SECTIONS 18691-18697 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 18691-18697

18691. Meat, meat food products, poultry, and poultry products are
an important source of the nation's total supply of food. It is
essential in the public interest that the health and welfare of
consumers be protected by assuring that meat, meat food products,
slaughtered poultry, and poultry products, distributed to them are
wholesome, not adulterated, and properly marked, labeled, and
packaged. Unwholesome, adulterated, or misbranded meat, meat food
products, poultry, or poultry products, are injurious to the public
welfare, destroy markets for wholesome, not adulterated and properly
labeled and packaged meat, meat food products, poultry, and poultry
products, and result in sundry losses to livestock and poultry
producers and processors of meat, meat food products, poultry, and
poultry products, as well as injury to consumers. Unwholesome,
adulterated, mislabeled, or deceptive packaged articles can be sold
at lower prices and compete unfairly with wholesome, not adulterated,
and properly labeled and packaged articles, to the detriment of
consumers and the public generally. It is hereby found that
regulation by the director and cooperation by this state and the
United States as contemplated by this chapter are appropriate to
protect the health and welfare of consumers and otherwise effectuate
the purposes of this chapter.

18692. It is the objective of this chapter to provide for meat and
poultry products inspection programs that will impose and enforce
requirements with respect to intrastate operations and commerce that
are at least equal to those imposed and enforced under the Federal
Meat Inspection Act and the Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act
with respect to operations and transactions in interstate commerce.
The director shall administer this chapter so as to accomplish this
purpose. The Department of Agriculture is designated as the
appropriate state agency to cooperate with the Secretary of
Agriculture of the United States in administration this chapter.

18693. The regulations which are adopted pursuant to this chapter
shall conform, so far as possible, to the rules, regulations, and
standards of the United States Department of Agriculture which govern
the inspection, preparation, and processing of livestock and
livestock products and poultry and poultry products.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the director
may adopt, by regulation, standards and requirements equal to those
of the federal acts, including, but not limited to, standards and
requirements of inspection, sanitation, reinspection, preparation,
processing, buying, selling, transporting, storing, identification,
recordkeeping, registration, and labeling. The regulations shall not
be less restrictive than state statutory requirements. The director
may enter into cooperative agreements with the Secretary of
Agriculture of the United States to enforce such standards and
requirements in this state.

18694. This chapter applies to any person, establishment, animal,
or article regulated under the federal acts only to the extent
provided for in the federal acts. The exemptions provided in the
federal acts are, however, applicable to this chapter insofar as they
are not contrary to this division and Chapter 10 (commencing with
Section 113025) of Part 6 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety
Code.

18695. If slaughtering or carcass preparation or processing of any
meat, meat products, poultry, or poultry product is conducted in an
establishment where state inspection is maintained, at hours
considered overtime for state employees, or on legal holidays, the
owner or operator of the establishment shall, by contract or
agreement with the department, make arrangement to defray the
additional cost for salaries and expenses for persons employed by the
department to conduct the necessary inspection work during the
overtime periods.

18696. The director may cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture
of the United States in administration of this chapter to effectuate
the purposes stated in Sections 18691 and 18692, accept federal
assistance for that purpose and spend public funds of this state
appropriated for administration of this chapter to pay the state's
proportionate share of the estimated total cost of the cooperative
program.

18697. The director may do all of the following:
(a) Recommend to the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States
for appointment to the advisory committees provided for in the
federal acts, such officials or employees of the department as the
director shall designate.
(b) Serve as the representative of the Governor for consultation
with the Secretary of Agriculture under the Federal Meat Inspection
Act and the Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act.