingredients, the common or usual name of each such
ingredient; except that spices, flavorings, and colorings may,
when authorized by the Secretary, be designated as spices,
flavorings, and colorings without naming each: Provided, That to
the extent that compliance with the requirements of clause (B) of
this subparagraph (9) is impracticable, or results in deception
or unfair competition, exemptions shall be established by
regulations promulgated by the Secretary;
(10) if it purports to be or is represented for special dietary
uses, unless its label bears such information concerning its
vitamin, mineral, and other dietary properties as the Secretary,
after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, determines to be, and by regulations prescribes as,
necessary in order fully to inform purchasers as to its value for
such uses;
(11) if it bears or contains any artificial flavoring,
artificial coloring, or chemical preservative, unless it bears
labeling stating that fact: Provided, That, to the extent that
compliance with the requirements of this subparagraph (11) is
impracticable, exemptions shall be established by regulations
promulgated by the Secretary; or
(12) if it fails to bear, directly thereon or on its container,
as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe, the inspection
legend and, unrestricted by any of the foregoing, such other
information as the Secretary may require in such regulations to
assure that it will not have false or misleading labeling and
that the public will be informed of the manner of handling
required to maintain the article in a wholesome condition.
(o) The term "label" means a display of written, printed, or
graphic matter upon the immediate container (not including package
liners) of any article.
(p) The term "labeling" means all labels and other written,
printed, or graphic matter (1) upon any article or any of its
containers or wrappers, or (2) accompanying such article.
(q) The term "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 301
et seq.]" means the Act so entitled, approved June 25, 1938 (52
Stat. 1040), and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.
(r) The terms "pesticide chemical," "food additive," "color
additive," and "raw agricultural commodity" shall have the same
meanings for purposes of this chapter as under the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.].
(s) The term "official mark" means the official inspection legend
or any other symbol prescribed by regulations of the Secretary to
identify the status of any article or animal under this chapter.
(t) The term "official inspection legend" means any symbol
prescribed by regulations of the Secretary showing that an article
was inspected and passed in accordance with this chapter.
(u) The term "official certificate" means any certificate
prescribed by regulations of the Secretary for issuance by an
inspector or other person performing official functions under this
chapter.
(v) The term "official device" means any device prescribed or
authorized by the Secretary for use in applying any official mark.
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