§601 Definitions

Summary

Makes clear what certain words mean in the chapter so people use them the same way. It names who or what is meant by key terms used in the rules. “Secretary” — the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture or someone they pick; “firm” — an unincorporated business like a partnership or association; “meat broker” — a person or business that buys or sells meat or carcasses for others; “renderer” — a business that processes carcasses into other products (unless done under inspection or an exemption); “animal food manufacturer” — a business that makes animal feed from carcasses or their parts; “State” — any U.S. State and Puerto Rico; “Territory” — Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and other U.S. territories except the Canal Zone; “commerce” — trade across States, Territories, the District of Columbia, or places outside them; “United States” — the States, D.C., and the Territories; “meat food product” — any human food made wholly or partly from meat or carcass parts, with some small or historically different products possibly exempted by the Secretary; “capable of use as human food” — any carcass, part, or product fit for people to eat unless it is marked or altered to keep people from eating it or is naturally inedible; “prepared” — slaughtered, canned, salted, rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise processed; “adulterated” — unsafe, spoiled, contaminated, wrongly processed or packed, from an animal that did not die by slaughter, in harmful containers, improperly irradiated, altered to hide damage or cheat quality, or otherwise unfit; “misbranded” — misleading or false labeling, wrong name, imitation without clear notice, misleading container or missing required label info (like maker and quantity), missing ingredient or special-diet facts, undisclosed artificial ingredients or preservatives, or missing the inspection mark; “label” — writing or pictures on the immediate container; “labeling” — all labels and other writing on or with the product; “Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” — the law approved June 25, 1938, and its amendments; “pesticide chemical,” “food additive,” “color additive,” and “raw agricultural commodity” — mean the same as under that Act; “official mark,” “official inspection legend,” “official certificate,” and “official device” — the symbols, certificates, and tools the Secretary sets by rule to show inspection status; “amenable species” — species covered before November 10, 2005, all fish of the order Siluriformes, and any other livestock the Secretary adds.