21 U.S.C. § 603 — Examination of animals prior to slaughter;

Page 745 TITLE 21—FOOD AND DRUGS § 603 ‘‘(ii) To maximize the effectiveness of limited per- sonnel and resources by ensuring that— ‘‘(I) inspections conducted by the Department satisfy requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); ‘‘(II) inspections of shipments and processing fa- cilities for fish of the order Siluriformes by the De- partment and the Food and Drug Administration are not duplicative; and ‘‘(III) any information resulting from examina- tion, testing, and inspections conducted is consid- ered in making risk-based determinations, includ- ing the establishment of inspection priorities.’’ Pub. L. 110–234, title XI, § 11016(b)(2)(B), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1370, and Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title XI, § 11016(b)(2)(B), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2131, re- quired the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to issue final regulations to carry out the amendments made by section 11016(b)(1) of Pub. L. 110–234 and section 11016(b)(1) of Pub. L. 110–246 (enacting sections 606 and 625 of this title, amending this section, and repealing former section 606 of this title) not later than 18 months after June 18, 2008, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 113–79, title XII, § 12106(b)(4), Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 981, effective as if enacted as part of section 11016(b) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246; 122 Stat. 2130), see Effective Date of 2014 Amendment note above. [Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 enacted identical provisions. Pub. L. 110–234 was repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture.] SEPARABILITY Pub. L. 90–201, § 19, Dec. 15, 1967, 81 Stat. 601, provided that: ‘‘If any provision of this Act or of the amend- ments made hereby [see Short Title note above] or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and the remaining amendments [see Short Title note above] and of the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected there- by.’’ § 602. Congressional statement of findings Meat and meat food products are an important source of the Nation’s total supply of food. They are consumed throughout the Nation and the major portion thereof moves in interstate or for- eign commerce. It is essential in the public in- terest that the health and welfare of consumers be protected by assuring that meat and meat food products distributed to them are whole- some, not adulterated, and properly marked, la- beled, and packaged. Unwholesome, adulterated, or misbranded meat or meat food products im- pair the effective regulation of meat and meat food products in interstate or foreign commerce, are injurious to the public welfare, destroy mar- kets for wholesome, not adulterated, and prop- erly labeled and packaged meat and meat food products, and result in sundry losses to live- stock producers and processors of meat and meat food products, as well as injury to con- sumers. The unwholesome, adulterated, mis- labeled, or deceptively packaged articles can be sold at lower prices and compete unfairly with the wholesome, not adulterated, and properly la- beled and packaged articles, to the detriment of consumers and the public generally. It is hereby found that all articles and animals which are regulated under this chapter are either in inter- state or foreign commerce or substantially af- fect such commerce, and that regulation by the Secretary and cooperation by the States and other jurisdictions as contemplated by this chapter are appropriate to prevent and elimi- nate burdens upon such commerce, to effectively regulate such commerce, and to protect the health and welfare of consumers. (Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, title I, § 2, as added Pub. L. 90–201, § 2, Dec. 15, 1967, 81 Stat. 587.) § 603. Examination of animals prior to slaughter; use of humane methods (a) Examination of animals before slaughtering; diseased animals slaughtered separately and carcasses examined For the purpose of preventing the use in com- merce of meat and meat food products which are adulterated, the Secretary shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of all amenable species before they shall be allowed to enter into any slaughtering, packing, meat-canning, ren- dering, or similar establishment, in which they are to be slaughtered and the meat and meat food products thereof are to be used in com- merce; and all amenable species found on such inspection to show symptoms of disease shall be set apart and slaughtered separately from all other cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines, and when so slaughtered the carcasses of said cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines shall be subject to a careful examination and inspection, all as provided by the rules and regulations to be pre- scribed by the Secretary, as provided for in this subchapter. (b) Humane methods of slaughter For the purpose of preventing the inhumane slaughtering of livestock, the Secretary shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of the method by which amenable species are slaughtered and handled in connection with slaughter in the slaughtering establishments in- spected under this chapter. The Secretary may refuse to provide inspection to a new slaugh- tering establishment or may cause inspection to be temporarily suspended at a slaughtering es- tablishment if the Secretary finds that any cat- tle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines have been slaughtered or handled in connection with slaughter at such establish- ment by any method not in accordance with the Act of August 27, 1958 (72 Stat. 862; 7 U.S.C. 1901–1906) until the establishment furnishes as- surances satisfactory to the Secretary that all slaughtering and handling in connection with slaughter of livestock shall be in accordance with such a method. (Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, title I, § 3, formerly 1st par., 34 Stat. 1260; renumbered § 3 and amended Pub. L. 90–201, §§ 1, 3, 12(a), (b), Dec. 15, 1967, 81 Stat. 584, 588, 592; Pub. L. 95–445, § 2, Oct. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 1069; Pub. L. 109–97, title VII, § 798[(a)](1), Nov. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 2166.) 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 classi- Page 746 TITLE 21—FOOD AND DRUGS § 604 fied generally to chapter 48 (§ 1901 et seq.) of Title 7, Ag- riculture. