It is essential to the public interest that the health and welfare of consumers be protected by assuring that meat and meat food products distributed to them are wholesome, unadulterated, and properly marked, labeled and packaged. Unwholesome, adulterated or mislabeled meat or meat food products are injurious to the public health and welfare; and may provide unfair competition to wholesome, unadulterated, and properly labeled and packaged meat and meat food products. Therefore, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the State of New Jersey to provide for the inspection of animals to be slaughtered, and the carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products processed therefrom, capable of use as human food, at certain establishments in order to prevent the distribution, for human consumption, of animals, meat and meat food products, which are unwholesome, adulterated, misbranded, improperly labeled or otherwise unfit for use as human food.

L.1968, c. 105, s. 2, eff. July 1, 1968.