MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
By: Representative McBride
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT UNCLAIMED DEER VENISON SHALL BE DEEMED ABANDONED AFTER TWO MONTHS AND REASONABLE ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO CONTACT THE OWNER; TO AUTHORIZE LICENSED MEAT PROCESSORS TO DONATE SUCH ABANDONED DEER VENISON TO NONPROFIT CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS TO CHARGE AN ADDITIONAL FEE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF RESIDENT HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES AND SPORTSMAN'S LICENSE FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEFRAYING THE COST OF PROCESSING DEER DONATED BY HUNTERS NOT DESIRING THE MEAT FOR THEMSELVES; TO AMEND SECTION 75-33-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY CERTAIN TERMS; TO AMEND SECTION 75-33-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE LICENSED ESTABLISHMENTS THAT ACCEPT AND ENGAGE IN THE PROCESSING OF DONATED DEER TO REGISTER WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 75-35-3, 75-35-7, 75-35-9, 75-35-11, 75-35-17, 75-35-19, 75-35-21, 75-35-27, 75-35-31, 75-35-33, 75-35-101, 75-35-103, 75-35-105, 75-35-107, 75-35-303 AND 75-35-305, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. All deer venison deposited with an establishment licensed pursuant to Section 75-33-7, which remains unclaimed for a period of two (2) months after the establishment has attempted to contact the deer venison owner at least once by ordinary mail at the owner's last known mailing address, shall be presumed to be abandoned. The establishment may dispose of the donated or abandoned deer venison by donating the deer venison to a local nonprofit, charitable organization. For purposes of this section, the term "deer" means the Cervidae or game deer, and all donated deer venison shall include game deer venison only and shall not be processed as a multi-species meat-food product pursuant to Section 75-33-3.
SECTION 2. Section 49-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-5. (1) (a) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a combination resident hunting and fishing license for the sum of Seventeen Dollars ($17.00). Such license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish in any county of the state. In addition, any resident who purchases a resident hunting and fishing license shall pay a One Dollar ($1.00) fee that shall be used to defray the cost of processing deer donated by hunters.
(b) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a resident combination small game hunting and fishing license for the sum of Thirteen Dollars ($13.00) together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the office or agent issuing such license. Such hunting license shall qualify the licensee to hunt and fish under this chapter all game and fowl, except deer and turkey, in any county in the state.
(c) Any resident of the State of Mississippi, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a resident small game license, and for it shall pay the issuing officer or agent the sum of Thirteen Dollars ($13.00), together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the officer or agent issuing such license. Such hunting license shall qualify the person holding the same to hunt under the provisions of this chapter, and in season, all game and fowl, except deer and turkey, in any county in the state.
(d) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a sportsman's license for the sum of Thirty-two Dollars ($32.00). Such license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish as provided by law, in any county in the state, and to hunt using primitive weapons and bow and arrow in the manner provided by law. The commission may notify the licensee of the expiration of his license, and the licensee may renew the license by mailing the sum of Thirty-two Dollars ($32.00) to the commission. A licensee who has not renewed the license within thirty (30) days after the expiration date shall be removed from the commission's records, and the licensee must apply to be placed on the renewal list. In addition, any resident who purchases a sportsman's license shall pay a One Dollar ($1.00) fee that shall be used to defray the cost of processing deer donated by hunters.
(e) In addition to a hunting license allowing the taking of turkey, a resident who hunts turkey during a fall turkey season must purchase a fall turkey hunting permit for a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) plus the fee provided in Section 49-7-17. A resident sportsman's licensee or resident lifetime sportsman licensee may hunt during the fall turkey season without purchasing a permit.
(f) The commission may offer a resident apprentice hunting license for a resident who does not have the required certificate of hunter education and may set the fee for the apprentice hunting license. An apprentice license may be purchased only one (1) time by a resident and the apprentice hunting licensee must be accompanied by a licensed or exempt resident hunter at least twenty-one (21) years of age when hunting.
