Title 21 — Food and DrugsRelease 119-73

§467a Administrative detention; duration; pending judicial proceedings; notification of government authorities; release; removal of official marks

Title 21 › Chapter CHAPTER 10— - POULTRY AND POULTRY PRODUCTS INSPECTION › § 467a

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A government inspector can hold poultry products, certain related items, or dead, dying, disabled, or sick birds found where they are stored for sale or distribution if the inspector thinks they might be contaminated, wrongly labeled, not inspected, or being distributed against federal or state law. The inspector can keep them for up to 20 days while action is taken under section 467b or while other government agencies are told. Those items cannot be moved until the inspector lets them go. The inspector may also make the responsible party remove official stamps or labels before release unless the Secretary agrees the items can keep them.

Full Legal Text

Title 21, §467a

Food and Drugs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whenever any poultry product, or any product exempted from the definition of a poultry product, or any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased poultry is found by any authorized representative of the Secretary upon any premises where it is held for purposes of, or during or after distribution in, commerce or otherwise subject to this chapter, and there is reason to believe that any such article is adulterated or misbranded and is capable of use as human food, or that it has not been inspected, in violation of the provisions of this chapter or of any other Federal law or the laws of any State or Territory, or the District of Columbia, or that it has been or is intended to be, distributed in violation of any such provisions, it may be detained by such representative for a period not to exceed twenty days, pending action under section 467b of this title or notification of any Federal, State, or other governmental authorities having jurisdiction over such article or poultry, and shall not be moved by any person, from the place at which it is located when so detained, until released by such representative. All official marks may be required by such representative to be removed from such article or poultry before it is released unless it appears to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the article or poultry is eligible to retain such marks.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

21 U.S.C. § 467a

Title 21 — Food and Drugs

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73