Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 40 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Chapter 40-10 - MEAT AND POULTRY INSPECTION › Subject 40-10-1 - MEAT INSPECTION - MEAT PROCESSING › Rule 40-10-1-.02 - Meaning of Terms

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) As used in this chapter, unless otherwise
				required by the context, the singular form shall also import the plural and the
				masculine form shall also import the feminine, and vice versa.
(2) As used in this chapter, unless otherwise
				required by the context, the following terms shall be construed; respectively
				to mean:
(a) Reserved.
(b) The Department. The Georgia Department of
				Agriculture.
(c)
				Reserved.
(d) Reserved.
(e) Commissioner. The Commissioner of the
				Georgia Department of Agriculture, the Administrator. When used in these Rules,
				the Commissioner shall also mean any person duly authorized by him to carry out
				the provisions of these regulations.
(f) Program. The Meat Inspection Program of
				the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
(g) Inspector. An inspector of the
				program.
(h) Program Employee. Any
				inspector or other individual employed by the Department who is authorized by
				the Commissioner to do any work or perform any duty in connection with the
				program.
(i) Official
				establishment. Any slaughtering, cutting, boning, meat canning, curing,
				smoking, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment at which
				inspection is maintained under the regulations in this chapter.
(j) District Supervisor. The District
				Supervisor of a district.
(k)
				District. One of the geographical areas designated as a district by the
				Department of Agriculture.
(l)
				Reserved.
(m) Firm. Any
				partnership, association, or other unincorporated business
				organization.
(n) Meat broker. Any
				person engaged in the business of buying or selling carcasses, parts of
				carcasses, meat or meat food products of livestock on commission, or otherwise
				negotiating purchases or sales of such articles other than for his own account
				or as an employee of another person.
(o) Renderer. Any person engaged in the
				business of rendering carcasses or parts or products or the carcasses of any
				livestock except rendering conducted under inspection or exemption under the
				Act.
(p) Animal food. Any article
				intended for use as food for dogs, cats, or other animals derived wholly, or in
				part, from the carcass or parts or products of the carcass of any livestock,
				except that the term animal food as used herein does not include livestock and
				poultry feeds manufactured from processed animal byproducts (such as meatmeal
				tankage, meat and bonemeal, bloodmeal, and feed grade animal fat).
(q) Animal food manufacturer. Any person
				engaged in the business of manufacturing or processing animal food except
				manufacturers of livestock and poultry feeds with respect to any activity of
				acquiring or using processed animal byproducts (such as meatmeal tankage, meat
				and bonemeal, bloodmeal, and feed grade animal fat in the manufacture of such
				feeds.)
(r) State. Any state of the
				United States or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(s) Reserved.
(t) Reserved.
(u) Reserved.
(v) Capable of use as human food. This term
				applies to any carcass, or part or product of a carcass, of any livestock,
				unless it is denatured or otherwise identified as required by the applicable
				provisions of
				40-10-1-.16 of this chapter to deter
				its use as a human food or it is naturally inedible by humans; e.g., hoofs or
				horns in their natural state.
(w)
				Edible. Intended for use as human food.
(x) Inedible. Adulterated, uninspected, or
				not intended for use as human food.
(y) Prepared. Slaughtered, canned, salted,
				rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise manufactured or processed.
(z) Cutting up. Any division of any carcass
				or part thereof, except that the trimming of carcasses or parts thereof to
				remove surface contaminants is not considered as cutting up.
(aa) Adulterated. This term applies to any
				carcass, part thereof, meat or meat food product under one or more of the
				following circumstances:
1. 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;
2. If it bears or contains
				any of the following:
(i) If it bears or
				contains (by reason of administration of any substance to the live animal or
				otherwise) any added poisonous or added deleterious substances (other than one
				which is: a pesticide chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity, a food
				additive, or a color additive), which may, in the judgment of the Commissioner,
				make such article unfit for human food;
(ii) 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;
(iii) 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;
(iv) If it bears or contains any color
				additive which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 706 of the Federal, Food
				Drug, and Cosmetic Act: Provided, that an article which is not deemed
				adulterated under sub-division (ii), (iii), or this (iv) of this subparagraph
				shall nevertheless be deemed adulterated if use of the pesticide chemical, food
				additive, or color additive in or on such article is prohibited by the
				regulations in this chapter in official establishments;
3. 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.
