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HOUSE BILL 205
56
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2023
INTRODUCED BY
Gail Armstrong and Jack Chatfield and Tara Jaramillo
and Willie D. Madrid and Candy Spence Ezzell
AN ACT
RELATING TO FOOD; ENACTING THE MEAT INSPECTION ACT; AUTHORIZING
THE NEW MEXICO LIVESTOCK BOARD TO CONDUCT MEAT INSPECTIONS TO
ENSURE THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF MEAT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION;
CREATING THE OFFICE OF THE MEAT AND POULTRY INSPECTION
DIRECTOR; PROVIDING FOR INSPECTION STAMPS AND ESTABLISHMENT
NUMBERS; PROVIDING PENALTIES; PROVIDING EXEMPTIONS FOR RITUAL
SLAUGHTER.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
cited as the "Meat Inspection Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
Meat Inspection Act:
A. "board" means the New Mexico livestock board;
B. "food additive" means a substance, the intended
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use of which results, or may reasonably be expected to result,
directly or indirectly, in the substance becoming a component
of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of food; provided
that the substance is not generally recognized, among experts
qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate the
substance's safety, as having been adequately shown through
scientific procedures, or experience based on common use in
food, to be safe under the conditions of its intended use; and
further provided that "food additive" does not include:
(1) a pesticide chemical residue in or on a
raw agricultural commodity or processed food;
(2) a pesticide chemical;
(3) a color additive;
(4) a substance used in accordance with a
sanction or approval granted prior to the enactment of the
federal Poultry Products Inspection Act or the federal Meat
Inspection Act of 1907;
(5) a new animal drug; or
(6) an ingredient intended for use in a
dietary supplement;
C. "inspection director" means the director of the
office of the meat and poultry inspection director;
D. "livestock" means cattle, sheep, swine, goats,
horses, mules or other equines, whether alive or dead;
E. "livestock product" means a livestock carcass or
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part of a livestock carcass, meat or a livestock meat product;
F. "meat" means the edible flesh of livestock,
poultry, birds or animals as usually sold for human consumption
and includes livestock and poultry products;
G. "meat product" means a product capable of use as
human food that is wholly or partially made from meat and is
not specifically exempted by rules of the board;
H. "official establishment" means an establishment
granted state meat inspection services by the board where
inspection of the slaughter of livestock or poultry or the
preparation of meat products is maintained pursuant to the Meat
Inspection Act;
I. "pesticide chemical" has the same meaning as set
forth in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;
J. "poultry" means a domesticated bird, whether
alive or dead;
K. "poultry product" means a poultry carcass or
part of a poultry carcass or a product that is made wholly or
in part from a poultry carcass or part of a poultry carcass and
is not specifically exempted by rules of the board;
L. "prepared" means slaughtered, canned, salted,
stuffed, rendered, boned, cut up or otherwise manufactured or
processed;
M. "raw agricultural commodity" means food in its
raw or natural state, including all fruits that are washed,
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colored or otherwise treated in their unpeeled natural form
prior to marketing; and
N. "state meat inspection services" means
inspection services granted by the board to a slaughtering
establishment, meat processor or manufacturer of meat products.
SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] OFFICE CREATED--DUTIES--
QUALIFICATIONS--COMPENSATION.--
A. The "office of the meat and poultry inspection
director" is created under the board, subject to the control
and direction of the executive director of the board. The
board shall appoint an inspection director who meets the
requirements established by the board.
B. The inspection director shall supervise the
state meat inspection program and enforce and carry out the
provisions of the Meat Inspection Act to assure the public that
only pure, wholesome and unadulterated meat and meat products
are offered for sale.
C. Upon approval by the inspection director, the
board shall appoint and fix salaries of veterinary meat
inspectors and lay meat inspectors, subject to the provisions
of the Personnel Act, who shall conduct ante-mortem and
post-mortem inspections, enforce sanitary requirements, perform
other duties necessary to conduct proper meat inspection and
carry out the provisions of the Meat Inspection Act.
D. An inspector assigned to an official
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establishment shall neither be related to the management of the
establishment nor have a financial interest in the
establishment.
E. Each inspector shall take the oath of office.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] APPLICATION FOR STATE MEAT
INSPECTION SERVICES--PERIODIC INSPECTIONS--INSPECTION STAMPS
AND ESTABLISHMENT NUMBERS.--
A. A slaughtering establishment, meat processor or
manufacturer of meat products seeking state meat inspection
services shall submit a written application to the board
through a process established by the board.
