(a)

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 53-7-205

  • Carcass: means all parts, including viscera of a slaughtered animal, that are capable of being used for human food. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture, or any person authorized to act in the commissioner's stead. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Immediate container: means any consumer package, or any other container in which an article, not consumer packaged, is packed. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Inspector: means an employee or official of this state authorized by the commissioner to inspect the operation and facilities of any custom slaughterhouse or meat or poultry processing establishment. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • 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 the article. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Livestock: means cattle, sheep, swine, goats or rabbits. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Meat: means the edible part of the muscle of cattle, deer, sheep, swine or goats that is skeletal or that 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 that normally accompany the muscle tissue and that are not separated from it in the process of dressing. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Meat food product: means any article of food, or any article intended for or capable of use as human food, that is derived or prepared, in whole or in part, from any portion of any livestock or deer, unless exempted by the commissioner upon the commissioner's determination that the article:
    (A) Contains only a minimal amount of meat and is not represented as a meat food product. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Official establishment: means any establishment in this state, as determined by the commissioner, at which inspection of the slaughter of livestock or poultry or the processing of livestock, deer, or poultry carcasses or parts of livestock, deer, or poultry carcasses, meat food products, or poultry products, is maintained under the authority of this part. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Official inspection mark: means any symbol, formulated pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner, stating that an article was inspected and passed. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or any other business entity. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Poultry: means any live or slaughtered domesticated bird. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Poultry product: means any poultry that has been slaughtered for human food from which the blood, feathers, feet, head and viscera have been removed in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner, any edible part of poultry, or any human food product consisting of any edible part of poultry separately or in combination with other ingredients. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Processor: means a person who engages for profit in this state in the business of packing or packaging carcasses, meat, meat food products or meat by-products, or poultry or poultry products, for human consumption, or a person engaged for profit in the business of curing, salting, processing or other preparing of carcasses, meat, meat food products or meat by-products for human consumption. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Shipping container: means any container used or intended for use in packaging the article packed in an immediate container. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Wholesome: means sound, healthful, clean and otherwise fit for human food. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Each shipping container of any meat, meat food product, or poultry product inspected under the authority of this part and found to be wholesome and not adulterated, shall, at the time the product leaves the official establishment, bear, in distinctly legible form, the official inspection mark and the approved plant number of the official establishment in which the contents were processed.
(2)

(A) Each immediate container of any meat, meat food product or poultry product inspected under the authority of this part and found to be wholesome and not adulterated, shall, at the time the product leaves the official establishment, bear, in addition to the official inspection mark, in distinctly legible form, the name of the product, a statement of ingredients, if fabricated from two (2) or more ingredients, including a declaration as to artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, where the food additives are permitted by this part or regulations, the net weight or other appropriate measure of the contents, the name and address of the processor and the approved plant number of the official establishment in which the contents were processed.
(B) The name and address of the distributor may be used in lieu of the name and address of the processor if the approved plant number is used to identify the official establishment in which the article was prepared and packed.
(3) Each livestock carcass and each primal part of a livestock carcass and meat by-products as hearts and livers shall bear the official inspection mark and approved plant number of the establishment when it leaves the official establishment.
(4) The commissioner may by rules and regulations require additional marks or label information to appear on livestock or poultry carcasses or parts of livestock or poultry carcasses, meat food products or poultry products when they leave the official establishments or at the time of their transportation or sale in this state, and the commissioner may permit reasonable variations and grant exemptions from the marking and labeling requirements of this subsection (a) in any manner not in conflict with the purposes of this part.
(5) Marks and labels required under this subsection (a) shall be applied only by, or under the supervision of, an inspector.
(b) Properly marked and labeled meat food products, poultry food products and carcasses or parts of livestock and poultry shall be acceptable for intrastate movement, and the products shall be acceptable for both public and institutional purchase.
(c)

(1) The use of any written, printed or graphic matter upon or accompanying any livestock or poultry carcass, or parts of livestock or poultry carcasses, meat food product, or poultry product inspected or required to be inspected pursuant to this part or the container of the livestock or poultry carcass, or parts of the livestock or poultry carcass, meat food products, or poultry products, that is false or misleading in any particular is prohibited.
(2) No livestock or poultry carcasses or parts of livestock or poultry carcasses, meat food products, or poultry products inspected or required to be inspected pursuant to this part shall be sold or offered for sale by any person, firm or corporation under any false or deceptive name. Established trade names that are usual to the articles and that are not false or deceptive and that are approved by the commissioner are permitted.
(3)

(A) If the commissioner has reason to believe that any label in use or prepared for use is false or misleading in any particular, the commissioner may direct that the use of the label be withheld, unless it is modified in a manner the commissioner may prescribe so that it is not false or misleading.
(B) If the person using or proposing to use the label does not accept the determination of the commissioner, the person may request a hearing, but the use of the label shall, if the commissioner so directs, be withheld pending hearing and final determination by the commissioner.
(C) The determination by the commissioner shall be conclusive unless, within thirty (30) days after the receipt of notice of the final determination, the person adversely affected by the determination appeals the decision of the commissioner to the circuit court pursuant to the provisions for appeals provided in § 53-7-217.
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