Indiana § 15-17-5-5 - Powers of board or state veterinarian

§ 15-17-5-5. Powers of board or state veterinarian

Sec. 5. To accomplish the purposes in section 1 of this chapter, the board or state veterinarian may do the following:

(1) Remove inspectors from an establishment that:

(A) fails to destroy condemned products as required under this chapter; or

(B) repeatedly violates this chapter.

(2) Refuse to provide inspection service under this chapter with respect to an establishment for violations of this chapter and causes specified in Section 401 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act or Section 18 of the Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act.

(3) Order labeling and containers to be withheld from use if the state veterinarian determines that the:

(A) labeling is false or misleading; or

(B) containers are unsafe or of a misleading size or form.

(4) Adopt rules, after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, to prescribe the sizes and style of type to be used for labeling information required under this chapter and definitions and standards of identity or composition or standards of fill of container identical with federal standards when the board considers this action appropriate for the protection of the public.

(5) Adopt rules to prescribe conditions of storage and handling of livestock products and poultry products by persons engaged in the business of buying, selling, freezing, storing, or transporting the products in commerce to ensure that the products will not be adulterated or misbranded when delivered to the consumer.

(6) Require that equines be slaughtered and prepared in separate establishments from where other livestock are slaughtered or the products of other livestock are prepared.

(7) Adopt rules to require that every person who is engaged in business in commerce as a dealer, a renderer, a manufacturer of food for animals derived from livestock or poultry carcasses, or a wholesaler or public warehouseman of livestock products or poultry products, or who is engaged in the business of buying, selling, or transporting in commerce dead, dying, disabled, or diseased livestock or poultry or parts of the carcasses of such animals, including poultry, that died other than by slaughter shall register with the board the person's name and the address of each place of business and all trade names under which the person conducts the person's business.

(8) Adopt rules adopting provisions of federal regulations with changes the board considers appropriate to make the regulations applicable to operations and transactions subject to this chapter.

(9) Adopt other rules the board considers necessary for the efficient execution of this chapter, including rules of practice providing an opportunity for a hearing in connection with issuance of rules or orders under this chapter and prescribing procedure for proceedings as provided in IC 4-21.5 and this article. This subdivision and subdivision (8) do not preclude a requirement that a label or container be withheld from use or a requirement for a refusal of inspection under this chapter pending issuance of a final order in a proceeding.

(10) Appoint and prescribe the duties of inspectors and other personnel as the state veterinarian considers necessary for the efficient execution of this chapter.

(11) Cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States in the administration of this chapter to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, accept federal assistance for that purpose, and spend state public funds appropriated for the administration of this chapter to pay not more than fifty percent (50%) of the estimated total cost of the cooperative program.

(12) Recommend to the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States for appointment to the advisory committees provided for in the federal acts the officials or employees of the board that the board designates.

(13) Serve at the pleasure of the governor as the representative for consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States under Section 301(c) of the federal Meat Inspection Act and Section 5(c) of the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act.

(14) Negotiate agreements with the state or local governmental agencies providing meat inspections as necessary in the opinion of the board to further the provisions provided in this section for the proper administration of this chapter.

[Pre-2008 Recodification Citation: 15-2.1-24-7.]

As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.