B. The board shall provide for periodic
investigations of the sanitary conditions of each official
establishment and withdraw or otherwise refuse to grant state
meat inspection services and inspect those establishments where
the sanitary conditions are such as to render adulterated meat
prepared or handled therein.
C. The office of the meat and poultry inspection
director shall inspect the applicant's facilities to determine
if they are clean and sanitary and meet the requirements of the
Meat Inspection Act. Upon determination, the inspection
director shall recommend approval or disapproval of the
application to the board. The board may adopt the
recommendation of the inspection director. If an application
is approved, the board shall assign an official establishment
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number to the establishment to be used in accordance with the
Meat Inspection Act.
D. The board shall provide meat inspection stamps
that contain the words "New Mexico Inspected and Passed" and
"New Mexico Inspected and Condemned" and assign establishment
numbers to:
(1) slaughtering establishments that have been
approved and granted state meat inspection services by the
board; and
(2) meat processors and manufacturers of meat
products that have been approved in accordance with the
requirements of the Meat Inspection Act.
E. The board shall design inspection stamps so as
not to be in conflict with the inspection stamps of the United
States department of agriculture.
F. An official establishment may use symbols of the
inspection stamps on its processed meats and meat products
offered for sale so long as they are in compliance with the
provisions of the Meat Inspection Act.
G. Meat inspection stamps shall at all times be
under the immediate jurisdiction of the inspection director.
SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] ASSIGNMENT OF INSPECTORS.--
A. A slaughtering establishment granted state meat
inspection services shall notify the inspection director of its
hours of slaughter, and the inspection director shall assign
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inspectors to the establishment. The inspection director may
assign one inspector to conduct inspection at two or more
slaughtering establishments that have state meat inspection
services. The hours of the day and the days of the week shall
be arranged with the slaughtering establishments to ensure that
an inspector is present at each establishment during all
periods of slaughter.
B. A slaughtering establishment may slaughter in
excess of eight hours in one day or slaughter on holidays or
Sundays, and the inspection director shall assign an inspector
to conduct meat inspection at those times. A slaughtering
establishment shall pay overtime fees to the board when the
board provides inspection services in excess of eight hours in
one day or on holidays or Sundays. A slaughtering
establishment that has state meat inspection services is not
permitted to slaughter poultry, cattle, sheep, swine or goats
unless there is an assigned inspector on the premises of the
establishment during all periods of slaughter.
SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] ANTE- AND POST-MORTEM
INSPECTION REQUIRED.--
A. A slaughtering establishment that has state meat
inspection services shall have an ante-mortem inspection. The
inspector assigned to the slaughtering establishment shall
examine each animal immediately prior to slaughter for the
purpose of eliminating all unfit animals and segregating, for
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more thorough examination, all animals suspected of being
affected with a condition that might influence disposition on
post-mortem inspection. The unfit animals shall not be
permitted to enter the slaughtering department of the plant.
The suspected animals that are permitted to be slaughtered
after inspection shall be handled separately from the regular
kill and given a special post-mortem examination.
B. A slaughtering establishment that has state meat
inspection services shall have a post-mortem inspection. The
post-mortem examination shall be made at the time the animals
are slaughtered. The inspector shall perform a thorough
examination of the carcass and parts thereof in accordance with
the rules promulgated by the board. The examination shall be
conducted in the slaughtering department of the plant during
the slaughtering operations.
C. The inspection director or any of the inspection
director's inspectors shall have the laboratory of the board or
a laboratory designated by the board conduct pathogenic
examination of animals or parts thereof for completion of
ante-mortem or post-mortem inspection.
SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] OFFICIAL ESTABLISHMENT DUTIES--
RECORDS--PLANS--REASSESSMENTS.--An official establishment
shall:
A. conduct ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections,
quarantines, segregation and reinspections with respect to the
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slaughter of livestock and poultry and the preparation of
livestock and poultry products;
B. inspect livestock and poultry and mark and label
meat products as "New Mexico Inspected and Condemned" if the
products are found upon inspection to be adulterated and "New
Mexico Inspected and Passed" if they are found upon inspection
not to be adulterated;
C. destroy meat products that have been marked "New
Mexico Inspected and Condemned";
D. maintain full and complete records of all
transactions involving meat and make the records available on
request to the inspection director or the inspection director's
inspectors at any reasonable time;
E. prepare and maintain current procedures for the
recall of meat or meat products produced and shipped by the
establishment;
F. document each reassessment of the process
control plans of the establishment; and
G. upon request, make the procedures and reassessed
process control plans available to inspectors appointed by the
inspection director for review and copying.