4. If it has been prepared, packed, or held
				under unsanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth,
				or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health;
5. If it is, in whole or in part, the product
				of an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter;
6. If its container is composed, in whole or
				in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substances which may render the
				contents injurious to health;
7. If
				it has been intentionally subject 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;
8. 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
9. If it is margarine containing animal fat
				and any of the raw material used therein consisted in whole or in part of any
				filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance, or is otherwise adulterated.
(bb) "Inspected and passed" or
				"Georgia inspected and passed" or "Georgia inspected and passed by Department
				of Agriculture" (or any authorized abbreviation thereof). This term means that
				the product so identified has been inspected and passed under the regulations
				in this chapter, and at the time it was inspected, passed, and identified, it
				was found to be not adulterated.
(cc) Georgia passed for cooking. This term
				means that the meat byproduct so identified has been inspected and passed on
				condition that it is rendered into lard, rendered pork fat, or tallow, as
				prescribed by the regulations in
				40-10-1-.17 of this
				chapter.
(dd) Georgia passed for
				refrigeration. This term means that the meat or meat byproduct so identified
				has been inspected and passed on condition that it be refrigerated or otherwise
				handled as prescribed by the regulations in
				40-10-1-.13 of this
				chapter.
(ee) Georgia inspected and
				condemned (or any authorized abbreviation thereof). This term means that the
				carcass, viscera, other part of carcass, or other product so identified has
				been inspected, found to be adulterated, and condemned under the regulations in
				this chapter.
(ff) Georgia
				retained. This term means that the carcass, viscera, other parts of the
				carcass, or other product, or article so identified is held for further
				examination by an inspector to determine its disposal.
(gg) Georgia suspect. This term means that
				the livestock so identified is suspected of being affected with a disease or
				condition which may require its condemnation, in whole or in part, when
				slaughtered, and is subject to further examination by an inspector to determine
				its disposal.
(hh) Georgia
				condemned. This term means that the livestock so identified has been inspected
				and found to be in a dying condition, or to be affected with any other
				condition or disease that would require condemnation of its carcass.
(ii) Misbranded. This term applies to any
				carcass, part thereof, meat or meat food product under one or more of the
				following circumstances:
1. If its labeling is
				false or misleading in any particular;
2. If it is offered for sale under the name
				of another food;
3. If it is an
				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;
4. If its container
				is so made, formed, or filled as to be misleading;
5. 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; except as
				otherwise provided in
				40-10-1-.19 of this chapter with
				respect to the quantity of contents;
6. If any word, statement, or other
				information required by or under authority of the Act 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;
7. 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 the regulations in
				40-10-1-.21 of this chapter 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;
8. 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 the regulations in
				40-10-1-.21 of this chapter, 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:
9. If it is not subject to the provisions of
				subparagraph 7. of this paragraph 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 as otherwise provided in
				40-10-1-.19 of this
				chapter.
10. 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 is required by the regulations in
				40-10-1-.19 of this
				chapter.
11. If it bears or
				contains any artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, or chemical
				preservative, unless it bears a label stating that fact; except as otherwise
				provided by the regulations in
				40-10-1-.19 of this chapter;
				or
12. If it fails to bear,
				directly thereon or on its containers, when required by the regulations in
				40-10-1-.18 or .19 of this chapter,
				the inspection legend and, unrestricted by any of the foregoing, such other
				information as the Commissioner 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.
(jj) Label. A display of written, printed, or
				graphic matter, upon the immediate container (not including package liners) of
				any article.
(kk) Labeling. All
				labels and other written, printed or graphic matter:
1. Upon any article or any of its containers
				or wrappers, or
2. Accompany such
				article.
(ll) Federal
				Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The Act so entitled, approved June 25, 1938 (52
				Stat. 1040), and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.
(mm) Pesticide chemical, food additive, color
				additive, raw agricultural commodity. These terms shall have the same meanings
				for purposes of the Act and the regulations in this chapter as under the
				Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
(nn) Official mark. The official inspection
				legend or any other symbol prescribed by the regulations in this chapter to
				identify the status of any article or animal under the Act.
(oo) Official inspection legend. Any symbol
				prescribed by the regulations in this chapter showing that an article was
				inspected and passed in accordance with the Act.
(pp) Official certificate. Any certificate
				prescribed by the regulations in this chapter for issuance by an inspector or
				other person performing official functions under the Act.
(qq) Official device. Any device prescribed
				by the regulations in
				40-10-1-.14 of this chapter for use
				in applying any official mark.
