
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 21USC606]

 
                        TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS
 
                       CHAPTER 12--MEAT INSPECTION
 
   SUBCHAPTER I--INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS; ADULTERATION AND MISBRANDING
 
Sec. 606. Inspectors of meat food products; marks of inspection; 
        destruction of condemned products; products for export
        
    For the purposes hereinbefore set forth the Secretary shall cause to 
be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and 
inspection of all meat food products prepared for commerce in any 
slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar 
establishment, and for the purposes of any examination and inspection 
and inspectors shall have access at all times, by day or night, whether 
the establishment be operated or not, to every part of said 
establishment; and said inspectors shall mark, stamp, tag, or label as 
``Inspected and passed'' all such products found to be not adulterated; 
and said inspectors shall label, mark, stamp, or tag as ``Inspected and 
condemned'' all such products found adulterated, and all such condemned 
meat food products shall be destroyed for food purposes, as hereinbefore 
provided, and the Secretary may remove inspectors from any establishment 
which fails to so destroy such condemned meat food products: Provided, 
That subject to the rules and regulations of the Secretary the 
provisions of this section in regard to preservatives shall not apply to 
meat food products for export to any foreign country and which are 
prepared or packed according to the specifications or directions of the 
foreign purchaser, when no substance is used in the preparation or 
packing thereof in conflict with the laws of the foreign country to 
which said article is to be exported; but if said article shall be in 
fact sold or offered for sale for domestic use or consumption then this 
proviso shall not exempt said article from the operation of all the 
other provisions of this chapter.

(Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, title I, Sec. 6, formerly 4th par., 34 Stat. 
1261; renumbered Sec. 6 and amended Pub. L. 90-201, Secs. 1, 3, 12(e), 
Dec. 15, 1967, 81 Stat. 584, 588, 592; Pub. L. 99-641, title IV, 
Sec. 403(a), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3567.)

                          Codification

    Section was formerly classified to section 74 of this title.


                               Amendments

    1986--Pub. L. 99-641 temporarily added subsecs. (a) to (c) and 
struck out former undesignated provisions which read as follows: ``For 
the purposes hereinbefore set forth the Secretary shall cause to be 
made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and 
inspection of all meat food products prepared for commerce in any 
slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar 
establishment, and for the purposes of any examination and inspection 
and inspectors shall have access at all times, by day or night, whether 
the establishment be operated or not, to every part of said 
establishment; and said inspectors shall mark, stamp, tag, or label as 
`Inspected and passed' all such products found to be not adulterated; 
and said inspectors shall label, mark, stamp, or tag as `Inspected and 
condemned' all such products found adulterated, and all such condemned 
meat food products shall be destroyed for food purposes, as hereinbefore 
provided, and the Secretary may remove inspectors from any establishment 
which fails to so destroy such condemned meat food products: Provided, 
That'', designated remaining provisions as subsec. (d), and inserted 
``Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,''. See 
Effective and Termination Dates of 1986 Amendment note below.
    1967--Pub. L. 90-201, Secs. 3, 12(e), struck out ``interstate or 
foreign'' before ``commerce'' and ``of Agriculture'' after ``Secretary'' 
in three places, and substituted ``not adulterated'' for ``sound, 
healthful, and wholesome, and which contains no dyes, chemicals, 
preservatives, or ingredients which render such meat or meat food 
products unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome, or unfit for human food'' 
and ``adulterated'' for ``unsound, unhealthful, and unwholesome, or 
which contain dyes, chemicals, preservatives, or ingredients which 
render such meat or meat food products unsound, unhealthful, 
unwholesome, or unfit for human food,'' respectively.