SECTION 8. [NEW MATERIAL] CONDEMNATION AND APPEAL.--The
inspector at an official establishment shall condemn all
diseased or otherwise unfit carcasses and parts of carcasses,
including the viscera. The official establishment shall remove
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the condemned parts from the slaughtering department of the
plant in equipment designated for that purpose and shall
destroy the condemned parts for food purposes under the
supervision of the inspector. If an official establishment
wishes to appeal a decision of an inspector as to carcasses or
parts of carcasses that have been condemned, the establishment
may appeal the decision to the office of the meat and poultry
inspection director. If the establishment is not satisfied and
wishes to make a further appeal, it may submit an appeal to the
board, whose decision shall be final unless the establishment
aggrieved appeals to the district court pursuant to the
provisions of Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.
SECTION 9. [NEW MATERIAL] RULES.--
A. The board, upon the recommendation of the
inspection director, shall adopt rules that conform as far as
possible to the requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection
Act, the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act and the
federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1978. The rules
shall:
(1) set standards for ingredients of meat;
(2) set standards for labeling, marking or
branding meat;
(3) set standards for the weights or measures
of meat;
(4) set standards for the filling of
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containers for meat;
(5) regulate misbranded, false or fraudulent
advertising of meat; and
(6) prescribe standards relating to sanitation
for official establishments.
B. The board, upon the recommendation of the
inspection director, may:
(1) adopt rules to exempt small meat packages,
meat not in containers and other reasonable variations from
labeling standards for weight, measure or numerical count; and
(2) prescribe additional rules as necessary to
carry out the purposes of the Meat Inspection Act.
SECTION 10. [NEW MATERIAL] ADULTERATED MEAT--MISBRANDED
MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS.--
A. Meat or a meat product is adulterated if:
(1) it bears or contains a poisonous or
deleterious substance that may render it injurious to health;
provided that a substance that is not added to meat is not
considered adulterating if the quantity of the substance is
insufficient to ordinarily render it injurious to health;
(2) it bears or contains, by reason of
administration of a substance to the meat, an added poisonous
or added deleterious substance other than a color additive, a
food additive or a pesticide chemical in or on a raw
agricultural commodity, that may, in the board's judgment, make
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the meat or meat product unfit for human food;
(3) it is, in whole or in part, a raw
agricultural commodity and bears or contains a pesticide
chemical that is unsafe within the meaning of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act;
(4) it bears or contains a food additive that
is unsafe within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act;
(5) it bears or contains a color additive that
is unsafe within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act; provided that the meat or meat product that is
not otherwise deemed adulterated under Paragraph (3), (4) or
(5) of this subsection shall be deemed adulterated if use of
the pesticide chemical, food additive or color additive in or
on the meat or meat product is prohibited by rules of the
board;
(6) it consists in whole or in part of a
filthy, putrid or decomposed substance or is for any other
reason unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome or otherwise unfit for
human food;
(7) it has been prepared, packed or held under
unsanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated
with filth or rendered injurious to health;
(8) it is, in whole or in part, the product of
an animal, including poultry, that has died otherwise than by
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slaughter;
(9) its container is composed, in whole or in
part, of a poisonous or deleterious substance that may render
the contents injurious to health;
(10) it has been intentionally subjected to
radiation, unless the use of the radiation was in conformity
with a regulation or exemption in effect pursuant to the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; or
(11) a valuable constituent has been, in whole
or in part, omitted or abstracted; or if a substance has been
substituted, wholly or in part; or if damage or inferiority has
been concealed; or if a substance has been added, mixed or
packed to increase its bulk or weight; or reduce its quality or
strength; or make it appear better or of greater value.
