Article 49B.

Meat Inspection Requirements; Adulteration and Misbranding.

§ 106-549.15.  Definitions.

As used in this Article, except as otherwise specified, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below:

(1) "Adulterated" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat food product under one or more of the following circumstances:

a. If it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health; but in case the substance is not an added substance, such article shall not be considered adulterated under this clause if the quantity of such substance in or on such article does not ordinarily render it injurious to health;

b. 1. If it bears or contains (by reason of administration of any substance to the live animal or otherwise) any added poisonous or added deleterious substance (other than one which is (i) a pesticide chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity; (ii) a food additive; or (iii) a color additive) which may, in the judgment of the Commissioner, make such article unfit for human food;

2. If it is, in whole or in part, a raw agricultural commodity and such commodity bears or contains a pesticide chemical which is unsafe within the meaning of section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;

3. If it bears or contains any food additive which is unsafe within the meaning of section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;

4. If it bears or contains any color additive which is unsafe within the meaning of section 721 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: Provided, that an article which is not adulterated under clause 2, 3, or 4 shall nevertheless be deemed adulterated if use of the pesticide chemical, food additive or color additive in or on such article is prohibited by order of the Commissioner in establishments at which inspection is maintained under this Article;

c. If it consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or is for any other reason unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome, or otherwise unfit for human food;

d. If it has been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health;

e. If it is, in whole or in part, the product of an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter;

f. If its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health;

g. If it has been intentionally subjected to radiation, unless the use of the radiation was in conformity with a regulation or exemption in effect pursuant to section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;

h. If any valuable constituent has been in whole or in part omitted or abstracted therefrom; or if any substance has been substituted, wholly or in part therefor; or if damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or if any substance has been added thereto or mixed or packed therewith so as to increase its bulk or weight, or reduce its quality or strength, or make it appear better or of greater value than it is; or

i. If it is margarine containing animal fat and any of the raw material used therein consist in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance.

(2) "Animal food manufacturer" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of manufacturing or processing animal food derived wholly or in part from carcasses, or parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines.

(3) "Authorized representative" means the Director of the Meat and Poultry Inspection Service of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

(4) "Board" means the North Carolina Board of Agriculture.

(5) "Capable of use as human food" shall apply to any carcass, or part or product of a carcass, of any animal, unless it is denatured or otherwise identified as required by regulations prescribed by the Board to deter its use as human food, or it is naturally inedible by humans.

(6) "Commissioner" means the North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture or his authorized representative.

(7) "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" means the act so entitled, approved June 25, 1938 (52 Stat. 1040), and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.

(8) "Federal Meat Inspection Act" means the act so entitled approved March 4, 1907 (34 Stat. 1260), as amended by the Wholesome Meat Act (81 Stat. 584).

(9) "Firm" means any partnership, association, or other unincorporated business organization.

(10) "Intrastate commerce" means commerce within this State.

(11) "Label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container (not including package liners) of any article.

(12) "Labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter (i) upon any article or any of its containers or wrappers, or (ii) accompanying such article.

(13) "Meat broker" means any person, firm, corporation engaged in the business of buying or selling carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, or meat food products of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, bison, horses, mules, or other equines on commission, or otherwise negotiating purchases or sales of such articles other than for his own account or as an employee of another person, firm, or corporation.

(14) "Meat food product" means any product capable of use as human food that is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, bison, fallow deer, or red deer, excepting products that contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the meat food industry, and that are exempted from definition as a meat food product by the Board under such conditions as it may prescribe to assure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat food products. This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this subdivision with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and bison.

(15) "Misbranded" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat food product under one or more of the following circumstances:

a. If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular;

b. If it is offered for sale under the name of another food;

c. If it is imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately thereafter, the name of the food imitated;

d. If its container is so made, formed, or filled as to be misleading;

e. If in a package or other container unless it bears a label showing (i) the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and (ii) an accurate statement of the quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count; provided, that under clause (ii) of this paragraph e, reasonable variations may be permitted, and exemptions as to small packages may be established, by regulations prescribed by the Board;

f. If any word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of this or the subsequent Article to appear on the label or other labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness (as compared with other words, statements, designs, or devices, in the labeling) and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use;

g. If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a definition and standard of identity or composition has been prescribed by regulations of the Board under G.S. 106-549.21 unless (i) it conforms to such definition and standard, and (ii) its label bears the name of the food specified in the definition and standard and, insofar as may be required by such regulations, the common names of optional ingredients (other than spices, flavoring, and coloring) present in such food;

h. If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a standard or standards of fill of container have been prescribed by regulations of the Board under G.S. 106-549.21, and it falls below the standard of fill of container applicable thereto, unless its label bears, in such manner and form as such regulations specify, a statement that it falls below such standard;

i. If it is not subject to the provisions of paragraph g, unless its label bears (i) the common or usual name of the food, if any there be, and (ii) in case it is fabricated from two or more ingredients, the common or usual name of each such ingredient; except that spices, flavorings, and colorings may, when authorized by the Commissioner, be designated as spices, flavorings, and colorings without naming each: Provided, that, to the extent that compliance with the requirements of clause (ii) of this paragraph i is impracticable, or results in deception or unfair competition, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the Board;

j. If it purports to be or is represented for special dietary uses, unless its label bears such information concerning its vitamin, mineral, and other dietary properties as the Board determines to be, and by regulations prescribes as, necessary in order fully to inform purchasers as to its value for such uses;

k. If it bears or contains any artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, or chemical preservatives, unless it bears labeling stating that fact: Provided, that, to the extent that compliance with the requirements of this paragraph k is impracticable, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the Board; or

l. If it fails to bear, directly thereon or on its container, as the Board may by regulations prescribe, the inspection legend and, unrestricted by any of the foregoing, such other information as the Board may require in such regulations to assure that it will not have false or misleading labeling and that the public will be informed of the manner of handling required to maintain the article in a wholesome condition.

(16) "Official certificate" means any certificate prescribed by regulations of the Board for issuance by an inspector or other person performing official functions under this or the subsequent Article.

(17) "Official device" means any device prescribed or authorized by the Board for use in applying any official mark.

(18) "Official inspection legend" means any symbol prescribed by regulations of the Board showing that an article was inspected and passed in accordance with this or the subsequent Article.

(19) "Official mark" means the official inspection legend or any other symbol prescribed by regulations of the Board to identify the status of any article or animal under this or the subsequent Article.

(20) "Pesticide chemical," "food additive," "color additive," and "raw agricultural commodity" shall have the same meanings for purposes of this Article as under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

(21) "Prepared" means slaughtered, canned, salted, smoked, rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise manufactured or processed.

(21a) "Ratite" means a bird whose breastbone is smooth so that flight muscles cannot attach, such as an ostrich, an emu, and a rhea. These birds are subject to the provisions of this Article and Article 49C to the same extent as any other meat food product.

(22) "Renderer" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of rendering carcasses, or parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, fallow deer, red deer, horses, mules, or other equines, except rendering conducted under inspection under this Article. (1969, c. 893, s. 1; 1991, c. 317, ss. 4, 5; 1993, c. 311, s. 1; 1995, c. 194, ss. 1, 2; 1997-142, ss. 4, 5; 1997-261, s. 58; 2017-108, s. 11(a).)