
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: 21USC661]

 
                        TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS
 
                       CHAPTER 12--MEAT INSPECTION
 
              SUBCHAPTER III--FEDERAL AND STATE COOPERATION
 
Sec. 661. Federal and State cooperation


(a) Congressional statement of policy

    It is the policy of the Congress to protect the consuming public 
from meat and meat food products that are adulterated or misbranded and 
to assist in efforts by State and other Government agencies to 
accomplish this objective. In furtherance of this policy--

    (1) Development and administration of State meat inspection 
             program equal to subchapter I ante and post mortem 
                  inspection, reinspection, and sanitation 
                                requirements

        The Secretary is authorized, whenever he determines that it 
    would effectuate the purposes of this chapter, to cooperate with the 
    appropriate State agency in developing and administering a State 
    meat inspection program in any State which has enacted a State meat 
    inspection law that imposes mandatory ante mortem and post mortem 
    inspection, reinspection and sanitation requirements that are at 
    least equal to those under subchapter I of this chapter, with 
    respect to all or certain classes of persons engaged in the State in 
    slaughtering cattle, sheep, swine, goats, or equines, or preparing 
    the carcasses, parts thereof, meat or meat food products, of any 
    such animals for use as human food solely for distribution within 
    such State.

      (2) Development and administration of State program with 
              authorities equal to subchapter II authorities; 
                      cooperation with Federal agencies

        The Secretary is further authorized, whenever he determines that 
    it would effectuate the purposes of this chapter, to cooperate with 
    appropriate State agencies in developing and administering State 
    programs under State laws containing authorities at least equal to 
    those provided in subchapter II of this chapter; and to cooperate 
    with other agencies of the United States in carrying out any 
    provisions of this chapter.

    (3) Scope of cooperation: advisory assistance, technical and 
             laboratory assistance and training, and financial 
               and other aid; limitation on amount; equitable 
               allocation of Federal funds; adequacy of State 
             program to obtain Federal cooperation and payments

        Cooperation with State agencies under this section may include 
    furnishing to the appropriate State agency (i) advisory assistance 
    in planning and otherwise developing an adequate State program under 
    the State law; and (ii) technical and laboratory assistance and 
    training (including necessary curricular and instructional materials 
    and equipment), and financial and other aid for administration of 
    such a program. The amount to be contributed to any State by the 
    Secretary under this section from Federal funds for any year shall 
    not exceed 50 per centum of the estimated total cost of the 
    cooperative program; and the Federal funds shall be allocated among 
    the States desiring to cooperate on an equitable basis. Such 
    cooperation and payment shall be contingent at all times upon the 
    administration of the State program in a manner which the Secretary, 
    in consultation with the appropriate advisory committee appointed 
    under paragraph (4), deems adequate to effectuate the purposes of 
    this section.

                       (4) Advisory committees

        The Secretary may appoint advisory committees consisting of such 
    representatives of appropriate State agencies as the Secretary and 
    the State agencies may designate to consult with him concerning 
    State and Federal programs with respect to meat inspection and other 
    matters within the scope of this chapter, including evaluating State 
    programs for purposes of this chapter and obtaining better 
    coordination and more uniformity among the State programs and 
    between the Federal and State programs and adequate protection of 
    consumers.

(b) Single State agency; subordinate governmental unit as part of State 
        agency

    The appropriate State agency with which the Secretary may cooperate 
under this chapter shall be a single agency in the State which is 
primarily responsible for the coordination of the State programs having 
objectives similar to those under this chapter. When the State program 
includes performance of certain functions by a municipality or other 
subordinate governmental unit, such unit shall be deemed to be a part of 
the State agency for purposes of this section.

(c) State meat inspection requirements

(1) Notice to Governor of nondevelopment or nonenforcement; designation 
        of State as subject to subchapters I and IV; delay and 
        revocation of designation; publication in Federal Register; 
        notice of production of adulterated meat or meat food products; 
        designation of State

    If the Secretary has reason to believe, by thirty days prior to the 
expiration of two years after December 15, 1967, that a State has failed 
to develop or is not enforcing, with respect to all establishments 
within its jurisdiction (except those that would be exempted from 
Federal inspection under subparagraph (2)) at which cattle, sheep, 
swine, goats, or equines are slaughtered, or their carcasses, or parts 
or products thereof, are prepared for use as human food, solely for 
distribution within such State, and the products of such establishments, 
requirements at least equal to those imposed under subchapter I and IV 
of this chapter, he shall promptly notify the Governor of the State of 
this fact. If the Secretary determines, after consultation with the 
Governor of the State, or representative selected by him, that such 
requirements have not been developed and activated, he shall promptly 
after the expiration of such two-year period designate such State as one 
in which the provisions of subchapters I and IV of this chapter shall 
apply to operations and transactions wholly within such State: Provided, 
That if the Secretary has reason to believe that the State will activate 
such requirements within one additional year, he may delay such 
designation for said period, and not designate the State, if he 
determines at the end of the year that the State then has such 
requirements in effective operation. The Secretary shall publish any 
such designation in the Federal Register and, upon the expiration of 
thirty days after such publication, the provisions of subchapters I and 
IV shall apply to operations and transactions and to persons, firms, and 
corporations engaged therein in the State to the same extent and in the 
same manner as if such operations and transactions were conducted in or 
for commerce. Thereafter, upon request of the Governor, the Secretary 
shall revoke such designation if the Secretary determines that such 
State has developed and will enforce requirements at least equal to 
those imposed under subchapter I and subchapter IV of this chapter: And 
provided further, That, notwithstanding any other provision of this 
section, if the Secretary determines that any establishment within a 
State is producing adulterated meat or meat food products for 
distribution within such State which would clearly endanger the public 
health he shall notify the Governor of the State and the appropriate 
Advisory Committee provided by section 661 of this title of such fact 
for effective action under State or local law. If the State does not 
take action to prevent such endangering of the public health within a 
reasonable time after such notice, as determined by the Secretary, in 
light of the risk to public health, the Secretary may forthwith 
designate any such establishment as subject to the provisions of 
subchapters I and IV of this chapter, and thereupon the establishment 
and operator thereof shall be subject to such provisions as though 
engaged in commerce until such time as the Secretary determines that 
such State has developed and will enforce requirements at least equal to 
those imposed under subchapter I and subchapter IV of this chapter.