(2) (a) Any resident citizen of the State of Mississippi who has not reached the age of sixteen (16) years or who has reached the age of sixty-five (65) years, or any resident citizen who is blind, paraplegic, or a multiple amputee, or who has been adjudged by the Veterans Administration as having a total service-connected disability, or has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration shall not be required to purchase or have in his possession, a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities. A person exempt by reason of total service-connected disability, as adjudged by the Veterans Administration or who has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration or who is blind, paraplegic or a multiple amputee, shall have in their possession and on their person proof of their age, residency, disability status or other respective physical impairment while engaged in the activities of hunting or fishing.
(b) All exempt hunting and fishing licenses previously issued for disabilities shall be null and void effective July 1, 1993.
(c) The commission may offer a youth all-game hunting and fishing license for exempt youths who have a hunter education certificate and an all-game hunting and fishing license for other persons exempted under paragraph (a). Youths and other exempt persons shall not be required to purchase this license or have it in possession while hunting or fishing. The commission may establish a fee not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for such licenses.
(3) No license shall be required of residents to hunt, fish or trap on lands in which the record title is vested in such person.
(4) Any person or persons exempt under this section from procuring a license shall be subject to and must comply with all other terms and provisions of this chapter.
(5) Any person authorized to issue any license under this section may collect and retain for the issuance of each license the additional fee authorized under Section 49-7-17.
SECTION 3. Section 75-33-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-33-3. (1) For the purpose of this article, the words and terms used herein shall have ascribed to them the following meanings:
(a) The word "person" shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, and any other legal entity recognized by law.
(b) The terms "meat" and "meat-food products," whenever used in this article, shall include any product capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcasses or parts thereof, of cattle, sheep, goats, other ruminants, including exotic animals, swine, horses, mules, rabbits, poultry, deer and ratites and the meat and meat-food products of such animals, excepting products which 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 which are exempted from definition as a meat-food product by the commissioner under such conditions as he 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 paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, goats and deer.
(c) The term "food unfit for human consumption" shall be construed to include the meat and meat-food products of horses and mules and all meats or meat-food products which are so affected with disease that it would be dangerous to use the meat or other parts for human food; also all meats or meat-food products which are contaminated, putrid, unsound, unhealthful, or otherwise unfit for food, or which have been derived from any animal which has died as a result of disease or accident, or which was in a dying condition at the time of slaughter.
(d) The word "establishment" as used in this article, shall include: (i) any building or structure in which slaughtering, butchering, meat processing, meat canning, meat packing, meat manufacturing or rendering is carried on; and (ii) the ground upon which such building or structure is erected, and so much ground adjacent thereto as is used in carrying on the business of such establishment, including drains, gutters, waste disposal and cesspools used in connection with the establishment.
(e) The word "equipment," as used in this article, shall include all machinery, fixtures, containers, vessels, tools, implements and apparatus used in and about an establishment.
(f) The word "commissioner," as used in this article, shall mean the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, or his duly authorized deputies.
(g) The word "ratite," means a member of a group of large flightless birds including the ostrich, rhea and emu.
(h) The words "exotic animal," mean a member of a species of game not indigenous to this state, including axis deer, fallow deer, red deer or other cloven-hooved ruminant animals and ratites.
(2) All persons engaged in business as a meat broker, jobber, dealer, distributor, peddler, transporter, or wholesaler of any carcasses of meat animals or poultry or parts or products thereof, whether fresh, frozen, cured or otherwise and whether canned, wrapped, packaged or prepackaged, but not otherwise handled, whether intended for human food or other purposes, or any person engaged in the business as a public warehouseman storing any such items or products shall register with the commissioner on forms provided and shall operate under the applicable inspection authority provided in this article and by the Mississippi Meat Inspection Act of 1968 [Chapter 35 of Title 75], provided persons operating the aforementioned nonslaughter and nonprocessing businesses are exempt from the license and fee specified in Section 75-33-7.
(3) The slaughtering by any person of animals and poultry of his own raising, and the processing and transportation by him of animals and poultry products exclusively for use by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees, shall be exempt from the provisions of this article. Any other operations of an unlicensed, unapproved slaughterhouse and/or processing facility to escape the provisions of this article shall be unlawful, and any person found guilty of such violation shall be punished as provided in Section 75-33-37.