            Effective and Termination Dates of 1986 Amendment

    Section 403(a) of Pub. L. 99-641 provided in part that the amendment 
of this section by Pub. L. 99-641 is effective only during the 6-year 
period beginning Nov. 10, 1986.
    Section 408 of title IV of Pub. L. 99-641 provided that:
    ``(a) General Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b) 
of this section, this title and the amendments made by this title 
[amending sections 606, 609, 621, 671, and 676 of this title and 
enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 606, 609, 621, 671, 
and 676 of this title] shall become effective on the date of the 
enactment of this Act [Nov. 10, 1986].
    ``(b) Temporary Application of Existing Law.--Sections 6, 9, and 21 
of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 606, 609, and 621), as in 
effect immediately before the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 
10, 1986], shall apply with respect to establishments until the 
Secretary of Agriculture first issues rules and regulations to implement 
the amendments made by section 403(a) [amending this section].''


                    Effective Date of 1967 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 90-201 effective Dec. 15, 1967, except that 
with respect to equines (other than horses) and their carcasses and 
parts thereof, meat, and meat food products thereof, amendment effective 
upon expiration of sixty days after Dec. 15, 1967, see section 20(b) of 
Pub. L. 90-201, set out as an Effective Date note under section 601 of 
this title.


                            Savings Provision

    Section 404 of Pub. L. 99-641 provided that: ``The expiration date 
provisions of section 403 [enacting provisions set out as notes under 
this section and sections 609, 621, 671, and 676 of this title] shall 
not have the effect of releasing or extinguishing any penalty, 
forfeiture, or liability incurred under the Federal Meat Inspection Act 
(21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), as amended by section 403 [amending this 
section and sections 609, 621, 671, and 676 of this title], or under the 
rules or regulations issued under such Act.''


Inspection Services for Establishments Not Participating in Total Plant 
                         Quality-Control Program

    Section 403(e) of Pub. L. 99-641 provided that: ``The amendments 
made by this section [amending this section and sections 609, 621, 671, 
and 676 of this title] shall not be construed to authorize the Secretary 
of Agriculture to refuse to provide inspection under the Federal Meat 
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) at an establishment solely 
because such establishment does not participate in a total plant 
quality-control program.''


 Detection of Residue in Livestock and Program for Tracing of Livestock

    Section 405 of Pub. L. 99-641 provided that: ``It is the sense of 
Congress that the Secretary of Agriculture should--
        ``(1) carry out a program to detect residues in livestock that 
    are subject to inspection under title I of the Federal Meat 
    Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and
        ``(2) evaluate the feasibility of, and develop, a program that 
    would enable the Secretary to trace any particular livestock that 
    are subject to inspection under title I of the Federal Meat 
    Inspection Act, in order to identify the producer of such 
    livestock.''


                           Reports to Congress

    Pub. L. 99-641, title IV, Sec. 406, Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3571, 
which required the Secretary of Agriculture to submit an annual report 
to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate 
describing any action proposed or taken by the Secretary to implement 
amendments made by section 403 of Pub. L. 99-641 (amending this section 
and sections 609, 621, 671, and 676 of this title), to carry out a 
program for detecting residues in livestock, or to develop a program for 
tracing particular livestock in order to identify the producer, and 
describing any personnel action proposed or taken by the Secretary as a 
result of amendments made by section 403 of Pub. L. 99-641 along with 
any effort made by the Secretary to minimize any adverse economic effect 
of the amendments on employees of the Department of Agriculture, 
terminated, effective May 15, 2000, pursuant to section 3003 of Pub. L. 
104-66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, 
Money and Finance. See, also, page 46 of House Document No. 103-7.


            Congressional Reevaluation of Inspection Program

    Section 407 of Pub. L. 99-641 provided that: ``It is the sense of 
Congress that, not later than 6 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act [Nov. 10, 1986], Congress shall--
        ``(1) evaluate the operation and effects of the amendments made 
    by section 403 [amending this section and sections 609, 621, 671, 
    and 676 of this title], for the purpose of determining whether to 
    extend or modify the operation of such amendments; and
        ``(2) enact such legislation as may be necessary to efficiently 
    and effectively carry out the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 
    601 et seq.).''
