Article 2. General Provisions of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 9. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 2.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.