(4) The provisions of this article shall not apply to poultry producers with respect to poultry of their own raising on their own farms on the same basis as now provided in the United States Wholesome Poultry Products Act and regulations thereunder, and such exemptions shall be consistent with said act and regulations. However, the adulteration and misbranding provisions of said act, other than the requirement of the inspection legend, shall apply to articles which are exempt from inspection by said act and regulations.
SECTION 4. Section 75-33-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-33-7. (1) It shall be the duty of every person operating an establishment as defined in Section 75-33-3, except retail dealers, restaurants or eating places and establishments operating under the United States Department of Agriculture system of inspection, to apply to the commissioner for a license to operate such establishment before July 1, 1960, and annually thereafter before July of each succeeding year, and pay to the commissioner at the time said application for registration and license is filed, a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) for each establishment operated, and a like fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) for the renewal thereof.
The fees for the issuance of the license and the renewals thereof, together with such other fees and charges authorized by this article, shall be kept by the commissioner in a separate fund to be used to defray the expenses of the enforcement of this article. A strict accounting shall be made of all funds received and disbursed.
(2) The application for a license shall be made on a form to be supplied by the commissioner, and shall show the location of each establishment and the name and address of the owner, and the name and address of the lessor or lessee. The application shall have attached thereto the affidavit of the person applying for the license that the facts set forth are true and correct.
(3) Upon approval of application for license and payment of license fee, and upon approval of sanitary conditions in the establishment, and every place used in connection therewith, the commissioner shall issue to each applicant a license which shall expire on June 30 of each year, and which shall authorize the operation of said establishment for the fiscal year, or portion thereof, for which a license is issued.
(4) Such license shall be posted in a conspicuous place in or at the place of business of such licensee, and exposed for inspection by any person or persons who may be properly authorized to make such examination.
(5) From and after the first day of July 1960, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate an establishment unless said establishment is duly licensed and inspected in accordance with the provisions of this article.
The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall develop and administer a poultry inspection program which shall require mandatory poultry product inspection that imposes antemortem and postmortem inspection, reinspection and sanitation requirements that are at least equal to those under the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1968 [21 USCS Sections 451 et seq.], and the regulations thereunder with respect to all or certain classes of persons engaged in slaughtering poultry or processing poultry products for use as human food solely for distribution with this state.
Any existing provision of law in regard to fees, mandatory requirements, other options, or inspection administration in conflict herewith, shall not affect the foregoing mandatory inspection provision.
Provided further, that the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall be authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture for compliance with the Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1968 and amendments thereto [21 USCS Sections 451 et seq.], for the purpose of financing and enforcing a mandatory antemortem and postmortem inspection, reinspection and sanitation requirements that are at least equal to those under the within cited federal act with respect to all or certain persons engaged in slaughtering poultry or processing poultry products in this state for use as human food solely for distribution within this state. The commissioner is further empowered to make inspection of other poultry slaughtering and processing facilities when he deems same necessary to the proper sanitation and distribution of such products solely within this state.
(6) It shall be the duty of every person operating an establishment as defined in Section 75-33-3, which accepts and engages in the processing of deer unwanted by the hunter to register, without cost, with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, for the purpose of receiving compensation for the processing of such donated deer.
SECTION 5. Section 75-35-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-3. As used in this chapter, except as otherwise specified, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below:
(a) The term "commissioner" means the "Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce of the State of Mississippi," or his duly authorized deputies.
(b) The term "firm" means any partnership, association, or other unincorporated business organization.
(c) The term "meat broker" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of buying or selling carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, or meat food products of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines on commission, or otherwise negotiating purchases or sales of such item or products other than for his own account or as an employee of another person, firm, or corporation.
(d) The term "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, horses, mules, deer or other equines, except rendering conducted under inspection under Article 1 of this chapter.
(e) The term "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, deer or other equines.
(f) The term "unfit for human food" means as defined in the "Meat, Meat-Food and Poultry Regulation and Inspection Law of 1960," appearing in subsection (c) of Section 75-33-3, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(g) The term "meat-food product" means any product 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, * * * goats, or deer, excepting products which 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 which are exempted from definition as a meat-food product by the commissioner under such conditions as he 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 paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, * * * goats and deer.
(h) The term "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 commissioner to deter its use as human food, or it is naturally inedible by humans.
