For purposes of this article:

(a) The term "intrastate commerce" means commerce within this State.

(b) The commission, which has the responsibility of administering this article, means the State Livestock-Poultry Health Commission.

(c) The term "livestock" means cattle, sheep, swine or goats.

(d) The term "carcass" means all parts, including viscera, of slaughtered livestock that are capable of being used for human food.

(e) The term "meat" means the edible part of the muscle of 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 and ears.

(f) The term "meat by-products" means any edible part other than meat which has been derived from one or more cattle, sheep, swine, or goats.

(g) The term "meat food product" means any article of food, or any article intended for or capable of use as human food, which is derived or prepared, in whole or in part, from any portion of any livestock, unless exempted by the Director upon his determination that the article (1) contains only a minimal amount of meat and is not represented as a meat food product or (2) is for medicinal purposes and is advertised only to the medical profession.

(h) The term "wholesome" means sound, healthful, clean, and otherwise fit for human food.

(i) The term "unwholesome" means (1) unsound, injurious to health, containing any biological residue not permitted by rules or regulations prescribed by the Director, or otherwise rendered unfit for human food; (2) consisting in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance; (3) processed, prepared, packed, or held under unsanitary conditions whereby any livestock carcass or part thereof or any meat food product or meat by-product may have become contaminated with filth or may have been rendered injurious to health; (4) produced in whole or in part from livestock which has died otherwise than by slaughter; or (5) packaged in a container composed of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health.

(j) The term "adulterated" shall apply to any livestock carcass, part thereof, meat food product or meat by-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 does not ordinarily render it injurious to health; (2) if it bears or contains any added poisonous or added deleterious substance, unless such substance is permitted in its production or unavoidable under good manufacturing practices as may be determined by rules and regulations prescribed by the Director. Provided, that any quantity of such added substances exceeding the limit so fixed shall also be deemed to constitute adulteration; (3) if any substance has been substituted, wholly or in part, therefor; (4) if damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; (5) if any valuable constituent has been in whole or in part omitted or abstracted therefrom; (6) 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.

(k) The term "inspector" means an employee or official of this State authorized by the Director to inspect livestock or carcasses or parts thereof, meat food products, or meat by-products under the authority of this article. A "veterinary inspector" means an inspector who is a graduate veterinarian approved by the Director and acting under his authority.

(l) The term "official inspection mark" means any symbol, formulated pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by the Director, for the marking of livestock, carcasses, parts of carcasses and containers of meat or meat products.

(m) The term "inspection service" means the official government service within the Livestock-Poultry Health Department of Clemson University of this State designated by the Director as having the responsibility for carrying out the provisions of this article. The "inspection service" shall be administered by a veterinarian approved by the Director and acting under his authority.

(n) The term "container" and "package" include any box, can, tin, cloth, plastic, or any other receptacle, wrapper, or cover.

(o) The term "official establishment" means any establishment in this State as determined by the Director at which inspection of the slaughter of livestock or the processing of livestock or parts thereof, meat food products, or meat by-products, is maintained under the authority of this article.

(p) The term "label" means any written, printed, or graphic material upon the shipping container, if any, or upon the immediate container, including but not limited to an individual consumer package, of an article, or accompanying such article.

(q) The term "shipping container" means any container used or intended for use in packaging the article packed in an immediate container.

(r) The term "immediate container" means any consumer package or any other container in which an article, not consumer packaged, is packed.

(s) The term "Federal Meat Inspection Act" means the act of Congress approved March 4, 1907, as amended.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 6-612; 1967 (55) 293; 1994 Act No. 362, Section 24, eff May 3, 1994.