B. Meat or a meat product is misbranded:
(1) if the labeling is false or misleading;
(2) if it is offered for sale under the name
of another food;
(3) if it is an imitation of another food,
unless its label bears, in type of uniform size and prominence,
the word "imitation" and immediately after the name of the food
being imitated;
(4) if its container is made, formed or filled
as to be misleading;
(5) unless it bears a label showing:
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(a) the name and place of business of
the manufacturer, packer or distributor; and
(b) an accurate statement of the
quantity of the product in terms of weight, measure or
numerical count;
(6) if a word, statement or other information
required by or under the Meat Inspection Act to appear on the
label or other labeling is not prominently placed thereon with
such conspicuousness, as compared with other words, statements,
designs or devices in the labeling, or is not stated in such
terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the
ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and
use;
(7) if it purports to be or is represented as
a food for which a definition and standard of identity or
composition has been prescribed by the rules of the board,
unless:
(a) it conforms to the definition and
standard; and
(b) its label bears the name of the food
specified in the definition and standard and, insofar as may be
required by rule, the common names of optional ingredients,
other than spices, flavoring and coloring, present in the food;
(8) if it purports to be or is represented as
a food for which a standard of fill of container has been
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prescribed by rules of the board, and it falls below that
standard, unless the label bears in a manner and form as the
rules specify, a statement that it falls below the standard;
(9) if it is not subject to the provisions of
Paragraph (7) of this subsection and the label does not bear:
(a) the common name of the food; and
(b) in case it is fabricated from two or
more ingredients, the common name of each ingredient; except
that spices, flavorings and colorings may, when authorized by
the board, be designated as spices, flavorings and colorings
without naming each; provided that, to the extent that
compliance with these requirements is impracticable or results
in deception or unfair competition, exemptions shall be
established by rules promulgated by the board;
(10) if it purports to be or is represented
for special dietary uses, unless its label bears information
concerning its vitamin, mineral and other dietary properties,
as the board, after consultation with the secretary of
agriculture of the United States, determines and by rule
prescribes as necessary to fully inform purchasers as to its
value for those uses;
(11) if it bears or contains an artificial
flavoring, artificial coloring or chemical preservative, unless
it bears labeling stating that fact; provided that, to the
extent that compliance with these requirements is
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impracticable, exemptions shall be established by rules
promulgated by the board; or
(12) if it fails to bear, directly thereon and
on its containers, as the board may prescribe by rule, the
official inspection legend and establishment number of the
establishment where the product was prepared and other
information as the board may require in rules to ensure that
the meat or meat product does not have false or misleading
labeling and that the public is informed of the manner of
handling required to maintain the meat or meat product in a
wholesome condition.
SECTION 11. [NEW MATERIAL] PROHIBITED ACTS--PENALTY.--
A. Except as provided by the Meat Inspection Act,
it is a:
(1) misdemeanor for a person to:
(a) slaughter livestock or poultry or
prepare livestock products or poultry products for human
consumption in violation of the provisions of the Meat
Inspection Act;
(b) sell or transport adulterated,
misbranded, condemned or uninspected meat;
(c) falsely represent that meat or a
meat product has been inspected and passed or is exempted under
the Meat Inspection Act or board rules or knowingly make a
false statement in a certificate required by board rules;
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(d) sell or transport slaughtered
poultry from which the blood, feathers, feet, head or viscera,
other than giblets, have not been removed;
(e) fail to keep records required by the
Meat Inspection Act;
(f) forge an official device, mark or
certificate;
(g) use, alter, deface, detach or
destroy an official device, mark or certificate without
authorization;
(h) fail to use or fail to detach,
deface or destroy an official device, mark or certificate
contrary to rules prescribed by the board;
(i) knowingly possess a counterfeit
certificate, device or label or the carcass or parts of the
carcass of an animal bearing a counterfeit or improperly
altered official mark; or
(j) buy, sell or transport livestock
products or poultry products not intended for human food unless
the products are naturally inedible by humans or are denatured
or identified as required by rules of the board; and
(2) a fourth degree felony for a person to:
(a) engage in the business of buying,
selling or transporting dead, dying, disabled or diseased
animals or parts of the carcasses of animals that died
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otherwise than by slaughter or buy, sell or transport dead,
dying, disabled or diseased livestock or poultry or the
products of livestock or poultry that died otherwise than by
slaughter unless in accordance with rules adopted by the board
to ensure that the animals or the unwholesome parts or products
of the animals are prevented from being used for human food
purposes; or
(b) engage in unfair trade practices,
inaccurate or deceptive advertising, bait and switch selling or
product misrepresentation or knowingly engage in price
misrepresentation of meat.
B. A person who violates a provision of Paragraph
(1) of Subsection A of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of
Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
C. A person who violates a provision of Paragraph
(2) of Subsection A of this section is guilty of a fourth
degree felony and shall be sentenced in accordance with the
provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.
SECTION 12. [NEW MATERIAL] EXEMPTIONS.--The following
persons are exempt from the provisions and penalties of the
Meat Inspection Act:
A. a person who slaughters livestock or poultry for
personal or household use or consumption;
B. a person who prepares or processes livestock or
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poultry products for personal or household use or consumption;
and
C. a person who transports dead, dying, disabled or
diseased animals or poultry for the purpose of treatment,
burial or disposal in a manner that would prevent the carcasses
from being used as human food.