(i) The term "prepare" means slaughtered, canned, salted, rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise manufactured or processed.
(j) The term "adulterated" shall apply 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 item or product does not ordinarily render it injurious to health;
(2) (A) 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 item or product unfit for human food;
(B) 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; as amended;
(C) 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, as amended;
(D) 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 adulterated under clause (B), (C), or (D) shall nevertheless be deemed adulterated if use of the pesticide chemical, food additive, or color additive in or on such item or product is prohibited by regulations of the commissioner in establishments at which inspection is maintained under Article 1 of this chapter;
(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 insanitary 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; or which was diseased or was in a dying condition at the time of slaughter;
(6) If its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health;
(7) 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;
(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.
(k) The term "misbranded" shall apply 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 (A) the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and (B) an accurate statement of the quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count; provided, that under clause (B) of this subparagraph (5), reasonable variations may be permitted, and exemptions as to small packages may be established, by regulations prescribed by the commissioner.
(6) If any word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of this chapter 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 standard of identity or composition has been prescribed by regulations of the commissioner under Section 75-35-15 of this chapter unless (A) it conforms to such definition and standard, and (B) 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 regulations of the commissioner under Section 75-35-15 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), unless its label bears (A) the common or usual name of the food, if any there be, and (B) in case it is fabricated from two (2) 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 (B) of this subparagraph (9) is impracticable, or results in deception or unfair competition, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the commissioner;
(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 the commissioner, after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, determines to be, and by regulations prescribes as, necessary in order fully to inform purchasers as to its value for such uses;
(11) If it bears or contains any artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, or chemical preservative, unless it bears labeling stating that fact: provided, that, to the extent that compliance with the requirements of this subparagraph (11) is impracticable, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the commissioner; or
(12) If it fails to bear, directly thereon or on its container, as the commissioner may by regulations prescribe, 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 item or product in a wholesome condition.
(l) The term "label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container (not including package liners) of any item or product.
(m) The term "labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter (1) upon any item or product or any of its containers or wrappers, or (2) accompanying such item or product.
(n) The term "Federal Meat Inspection Act" means the act so entitled approved March 4, 1907 (34 Stat 1260), as amended by the Wholesome Meat Act (8 Stat 584).
(o) The term "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.
(p) The term "pesticide chemical," "food additive," "color additive," and "raw agricultural commodity" shall have the same meanings for purposes of this chapter as under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(q) The term "official mark" means the official inspection legend or any other symbol prescribed by regulations of the commissioner to identify the status of any product or animal under this chapter.
(r) The term "official inspection legend" means any symbol prescribed by regulations of the commissioner showing that an item or product was inspected and passed in accordance with this chapter.
(s) The term "official certificate" means any certificate prescribed by regulations of the commissioner for issuance by an inspector or other person performing official functions under this chapter.
(t) The term "official device" means any device prescribed or authorized by the commissioner for use in applying any official mark.
SECTION 6. Section 75-35-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-7. (a) For the purpose of preventing the use in intrastate commerce, as hereinafter provided, of meat and meat-food products which are adulterated, the commissioner shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of all cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equine before they shall be allowed to enter into any slaughtering, packing, meat canning, rendering, or similar establishment in this state in which slaughtering and preparation of meat and meat-food products of such animals are conducted; and all cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equine found on such inspection to show symptoms of disease shall be set apart and slaughtered separately from all other cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equine, and when so slaughtered, the carcasses of said cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equine shall be subject to a careful examination and inspection, all as provided by the rules and regulations to be prescribed by the commissioner as herein provided for.
(b) For the purpose of preventing the inhumane slaughtering of livestock, the commissioner shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of the method by which cattle, sheep, swine, ratites, nontraditional livestock, rabbits, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equine are slaughtered and handled in connection with slaughter in the slaughtering establishments inspected under this article. The commissioner may refuse to provide inspection to a new slaughtering establishment or may cause inspection to be suspended temporarily at a slaughtering establishment if the commissioner finds that any cattle, sheep, swine, ratites, nontraditional livestock, rabbits, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equine have been slaughtered or handled in connection with slaughter at such establishment by any method not in accordance with Sections 75-35-21(d) and 75-35-8 until the establishment furnishes assurances satisfactory to the commissioner that all slaughtering and handling in connection with slaughter of livestock shall be in accordance with such a method.