(2) Exemptions of retail stores, restaurants, and similar retail-type 
        establishments; operations conducted at a restaurant central 
        kitchen facility

    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 articles to 
consumers at such establishments if such establishments are subject to 
such inspection provisions only under this paragraph (c). For the 
purposes of this subparagraph, operations conducted at a restaurant 
central kitchen facility shall be considered as being conducted at a 
restaurant if the restaurant central kitchen prepares meat or meat food 
products that are ready to eat when they leave such facility and are 
served in meals or as entrees only to customers at restaurants owned or 
operated by the same person, firm, or corporation owning or operating 
such facility: Provided, That such facility shall be subject to the 
provisions of section 642 of this title: Provided further, That the 
facility may be subject to the inspection requirements under subchapter 
I of this chapter for as long as the Secretary deems necessary, if the 
Secretary determines that the sanitary conditions or practices of the 
facility or the processing procedures or methods at the facility are 
such that any of its meat or meat food products are rendered 
adulterated.

(3) Termination of designation of State upon development and enforcement 
        of minimum requirements; redesignation; designation for 
        nonenforcement of minimum requirements: notice and publication 
        in Federal Register

    Whenever the Secretary determines that any State designated under 
this paragraph (c) has developed and will enforce State meat inspection 
requirements at least equal to those imposed under subchapters I and IV 
of this chapter with respect to the operations and transactions within 
such State which are regulated under paragraph (1), he shall terminate 
the designation of such State under this paragraph (c), but this shall 
not preclude the subsequent redesignation of the State at any time upon 
thirty days notice to the Governor and publication in the Federal 
Register in accordance with this paragraph, and any State may be 
designated upon such notice and publication at any time after the period 
specified in this paragraph whether or not the State has theretofore 
been designated upon the Secretary determining that it is not 
effectively enforcing requirements at least equal to those imposed under 
subchapters I and IV of this chapter.

(4) Periodic review; report to Congressional committees

    The Secretary shall promptly upon December 15, 1967, and 
periodically thereafter, but at least annually, review the requirements, 
including the enforcement thereof, of the several States not designated 
under this paragraph (c), with respect to the slaughter, and the 
preparation, storage, handling and distribution of carcasses, parts 
thereof, meat and meat food products, of such animals, and inspection of 
such operations and annually report thereon to the Committee on 
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate in the report 
required under section 691 \1\ of this title.
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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(d) ``State'' defined

    As used in this section, the term ``State'' means any State 
(including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) or organized Territory.

(Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, title III Sec. 301, as added Pub. L. 90-201, 
Sec. 15, Dec. 15, 1967, 81 Stat. 595; amended Pub. L. 98-487, Sec. 1, 
Oct. 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 2264; Pub. L. 103-437, Sec. 8(2), Nov. 2, 1994, 
108 Stat. 4588.)

                       References in Text

    Section 691 of this title, referred to in subsec. (c)(4), was 
omitted from the Code.

                          Codification

    In subsec. (c)(1), (4), ``December 15, 1967'' substituted for 
``enactment of the Wholesome Meat Act''.


                               Amendments

    1994--Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 103-437 substituted ``Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry'' for ``Agriculture and Forestry''.
    1984--Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 98-487 inserted provisions relating to 
operations conducted at a restaurant central kitchen facility.


                             Effective Date

    Section effective Dec. 15, 1967, see section 20 of Pub. L. 90-201, 
set out as a note under section 601 of this title.


                   Termination of Advisory Committees

    Advisory committees in existence on Jan. 5, 1973, to terminate not 
later than the expiration of the 2-year period following Jan. 5, 1973, 
and advisory committees established after Jan. 5, 1973, to terminate not 
later than the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date of 
their establishment, unless in the case of a committee established by 
the President or an officer of the Federal Government, such committee is 
renewed by appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2-year 
period, or in the case of a committee established by Congress, its 
duration is otherwise provided by law. See section 14 of Pub. L. 92-463, 
Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 776, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, 
Government Organization and Employees.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 607, 624, 645 of this title.