(rr)
				Livestock. Cattle, sheep, swine, rabbit, goat, horse, mule, or other
				equine.
(ss) Carcass. All parts,
				including viscera, of any slaughtered livestock.
(tt) Meat. The part of the muscle of any
				cattle, sheep, swine, or goats, which is skeletal or which is found in the
				tongue, in the diaphragm, in the heart, or in the esophagus, with or without
				the accompanying and overlying fat, and the portions of bone, skin, sinew,
				nerve, and blood vessels which normally accompany the muscle tissue and which
				are not separated from it in the process of dressing. It does not include the
				muscle found in the lips, snout or ears. This term, as applied to products of
				equines, shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this paragraph
				with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats.
(uu) Meat byproduct. Any part capable of use
				as human food, other than meat, which has been derived from one or more cattle,
				sheep, swine, or goats. This term as applied to products of equines, shall have
				a meaning comparable to that provided in this paragraph with respect to cattle,
				sheep, swine, and goats.
(vv) Meat
				food product. Any article capable of use as human food which is made wholly or
				in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep,
				swine or goats, except those exempted from definition as a meat food product by
				the Commissioner in specific cases or by the regulations in
				40-10-1-.18 or
				40-10-1-.19 of this chapter, upon a
				determination that they 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 provided that they comply
				with any requirements that are imposed in such cases or regulations as
				conditions of such exemptions to assure that the meat or other portions of such
				carcasses contained in such articles are not adulterated and that such articles
				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
				paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats.
(ww) Product. Any carcass, meat, meat
				byproduct, or meat food product, capable of use as human food.
(xx) Immediate container. The can, pot, tin,
				canvas, or other receptacle or covering in which any product is directly
				contained or wholly or partly enclosed.
(yy) Shipping container. The outside
				container (box, bag, barrel, crate, or other receptacle or covering) containing
				or wholly or partly enclosed any product packed in one or more immediate
				containers.
(zz) Biological
				residue. Any substance, including metabolites, remaining in an animal at time
				of slaughter or in any of its tissues after slaughter as the result of
				treatment or exposure of the animal to a pesticide, organic or inorganic
				compound, hormone, hormone-like substance, growth promoter, antibiotic,
				anthelmintic, tranquilizer, or other therapeutic or prophylactic
				agent.
(aaa) Experimental animal.
				Any animal used in any research investigation involving the feeding or other
				administration of, or subjection to, an experimental biological product, drug
				or chemical or any nonexperimental biological product, drug or chemical used in
				a manner for which it was not intended.
(bbb) Dead livestock. The body (cadaver) of
				livestock which has died otherwise than by slaughter.
(ccc) Dying, diseased, or disabled livestock.
				Livestock which has or displays symptoms of having any of the following:
1. Central nervous system disorder;
2. Abnormal temperature (high or
				low);
3. Difficult
				breathing;
4. Abnormal
				swellings;
5. Lack of muscular
				coordination;
6. Inability to walk
				normally or stand;
7. Any of the
				diseases for which livestock is required to be condemned on antemortem
				inspection in accordance with the regulations in part
				40-10-1-.11 of this
				chapter.
(ddd)
				Supervision. The controls, as prescribed in instructions to Program employees,
				to be exercised by them over particular operations to insure that such
				operations are conducted in compliance with the Act and the regulations in this
				chapter.
(eee) Further processing.
				Smoking, cooking, canning, curing, refining, or rendering in an official
				establishment of product previously prepared in official
				establishments.
(fff) Artificial
				flavoring. A flavoring containing any sapid or aromatic constituent, which
				constituent was manufactured by a process of synthesis or other similar
				artifice.
(ggg) Artificial
				coloring. A coloring containing any dye or pigment, which dye or pigment was
				manufactured by a process of synthesis or other similar artifice, or a coloring
				which was manufactured by extracting a natural dye or natural pigment from a
				plant or other material in which such dye or pigment was naturally
				produced.
(hhh) Chemical
				preservative. Any chemical that, when added to a meat or meat food product,
				tends to prevent or retard deterioration thereof, but does not include common
				salt, sugars, vinegars, spices, or oils extracted from spices or substances
				added to meat and meat food products by exposure to wood smoke. Other
				definitions, if any, that are applicable only for purposes of a specific part
				of the regulations in this chapter, are set forth in such part.
(iii) Inspector in Charge. A designated
				program employee who is in charge of one or more official establishments within
				a district and is responsible to the district supervisor or his
				designee.