§ 106-549.21. Stamping container or covering; regulation of container.
§ 106‑549.21. Stamping container or covering; regulation of container.
(a) When any meat or meat food product prepared for intrastatecommerce which has been inspected as hereinbefore provided and marked"North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Inspectedand Passed" shall be placed or packed in any can, pot, tin, canvas, orother receptacle or covering in any establishment where inspection under theprovisions of this Article is maintained, the person, firm, or corporation preparingsaid product shall cause a label to be attached to said can, pot, tin, canvas,or other receptacle or covering, under supervision of an inspector, which labelshall state that the contents thereof have been "North Carolina Departmentof Agriculture and Consumer Services Inspected and Passed" under theprovisions of this Article, and no inspection and examination of meat or meatfood products deposited or inclosed in cans, tins, pots, canvas, or otherreceptacle or covering in any establishment where inspection under theprovisions of this Article is maintained shall be deemed to be complete untilsuch meat or meat food products have been sealed or inclosed in said can, tin,pot, canvas, or other receptacle or covering under the supervision of aninspector.
(b) All carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat and meat foodproducts inspected at any establishment under the authority of this Article andfound to be not adulterated shall at the time they leave the establishmentbear, in distinctly legible form, directly thereon or on their containers, asthe Commissioner or authorized representative may require, the informationrequired under subdivision (15) of G.S. 106‑549.15.
(c) The Board whenever it determines such action is necessaryfor the protection of the public, may prescribe:
(1) The styles and sizes of type to be used with respect tomaterial required to be incorporated in labeling to avoid false or misleadinglabeling of any articles or animals subject to this and the subsequent Article;
(2) Definitions and standards of identity or composition forarticles subject to this Article and standards of fill of container for sucharticles not inconsistent with any such standards established under the FederalFood, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, andthere shall be consultation between the Commissioner or his authorizedrepresentative and the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States prior tothe issuance of such standards to avoid inconsistency between such standardsand the federal standards.
(d) No article subject to this title shall be sold or offeredfor sale by any person, firm, or corporation, in intrastate commerce, under anyname or other marking or labeling which is false or misleading, or in anycontainer of a misleading form or size, but established trade names and othermarking and labeling and containers which are not false or misleading, andwhich are approved by the Commissioner or his authorized representative, arepermitted.
(e) If the Commissioner or his authorized representative hasreason to believe that any marking or labeling or the size or form of anycontainer in use or proposed for use with respect to any article subject tothis title is false or misleading in any particular, he may direct that suchuse be withheld unless the marking, labeling, or container is modified in suchmanner as he may prescribe so that it will not be false or misleading. If theperson, firm, or corporation using or proposing to use the marking, labeling orcontainer does not accept the determination of the Commissioner or hisauthorized representative, such person, firm, or corporation may request ahearing, but the use of the marking, labeling, or container shall, if theCommissioner so directs, be withheld pending hearing and final determination bythe Commissioner. A person who uses or proposes to use the marking, labeling,or container and who does not accept the determination of the Commissioner maycommence a contested case under G.S. 150B‑23. If directed by theCommissioner, the marking, labeling, or container may not be used pending afinal decision. (1969, c. 893, s.7; 1973, c. 1331, s. 3; 1987, c. 827, s. 35; 1997‑261, s. 109.)