Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 19 > Article 2B - Inspection of Meat and Poultry

• Adulterated: means and shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat product or poultry 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. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2

• Antemortem: means before death. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
• Carcass: means all or any part of a slaughtered animal or poultry, including viscera, which is capable of being used for human consumption. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Commercial dealer: means any person who operates one or more commercial outlets and who sells or offers for sale thereat any carcasses, meat products or poultry products for human consumption, and who does not can, cook, cure, dry, smoke or render any carcass, meat products or poultry products at such outlets and who conducts no slaughtering or preparing of carcasses, meat products or poultry products at such outlets other than boning or cutting up of carcasses, and other than grinding, chopping and mixing operations at such outlets with respect to trim or meat derived only from such boning or cutting up operations. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Commercial outlet: means a place of business in this state and shall include all retail stores and public eating places in which carcasses, meat products or poultry products are stored, sold or offered for sale for human consumption by the purchaser or other individual consumers. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Commercial processor: means a processor for commercial outlets or distributors and shall include the business of custom processing. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Commercial slaughterer: means a person engaged for profit in this state in the business of slaughtering animals or poultry for human consumption which are to be sold or offered for sale through a commercial outlet or establishment, and shall include a person who in addition to such commercial slaughtering also engages in the business of a custom slaughterer. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture of the State of West Virginia and duly authorized representatives. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contract veterinarian: means a graduate of a school of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association who provides services for the department under contract. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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.
• Custom processor: means a processor in which the carcass, meat products or poultry products derived through processing cannot be sold or offered for sale through a commercial outlet, commercial establishment, distributor, or to an individual. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Custom slaughterer: means a person engaged for profit in this state in the business of slaughtering animals or poultry for human consumption which are not to be sold or offered for sale through a commercial outlet, commercial establishment, distributor, or to an individual, and shall include the boning or cutting up of carcasses of such animals or poultry and the grinding, chopping and mixing of the carcasses thereof. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Denature: means the uniform application of sufficient quantities of crude carbolic acid, cresylic disinfectant, or any other agent approved by the commissioner upon and into the freely slashed flesh of any carcass or product condemned. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Department: means the Department of Agriculture of the State of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Distributor: means a person engaged for profit in this state in the business where carcasses, meat products or poultry products are received from state inspected establishments, or establishments inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture and who stores and distributes to commercial outlets, processors or individuals and who conducts no processing. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Establishment: means any slaughterhouse, processing plant or distributor in this state. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Establishment number: means an official number assigned by the commissioner to each establishment and included on the inspection legend and label to identify all inspected and passed carcasses, meat product or poultry product handled in that establishment. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Inedible: means the carcass, meat product or poultry product derived from 4-D or condemned animals or poultry, or meat products or poultry products which have deteriorated or are otherwise unfit for human consumption. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Inspection legend: means a mark or a statement on a carcass, meat product or poultry product indicating the same has been inspected and passed in this state under the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Inspector: means an individual employed by the department and authorized by the commissioner to perform on his or her behalf any inspection functions under this article. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Label: means a display of written, printed or graphic matter on a container indicating the carcass, meat product or poultry product contained therein has been inspected and passed in this state under the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Licensee: means any person licensed under the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Meat: means the edible part of the muscle of animals which is skeletal or which is found in the tongue, in the diaphragm, in the heart or in the esophagus, with or without the accompanying or overlying fat, and the portions of bone, skin, sinew nerve and blood vessels which normally accompany the muscle tissue and which are not separated from it in the process of dressing. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Meat by-product: means any edible part of an animal or poultry other than meat or meat food product. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Meat food product: means any article of food for human consumption or any article which enters into the composition of food for human consumption, which is derived or prepared in whole or in part from any portion of any animal except organotherapeutic substances, meat juices, meat extract and the like which are only for medicinal purposes and are advertised only to the medical profession. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Meat product: means any meat, meat food product, and meat by-product capable of use as human food. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Official inspection mark: means any symbol prescribed by the commissioner for the purpose of identifying the inspection status of any meat product or poultry product so inspected. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• package: shall include , but not be limited to, any box, can, tin, cloth, plastic or any other receptacle, wrapper or cover. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Postmortem: means after death. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Poultry: means any domesticated bird which is used or intended to be used for human consumption. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Poultry by-product: means any part or parts of poultry, other than eggs, capable of use as human food, other than poultry carcass which have been derived from one or more birds. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Poultry food product: means any product of poultry, other than eggs, capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any poultry meat or other portion of the carcass of poultry. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Poultry meat: means the carcass or parts of such carcass of any poultry. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Poultry product: means any poultry meat, poultry food product, and poultry by-product capable of use as human food. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Process: means to cut up, bone, chop, mix, grind, slice, cook, smoke, cure, salt, marinate, dry, can, or otherwise manufacture, or package any meat product or poultry product. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Processing plant: shall include , but not be limited to, all buildings, structures, chill rooms, aging rooms, processing rooms, sanitary facilities, other facilities, and utensils, used by or in connection with the operations of a processor. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Processor: means a person who engages for profit in this state in the business of processing carcasses, meat products or poultry products for human consumption. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Reinspection: means inspection of the processing of carcass, meat products and poultry products, as well as a reexamination of products previously inspected. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Related industries: means rendering plants, refrigerated meat warehouses, food lockers, meat and poultry wholesalers, brokers, pet food manufacturers, other animal food manufacturers, animal impoundments whose main source of food supply is derived from the raw meats, transportation firms and private carriers. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Sell: means offer for sale, expose for sale, have in possession for sale, exchange, barter or trade. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Slaughterhouse: shall include , but not be limited to, all buildings, structures and facilities used in the slaughtering of animals or poultry for human consumption. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• State inspection: means inspection services conducted by the department at or in connection with establishments required to be licensed by this article. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Veterinary supervisor: means a graduate of a school of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association, employed by the department and authorized by the commissioner to perform on his or her behalf any inspection and supervisory functions under this article. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2
• Wholesome: means sound, healthful, clean, and otherwise fit for human consumption. See West Virginia Code 19-2B-2