South Carolina § 47-17-30 - Antemortem and postmortem inspections; quarantine, segregation, and reinspection; condemnation of unwholesome livestock and meat.

§ 47-17-30. Antemortem and postmortem inspections; quarantine, segregation, and reinspection; condemnation of unwholesome livestock and meat.

(a) For the purpose of preventing the entry into or movement in intrastate commerce of any livestock carcass, part thereof, meat food product or meat by-product which is unwholesome or adulterated and is intended for or capable of use as human food, the Director shall, where and to the extent considered by him necessary, cause to be made by inspectors antemortem inspection of livestock in any official establishment where livestock is slaughtered.

(b) For the purpose stated in paragraph (a), the Director whenever slaughtering or other processing operations are being conducted, shall cause to be made by inspectors postmortem inspection of the carcasses and parts thereof of each animal slaughtered in any such official establishment and shall cause to be made by inspectors an inspection of all meat food products processed in any official establishment in which meat food products are processed for intrastate commerce.

(c) The Director shall also cause, at any time, such quarantine, segregation, and reinspection of livestock, livestock carcasses and parts thereof, meat food products and meat by-products in official establishments as he deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article.

(d) All livestock carcasses and parts thereof, meat food products and meat by-products found by an inspector to be unwholesome or adulterated in any official establishment shall be condemned and shall, if no appeal be taken from such determination of condemnation, be destroyed for human food purposes under the supervision of an inspector. Provided, that articles, which may by reprocessing be made wholesome and not adulterated, need not be so condemned and destroyed if so reprocessed under the supervision of an inspector and thereafter found to be wholesome and not adulterated. If an appeal be taken from such determination, the articles shall be appropriately marked and segregated pending completion of an appeal inspection, which appeal shall be at the cost of the appellant if the Director determines that the appeal is frivolous. If the determination of condemnation is sustained, the articles shall be destroyed for human food purposes under the supervision of an inspector.

(e) For the purposes stated in this section all condemnations of livestock, livestock carcasses, parts thereof, meat food products or meat by-products, will be made only by authority of a veterinary inspector.

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 6-613; 1967 (55) 293.