SECTION 7. Section 75-35-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-9. For the purposes hereinbefore set forth, the commissioner shall cause to be made by inspectors appointed for that purpose, as hereinafter provided, a postmortem examination and inspection of the carcasses and parts thereof of all cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equines, capable of use as human food, to be prepared at any slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment in this state in which such products are prepared. The carcasses and parts thereof of all such animals found to be not adulterated shall be marked, stamped, tagged, or labeled, as "Inspected and Passed," or appropriate stamp or markings. Said inspectors shall label, mark, stamp, or tag as "Inspected and Condemned," or appropriate stamp or markings, all carcasses and parts thereof of animals found to be adulterated; and all carcasses and parts thereof thus inspected and condemned shall be destroyed for food purposes by the said establishment in the presence of an inspector. The commissioner may remove inspectors from any such establishment which fails to so destroy any such condemned carcass or part thereof. Said inspectors, after said first inspection shall, when they deem it necessary, reinspect said carcasses or parts thereof to determine whether since the first inspection the same have become adulterated, and if any carcass or any part thereof shall, upon examination and inspection subsequent to the first examination and inspection, be found to be adulterated, it shall be destroyed for food purposes by the said establishment in the presence of an inspector; and the commissioner may remove inspectors from any establishment which fails to so destroy any such condemned carcass or part thereof.
SECTION 8. Section 75-35-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-11. The foregoing provisions shall apply to all carcasses or parts of carcasses of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equines or the meat or meat products thereof, capable of use as human food, which may be brought into any slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment, where inspection under this article is maintained, and such examination and inspection shall be had before the said carcasses or parts thereof shall be allowed to enter into any department wherein the same are to be treated and prepared for meat-food products. The foregoing provisions shall also apply to all such products which, after having been issued from any such slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment, shall be returned to the same or to any similar establishment where such inspection is maintained. The commissioner may limit the entry of carcasses, part of carcasses, meat and meat-food products, and other materials into any establishment at which inspection under this article is maintained, under such conditions as he may prescribe to assure that allowing the entry of such items or products into such inspected establishments will be consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
SECTION 9. Section 75-35-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-17. The commissioner shall cause to be made, by experts in sanitation, or by other competent inspectors, such inspection of all slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishments in which cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equines are slaughtered and the meat and meat-food products thereof are prepared as may be necessary to inform himself concerning the sanitary conditions of the same, and to prescribe the rules and regulations of sanitation under which such establishments shall be maintained. Where the sanitary conditions of any such establishment are such that the meat or meat-food products are rendered adulterated, he shall refuse to allow said meat or meat-food products to be labeled, marked, stamped, or tagged as "Mississippi inspected and passed" or appropriately marked.
SECTION 10. Section 75-35-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-19. The commissioner shall cause an examination and inspection of all cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equines, and the food products thereof, slaughtered and prepared in the establishments hereinbefore described to be made during the nighttime as well as during the daytime when the slaughtering of said cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equines, or the preparation of said food products is conducted during the nighttime.
SECTION 11. Section 75-35-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-21. No person, firm, or corporation shall, with respect to any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equine, or any carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat or meat-food products of any such animals:
(a) Slaughter any such animals or prepare any such products which are capable of use as human food, at any establishment preparing such articles, except in compliance with the requirements of this chapter;
(b) Sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in intrastate commerce, (i) any such products which (1.) are capable of use as human food, and (2.) are adulterated or misbranded at the time of such sale, transportation, offer for sale or transportation, or receipt for transportation; or (ii) any items required to be inspected under this article unless they have been so inspected and passed;
(c) Do, with respect to any such items which are capable of use as human food, any act while they are being transported in intrastate commerce or held for sale after such transportation, which is intended to cause or has the effect of causing such items to be adulterated or misbranded;
(d) Slaughter or handle in connection with such slaughter any such animals in any manner not declared to be humane under Section 75-35-8.
