§606 — Title 21 Food and Drugs | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must have inspectors check all meat food products made for commerce in slaughterhouses, packing, canning, salting, rendering, and similar plants. Inspectors can go into any part of a plant at any time, day or night, whether the plant is running or closed. If a product is clean and safe, inspectors must mark it to show it passed. If it is adulterated or unsafe, inspectors must mark it as condemned and those products must be destroyed. The Secretary can remove inspectors from plants that do not destroy condemned products. Meat products meant for export and made the way a foreign buyer asks, and that do not contain substances banned by the importing country, are not subject here to the rules about preservatives; but if those products are sold or offered for sale in the United States, they must follow the other rules in this law. When inspecting meat from fish described in section 601(w)(2), the Secretary must consider how the fish were raised and transported to the processing plant.

Title 21, §606

Food and Drugs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For the purposes hereinbefore set forth the Secretary shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of all meat food products prepared for commerce in any slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment, and for the purposes of any examination and inspection and inspectors shall have access at all times, by day or night, whether the establishment be operated or not, to every part of said establishment; and said inspectors shall mark, stamp, tag, or label as “Inspected and passed” all such products found to be not adulterated; and said inspectors shall label, mark, stamp, or tag as “Inspected and condemned” all such products found adulterated, and all such condemned meat food products shall be destroyed for food purposes, as hereinbefore provided, and the Secretary may remove inspectors from any establishment which fails to so destroy such condemned meat food products: Provided, That subject to the rules and regulations of the Secretary the provisions of this section in regard to preservatives shall not apply to meat food products for export to any foreign country and which are prepared or packed according to the specifications or directions of the foreign purchaser, when no substance is used in the preparation or packing thereof in conflict with the laws of the foreign country to which said article is to be exported; but if said article shall be in fact sold or offered for sale for domestic use or consumption then this proviso shall not exempt said article from the operation of all the other provisions of this chapter.11 See References in Text note below.

(b)In the case of an examination and inspection under subsection (a) of a meat food product derived from any fish described in section 601(w)(2) of this title, the Secretary shall take into account the conditions under which the fish is raised and transported to a processing establishment.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), probably should have been a reference to this Act in the original, meaning the Federal Meat Inspection Act, titles I to V of act Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, as added Dec. 15, 1967, Pub. L. 90–201, 81 Stat. 584, which are classified generally to subchapters I to IV–A of this chapter. Codification Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 enacted identical sections and repealed former section 6 of act Mar. 4, 1907. Pub. L. 110–234 was repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 606, acts Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, title I, § 6, formerly 4th par., 34 Stat. 1261; renumbered § 6 and amended Pub. L. 90–201, §§ 1, 3, 12(e), Dec. 15, 1967, 81 Stat. 584, 588, 592; Pub. L. 99–641, title IV, § 403(a), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3567, was formerly classified to section 74 of this title and was repealed by Pub. L. 110–234, title XI, § 11016(b)(1)(B),

May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1369, and Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title XI, § 11016(b)(1)(B),

June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2131. Prior to repeal, section read as follows: “For the purposes hereinbefore set forth the Secretary shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of all meat food products prepared for commerce in any slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment, and for the purposes of any examination and inspection and inspectors shall have access at all times, by day or night, whether the establishment be operated or not, to every part of said establishment; and said inspectors shall mark, stamp, tag, or label as ‘Inspected and passed’ all such products found to be not adulterated; and said inspectors shall label, mark, stamp, or tag as ‘Inspected and condemned’ all such products found adulterated, and all such condemned meat food products shall be destroyed for food purposes, as hereinbefore provided, and the Secretary may remove inspectors from any establishment which fails to so destroy such condemned meat food products: Provided, That subject to the

Rules and Regulations

of the Secretary the provisions of this section in regard to preservatives shall not apply to meat food products for export to any foreign country and which are prepared or packed according to the specifications or directions of the foreign purchaser, when no substance is used in the preparation or packing thereof in conflict with the laws of the foreign country to which said article is to be exported; but if said article shall be in fact sold or offered for sale for domestic use or consumption then this proviso shall not exempt said article from the operation of all the other provisions of this chapter.”

Amendments

2014—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 113–79 added subsec. (b) and struck out former subsec. (b). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “In the case of an examination and inspection under subsection (a) of a meat food product derived from catfish, the Secretary shall take into account the conditions under which the catfish is raised and transported to a processing establishment.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2014 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 113–79 effective as if enacted as part of section 11016(b) of Pub. L. 110–246, see section 12106(c) of Pub. L. 113–79, set out as a note under section 601 of this title.

Effective Date

Enactment of this section and repeal of former section 6 of act Mar. 4, 1907, and Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, except as otherwise provided, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture.

§606 Inspection and labeling of meat food products

Summary

Title 21, §606

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Prior Provisions

Rules and Regulations

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata