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Title 21, Food and DrugsRelease 119-110

§610 Prohibited Acts

Title 21 › CHAPTER 12 — MEAT INSPECTION › SUBCHAPTER I — INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS; ADULTERATION AND MISBRANDING › § 610

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

People and companies must not slaughter or prepare cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, other equines, or their meat for sale unless they follow the rules in this chapter. They must use humane slaughter and handling methods required by the Act of August 27, 1958 (72 Stat. 862; 7 U.S.C. 1901–1906). No one may sell, ship, offer for sale, or accept for shipment meat or meat products in trade if the food is unsafe, contaminated, or wrongly labeled, or if the product needed inspection but was not inspected and passed. While meat is being shipped or held for sale, people must not do anything that would make it unsafe or improperly labeled.

Full Legal Text

Title 21, §610

Food and Drugs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

No person, firm, or corporation shall, with respect to any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines, or any carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat or meat food products of any such animals—
(a)Slaughtering animals or preparation of articles capable of use as human food
slaughter any such animals or prepare any such articles which are capable of use as human food at any establishment preparing any such articles for commerce, except in compliance with the requirements of this chapter;
(b)Humane methods of slaughter
slaughter or handle in connection with slaughter any such animals in any manner not in accordance with the Act of August 27, 1958 (72 Stat. 862; 7 U.S.C. 1901–1906);
(c)Sales, transportation, and other transactions
sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in commerce, (1) any such articles which (A) are capable of use as human food and (B) are adulterated or misbranded at the time of such sale, transportation, offer for sale or transportation, or receipt for transportation; or (2) any articles required to be inspected under this subchapter unless they have been so inspected and passed;
(d)Adulteration or misbranding
do, with respect to any such articles which are capable of use as human food, any act while they are being transported in commerce or held for sale after such transportation, which is intended to cause or has the effect of causing such articles to be adulterated or misbranded.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act of
August 27, 1958, referred to in subsec. (b), is Pub. L. 85–765, Aug. 27, 1958, 72 Stat. 862, which is classified generally to chapter 48 (§ 1901 et seq.) of Title 7, Agriculture. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. section 1903 and 1905 of Title 7, included within reference to Act of
August 27, 1958, were repealed by Pub. L. 95–445, § 5(b), Oct. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 1069, effective as set forth in section 7 of Pub. L. 95–445, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1978 Amendment note under section 603 of this title. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 78 of this title.

Amendments

1978—Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 95–445 added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsecs. (b) and (c) as (c) and (d), respectively. 1967—Pub. L. 90–201, § 7, included the list of animals and prohibited, except in compliance with requirements of this chapter, slaughtering animals or preparation of articles capable of use as human food, sales, transportation, and other transactions, and acts of adulteration or misbranding, incorporating in subsec. (b)(2) existing prohibition on distributions in interstate or foreign commerce of noninspected articles.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–445 effective one year after Oct. 10, 1978, and an additional eighteen month period thereafter in hardship cases, see section 7 of Pub. L. 95–445, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1978 Amendment note under section 603 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1967 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–201 effective Dec. 15, 1967, except that subsecs. (b)(1) and (c) of this section effective upon expiration of sixty days after Dec. 15, 1967, see section 20(a) of Pub. L. 90–201, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 601 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

21 U.S.C. § 610

Title 21, Food and Drugs

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110