SECTION 12. Section 75-35-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-27. The commissioner shall appoint from time to time inspectors to make examination and inspection of all cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer and other equines the inspection of which is hereby provided for, and of all carcasses and parts thereof, and of all meats and meat-food products thereof, and of the sanitary conditions of all establishments in which such meat and meat-food products hereinbefore described are prepared. Said inspectors shall refuse to stamp, mark, tag or label any carcass or any part thereof, or meat-food product therefrom, prepared in any establishment hereinbefore mentioned, until the same shall have actually been inspected and found to be not adulterated; and shall perform such other duties as are provided by this chapter and by the rules and regulations to be prescribed by said commissioner. Said commissioner shall, from time to time, make such rules and regulations as are necessary for the efficient execution of the provisions of this chapter, and all inspections and examinations made under this chapter shall be such and made in such manner as described in the rules and regulations prescribed by said commissioner not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 13. Section 75-35-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-31. (1) The provisions of this article requiring inspection of the slaughter of animals and the preparation of the carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat-food products at establishments conducting such operations shall not (a) apply to the slaughtering by any person of animals of his own raising, and the preparation by him and transportation in intrastate commerce of the carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat-food products of such animals exclusively for use by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees; nor (b) to the custom slaughter by any person, firm, or corporation of cattle, sheep, swine, * * * goats or deer delivered by the owner thereof for such slaughter, and the preparation by such slaughterer and transportation in intrastate commerce of the carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat-food products of such animals, exclusively for use, in the household of such owner, by him, and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees: provided, that such custom slaughterer does not engage in the business of buying or selling any carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat or meat-food products of any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, deer or equines, capable of use as human food.
(2) The provisions of this chapter requiring inspection of the slaughter of animals and the preparation of carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat-food products shall not apply to operations of types traditionally and usually conducted at retail stores and restaurants, when conducted at any retail store or restaurant or similar retail-type establishment for sale in normal retail quantities or service of such items or products to consumers at such establishments.
(3) The slaughter of animals and preparation of items or products referred to in subsections (1)(b) and (2) of this section shall be conducted in accordance with such sanitary conditions as the commissioner may by regulations prescribe. Violation of any such regulation is prohibited.
(4) The adulteration and misbranding provisions of this article, other than the requirement of the inspection legend, shall apply to items or products which are not required to be inspected under this section.
SECTION 14. Section 75-35-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-33. The commissioner may by regulations prescribe conditions under which carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, and meat-food products of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines, capable of use as human food, shall be stored or otherwise handled by any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of buying, selling, freezing, storing, or transporting, in or for intrastate commerce, such articles, whenever the commissioner deems such action necessary to assure that such items or products will not be adulterated or misbranded when delivered to the consumer. Violation of any such regulation is prohibited.
SECTION 15. Section 75-35-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-101. Inspection shall not be provided under Article 1 of this chapter at any establishment for the slaughter of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines, or the preparation of any carcasses or parts or products of such animals, which are not intended for use as human food, but such products shall, prior to their offer for sale or transportation in intrastate commerce, unless naturally inedible by humans, be denatured or otherwise identified as prescribed by regulations of the commissioner to deter their use for human food. No person, firm, or corporation shall buy, sell, transport, or offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in commerce, any carcasses, parts thereof, meat or meat-food products of any such animals, which are not intended for use as human food unless they are denatured or otherwise identified as required by the regulations of the commissioner or are naturally inedible by humans.
SECTION 16. Section 75-35-103, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-103. (1) The following classes of persons, firms, and corporations shall keep such records as will fully and correctly disclose all transactions involved in their businesses; and all persons, firms, and corporations subject to such requirements shall, at all reasonable times, upon notice by a duly authorized representative of the commissioner afford such representative and any duly authorized representative of the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States accompanied by such representative of the commissioner access to their places of business and opportunity to examine the facilities, inventory, and records thereof, to copy all such records, and to take reasonable samples of their inventory upon payment when requested of the fair market value thereof:
(a) Any persons, firms, or corporations that engage in the business of slaughtering any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines, or preparing, freezing, packaging, or labeling any carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of any such animals, for use as human food or animal food;
(b) Any persons, firms, or corporations that engage in the business of buying or selling (as meat brokers, wholesalers or otherwise), or transporting, or storing, any carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of any such animals;
(c) Any persons, firms, or corporations that engage in business, as renderers, or engage in the business of buying, selling, or transporting, any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines, or parts of the carcasses of any such animals that died otherwise than by slaughter.
(2) Any record required to be maintained by this section shall be maintained for such period of time as the commissioner may by regulations prescribe.
SECTION 17. Section 75-35-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-105. No person, firm, or corporation shall engage in business, as a meat broker, renderer, or animal food manufacturer, or engage in business as a wholesaler of any carcasses, or parts or products of the carcasses, of any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines, whether intended for human food or other purposes, or engage in business as a public warehouseman storing any such items or products, or engage in the business of buying, selling, or transporting, any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased animals of the specified kinds, or parts of the carcasses of any such animals that died otherwise than by slaughter, unless, when required by regulations of the commissioner, he has registered with the commissioner his name, and the address of each place of business at which, and all trade names under which, he conducts such business.
SECTION 18. Section 75-35-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-107. No person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of buying, selling, or transporting, dead, dying, disabled, or diseased animals, or any parts of the carcasses of any animals that died otherwise than by slaughter, shall buy, sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines, or parts of the carcasses of any such animals that died otherwise than by slaughter, unless such transaction or transportation is made in accordance with such regulations as the commissioner may prescribe to assure that such animals, or the unwholesome parts or products thereof, will be prevented from being used for human food purposes.
SECTION 19. Section 75-35-303, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-303. Whenever any carcass, part of a carcass, meat or meat-food product of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines, or any product exempted from the definition of a meat-food product, or any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased cattle, sheep, swine, goat, deer or equine is found by any authorized representative of the commissioner upon any premises where it is held for purposes of, or during or after distribution, and there is reason to believe that any such item or product is adulterated or misbranded and is capable of use as human food, or that it has not been inspected, in violation of the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter or of the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, or that such products or animal has been or is intended to be, distributed in violation of any such provisions, it may be detained by such representative for a period not to exceed twenty (20) days, pending action under Section 75-35-305 of this chapter or notification of any federal authorities having jurisdiction over such article or animal, and shall not be moved by any person, firm or corporation from the place at which it is located when so detained, until released by such representative. All official marks may be required by such representative to be removed from such products or animal before it is released unless it appears to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the products or animal is eligible to retain such marks.
SECTION 20. Section 75-35-305, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-305. (1) Any carcass, part of a carcass, meat or meat food product of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, deer or other equines, or any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased cattle, sheep, swine, goat, deer or equine, that is being transported in intrastate commerce, or is held for sale in this state after such transportation, and that (a) is or has been prepared, sold, transported, or otherwise distributed or offered or received for distribution in violation of this chapter, or (b) is capable of use as human food and is adulterated or misbranded, or (c) in any other way is in violation of this chapter, shall be liable to be proceeded against and seized and condemned, at any time, on a bill of complaint in the chancery court as provided in Section 75-35-307 of this chapter within the jurisdiction of which the products or animal is found. If the products or animal is condemned it shall, after entry of the decree, be disposed of by destruction or sale as the court may direct and the proceeds, if sold, less the court costs and fees, and storage and other proper expenses, shall be paid into the General Fund of the treasury of this state, but the products or animals shall not be sold contrary to the provisions of this chapter, or the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: provided, that upon the execution and delivery of a good and sufficient bond conditioned that the products or animal shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of contrary to the provisions of this chapter, or the laws of the United States, the court may direct that such products or animal be delivered to the owner thereof subject to such supervision by authorized representatives of the commissioner as is necessary to insure compliance with the applicable laws. When a decree of condemnation is entered against the products or animal and it is released under bond, or destroyed, court costs and fees, and storage and other proper expenses shall be awarded against the person, if any, intervening as claimant of the product or animal. The proceedings in such chancery court cases shall conform, as nearly as may be, to the usual proceedings in chancery, except that either party may demand trial by jury of any issue of fact joined in any case, and all such proceedings shall be removed at the suit of and in the name of this state in the circuit court.
(2) The provisions of this section shall in no way derogate from authority for condemnation or seizure conferred by other provisions of this chapter, or other laws.
SECTION 21. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007.