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Sections 1903 and 1905 of Title 7, included within ref- erence 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 Ef- fective Date of 1978 Amendment note below. CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified to section 71 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2005—Pub. L. 109–97 substituted ‘‘amenable species’’ for ‘‘cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and other equines’’ wherever appearing. 1978—Pub. L. 95–445 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). 1967—Pub. L. 90–201, §§ 3, 12(a), (b), struck out ‘‘inter- state or foreign’’ before ‘‘commerce’’ in two places, substituted ‘‘Secretary shall’’ for ‘‘Secretary, at his discretion, may’’, and struck out ‘‘of Agriculture’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’, included horses, mules, and other equines, and horses, mules, or other equines in the list of ani- mals, and substituted ‘‘adulterated’’ for ‘‘unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome, or otherwise unfit for human food’’, respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2005 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 109–97 effective the day after 120 days after Nov. 10, 2005, see section 798(b) of Pub. L. 109–97, set out as a note under section 601 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1978 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 95–445, § 7, Oct. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 1070, provided that: ‘‘The provisions of this Act [see Short Title of 1978 Amendment note set out under section 601 of this title] shall become effective one year after the date of enactment [Oct. 10, 1978]. However, such provisions shall not apply to a person, firm, or corporation for such additional period of time, not to exceed eighteen months, as may be determined by the Secretary, if the Secretary, upon application, finds that compliance with the provisions of this Act on its effective date would cause undue hardship on such person, firm, or corporation.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1967 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 90–201 effective Dec. 15, 1967, except that with respect to equines (other than horses) and their carcasses and parts thereof, meat, and meat food products thereof, amendment effective upon expi- ration of sixty days after Dec. 15, 1967, see section 20(b) of Pub. L. 90–201, set out as an Effective Date note under section 601 of this title. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM; RITUAL SLAUGHTER Pub. L. 95–445, § 6, Oct. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 1070, provided that: ‘‘Nothing in this Act [see Short Title of 1978 Amendment note set out under section 601 of this title] shall be construed to prohibit, abridge, or in any way hinder the religious freedom of any person or group. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in order to protect freedom of religion, ritual slaughter and the handling or other preparation of livestock for ritual slaughter are exempted from the terms of this Act. For the purposes of this section the term ‘ritual slaughter’ means slaughter in accordance with section 2(b) of the Act of August 27, 1958 (72 Stat. 862; 7 U.S.C. 1902(b)).’’ § 604. Post mortem examination of carcasses and marking or labeling; destruction of carcasses condemned; reinspection For the purposes hereinbefore set forth the Secretary shall cause to be made by inspectors appointed for that purpose a post mortem exam- ination and inspection of the carcasses and parts thereof of all amenable species to be prepared at any slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, pack- ing, rendering, or similar establishment in any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia as articles of commerce which are capable of use as human food; and the carcasses and parts thereof of all such animals found to be not adulterated shall be marked, stamped, tagged, or labeled as ‘‘Inspected and passed’’; and said inspectors shall label, mark, stamp, or tag as ‘‘Inspected and condemned’’ all carcasses and parts thereof of animals found to be adulterated; and all car- casses and parts thereof thus inspected and con- demned shall be destroyed for food purposes by the said establishment in the presence of an in- spector, and the Secretary may remove inspec- tors from any such establishment which fails to so destroy any such condemned carcass or part thereof, and said inspectors, after said first in- spection, shall, when they deem it necessary, re- inspect said carcasses or parts thereof to deter- mine whether since the first inspection the same have become adulterated, and if any carcass or any part thereof shall, upon examination and in- spection subsequent to the first examination and inspection, be found to be adulterated, it shall be destroyed for food purposes by the said establishment in the presence of an inspector, and the Secretary may remove inspectors from any establishment which fails to so destroy any such condemned carcass or part thereof. (Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, title I, § 4, formerly 2nd par., 34 Stat. 1260; renumbered § 4 and amended Pub. L. 90–201, §§ 1, 3, 4, 12(a)–(d), Dec. 15, 1967, 81 Stat. 584, 588, 592; Pub. L. 109–97, title VII, § 798[(a)](1), Nov. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 2166.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified to section 72 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2005—Pub. L. 109–97 substituted ‘‘amenable species’’ for ‘‘cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and other equines’’. 1967—Pub. L. 90–201, §§ 3, 4, 12(a)–(d), struck out ‘‘interstate or foreign’’ before ‘‘commerce’’ and ‘‘of Ag- riculture’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’ in three places; struck out ‘‘for human consumption’’ before ‘‘at any slaugh- tering’’ and ‘‘for transportation or sale’’ after ‘‘District of Columbia’’ and inserted ‘‘which are capable of use as human food’’ after ‘‘commerce’’; included horses, mules, and other equines in the list of animals; sub- stituted ‘‘adulterated’’ for ‘‘unsound, unhealthful, un- wholesome, or otherwise unfit for human food’’ after ‘‘ ‘Inspected and condemned,’ all carcasses and parts thereof of animals found to be’’ and before ‘‘, it shall be destroyed’’; substituted ‘‘not adulterated’’ for ‘‘sound, healthful, wholesome, and fit for human food’’; and sub- stituted ‘‘adulterated’’ for ‘‘unsound, unhealthful, un- wholesome, or in any way unfit for human food’’ before ‘‘and if any carcass’’, respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2005 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 109–97 effective the day after 120 days after Nov. 10, 2005, see section 798(b) of Pub. L. 109–97, set out as a note under section 601 of this title.