SECTION 13. [NEW MATERIAL] INTERFERENCE WITH BOARD
OFFICIALS AND PERSONNEL.--A person who forcibly assaults,
resists, opposes, impedes, harasses or intimidates a person
while engaged in or on account of the performance of official
duties under the Meat Inspection Act is guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of
Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
SECTION 14. [NEW MATERIAL] COOPERATION WITH THE
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER
PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITIES.--
A. In carrying out the provisions of the Meat
Inspection Act, the board and the inspection director shall
request the advice from and consult with the appropriate
employees of the department of health, the department of
environment and state laboratories on matters relating to
potability of water, sewerage systems and other sanitary
conditions of slaughtering and meat processing establishments
that might endanger public health.
B. In carrying out the provisions of the Meat
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Inspection Act, an inspector or the inspection director shall
advise the department of health and the department of
environment when, in the inspector's opinion, an official
establishment fails to meet the minimum requirements of the
departments. The department of health and the department of
environment may send officers to make inspections of the
premises. If a department of health or department of
environment inspector confirms that the official establishment
fails to meet the minimum requirements of the department of
health or the department of environment, the board shall notify
the official establishment that the grant for state meat
inspection services or assigned establishment number is
suspended.
SECTION 15. [NEW MATERIAL] SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF
INSPECTION SERVICES OR ESTABLISHMENT NUMBER--HEARING--APPEAL.--
A. The board may suspend or revoke a state meat
inspection services or establishment number for violation of or
noncompliance with:
(1) a provision of the Meat Inspection Act;
(2) a rule issued pursuant to the Meat
Inspection Act; or
(3) minimum requirements established by the
department of health or the department of environment for
sanitary conditions of slaughtering and meat processing
establishments.
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B. The board may suspend or revoke a state meat
inspection services or establishment number only after a
hearing before the board upon reasonable notice. The board
shall provide notice to the official establishment by service
of the complaint by certified mail, return receipt requested.
C. A decision of the board is final in a matter
relating to renewal, suspension or revocation of state meat
inspection services or establishment numbers unless the person
aggrieved appeals to the district court pursuant to the
provisions of Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.
SECTION 16. [NEW MATERIAL] POWER TO ENJOIN VIOLATIONS OF
THE MEAT INSPECTION ACT.--In addition to remedies provided in
the Meat Inspection Act, the board may apply to the district
court for a temporary or permanent injunction restraining a
person from violating a provision of the Meat Inspection Act
irrespective of whether there exists an adequate remedy at law.
SECTION 17. [NEW MATERIAL] APPLICATION OF FEDERAL LAWS.--
The provisions of the Meat Inspection Act apply to persons,
establishments, animals, meat and meat products regulated under
the federal Meat Inspection Act, the federal Poultry Products
Inspection Act and the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act
of 1978 and only to the extent provided for in those acts.
SECTION 18. [NEW MATERIAL] NOTIFICATION.--An official
establishment subject to inspection under the Meat Inspection
Act that has knowledge, or has reason to have knowledge, that
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an adulterated or misbranded meat or meat product received by
or originating from the establishment has entered into commerce
shall promptly notify the inspection director with regard to
the type, amount, origin and destination of the meat or meat
product.
SECTION 19. [NEW MATERIAL] HUMANE METHODS OF SLAUGHTER--
RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS.--
A. No method of slaughtering or handling in
connection with slaughtering shall be deemed to comply with the
public policy of the Meat Inspection Act unless it is humane.
The following two methods of slaughtering and handling are
humane:
(1) in the case of cattle, calves, sheep,
swine and other livestock, all animals are rendered insensible
to pain by a single blow or gunshot or electrical, chemical or
other means that is rapid and effective before being shackled,
hoisted, thrown, cast or cut; or
(2) by ritual slaughter.
B. Nothing in the Meat Inspection Act shall be
construed to prohibit, abridge or hinder the religious freedom
of an individual or group. To protect freedom of religion,
ritual slaughter and the handling or other preparation of
livestock for ritual slaughter are exempted from the provisions
of the Meat Inspection Act.
C. For the purposes of this section, "ritual
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slaughter" means slaughtering in accordance with the ritual
requirements of a religious faith whereby the animal suffers
loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the
simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid
arteries with a sharp instrument and handling in connection
with the slaughtering.
SECTION 20. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2023.
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