California Code of Regulations
Title 3 - Food and Agriculture
Division 2 - Animal Industry
Chapter 4 - Meat Inspection
Subchapter 1
Article 1 - Meat and Poultry Inspection
Section 900 - Definitions

Universal Citation: 1 CA Code of Regs 900

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024

(a) As used in this subchapter, unless otherwise required by the context, the singular form shall also import the plural and the masculine form shall import the feminine, and vice versa.

(b) Unless otherwise required by the context, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, to mean:

(1) "Act" means the California Meat and Poultry Inspection Act, Chapter 4 (commencing with section 18650) and as supplemented by the California Meat and Poultry Supplemental Inspection Act, Chapter 4.1 (commencing with section 18940) of Part 3, Division 2 of the Food and Agricultural Code.

(2) "Additive" means anything added to a meat or poultry product other than meat, poultry, or meat and poultry byproducts.

(3) "Area" means a geographical region under the supervision of an Area Supervisor.

(4) "Area Supervisor" means the official in charge of an area.

(5) "Biological residue" means any substance, including metabolites, remaining in livestock at time of slaughter or in any of its tissues after slaughter as the result of treatment or exposure of the livestock to a pesticide, organic or inorganic compound, hormone, hormone-like substance, growth promoter, antibiotic, anthelmintic, tranquilizer, or other therapeutic or prophylactic agent.

(6) "California Condemned" means that the livestock so identified has been inspected by an inspector and found to be in a dying condition, or to be affected with any other condition or disease that would require condemnation of its carcass or its affected parts.

(7) "California Inspected and Condemned" means that the carcass, viscera, other part of carcass, or other product so identified has been inspected by an inspector, found to be adulterated, and condemned under the regulations in this subchapter.

(8) "California Inspected and Passed" means that the product so identified has been inspected by an inspector and passed under the regulations in this subchapter, and at the time it was inspected, passed, and identified, it was found to be not adulterated.

(9) "California Rejected" means that the compartment, room, utensil, or piece of equipment so identified is unacceptable for use in the official establishment and cannot be used until the condition that renders it unacceptable is corrected and it has been reexamined and released by an inspector. This is accomplished by applying a red or green California Rejected tag to the compartment, room, utensil, or piece of equipment. The compartment, room, utensil, or piece of equipment is released by removal of the California Rejected tag.

(10) "California Retained" means that the carcass, viscera, other part of carcass, or other product, or article so identified is held for further examination by a program employee to determine its disposal. This is accomplished by applying a red California Retained tag to the carcass, viscera, other part of carcass, or other product or article.

(11) "California Suspect" means that the livestock so identified by an inspector is suspected of being affected with a disease or condition which may require its condemnation, in whole or in part, when slaughtered, and is subject to further examination by a program employee to determine its disposal.

(12) "Capable of use as human food" applies to any carcass, or part or product of a carcass, of any livestock, unless it is denatured or otherwise identified as required by this subchapter to deter its use as a human food, or it is naturally inedible by humans such as hoofs or horns in their natural state.

(13) "Carcass" means all parts, including viscera, of any slaughtered livestock or poultry.

(14) "Chemical preservative" means any chemical that, when added to a meat, meat food product, poultry product, or poultry meat food product tends to prevent or retard deterioration thereof, but does not include common salt, sugars, vinegars, spices, or oils extracted from spices or substances added to meat, meat food products, poultry products, or poultry meat food products by exposure to wood smoke.

(15) "Condemned" means the product or ingredient has been inspected and determined to be unfit for human food purposes.

(16) "Consciousness" means the responsiveness of the brain to the impressions made by the senses.

(17) "Dead livestock" means the body or cadaver of livestock that has died other than by slaughter.

(18) "Denature" means to make an item visually, physically, and/or odoriferously unfit, through the use of an agent or process, for human consumption.

(19) "Department" means the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

(20) "Dying, diseased, or disabled livestock" is livestock that has or displays symptoms of having any of the following:
(A) Central nervous system disorder;

(B) Abnormal temperature (high or low);

(C) Difficult breathing;

(D) Abnormal swellings;

(E) Lack of muscular coordination;

(F) Inability to walk or stand;

(G) Any of the conditions for which livestock is required to be condemned on ante-mortem inspection in accordance with the requirements under Article 4 of this subchapter.

(21) "Edible" means the product is intended for use as human food.

(22) "Firm" means any partnership, association, or other unincorporated business organization.

(23) "Immediate container" means the receptacle or other covering in which any product is directly contained or wholly or partially enclosed.

(24) "Inedible" means adulterated, uninspected, or not intended for use as human food.

(25) The term "inhumane slaughter" or "inhumane handling in connection with slaughter" means the slaughter or handling in connection with slaughter not in accordance with the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, 7 USC, section 1901 et seq.

(26) "Inspector" means a Meat, Poultry and Egg Safety Branch-employed Veterinarian (Meat Inspection), Meat Food Inspector, Supervising Meat Inspector, or Branch Chief or an industry-employed and Department-licensed Livestock Meat Inspector or Processing Inspector.

(27) "Label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container (not including package liners) of any article.

(28) "Labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter:
(A) Upon any article or any of its containers or wrappers; or

(B) Accompanying such article.

(29) "Livestock" means cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and fallow deer or equine for pet food.

(30) "Meat" means the part of the muscle of any cattle, sheep, swine, goats or fallow deer that is skeletal or that is found in the tongue, in the diaphragm, in the heart, or in the esophagus, with or without the accompanying and overlying fat, and the portions of bone, skin, sinew, nerve, and blood vessels that normally accompany the muscle tissue and that are not separated from it in the process of dressing. It does not include the muscle found in the lips, snout, or ears.

(31) "Meat, Poultry and Egg Safety Branch" or "MPES" means the Meat, Poultry and Egg Safety Branch of the Department.

(32) "Meat byproduct" means any part capable of use as human food, other than meat, that has been derived from one or more cattle, sheep, swine, goats, or fallow deer.

(33) "Meat food product" means any article capable of use as human food that is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, or fallow deer. This does not include articles exempted from the definition of a meat food product by the Department in specific cases or by the requirements of this subchapter, upon a determination that they contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the meat food industry. Such exempted articles shall comply with any requirements that are imposed in such cases or regulations to assure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such articles are not adulterated and that such articles are not represented as meat food products.

(34) "Nonambulatory" means unable to stand or walk without assistance.

(35) "Official device" means any device prescribed by section 903.17 of this subchapter for use in applying any official mark.

(36) "Official establishment" means any slaughtering, curing, smoking, drying, rendering, or similar establishment at which inspection is maintained under the regulations in this subchapter.

(37) "Official inspection legend" means any symbol prescribed by the regulations in this subchapter showing that an article was inspected and passed in accordance with the Act.

(38) "Official mark" means the official inspection legend or any other symbol prescribed by the requirements of this subchapter to identify the status of any article or animal under the Act.

(39) "Packaging material" means any cloth, paper, plastic, metal, or other material used to form a container, wrapper, label, or cover for meat and poultry products.

(40) "Passed" means the product or ingredient has been inspected and determined to be fit for human food purposes.

(41) "Person" means any individual, firm, or corporation.

(42) "Potentially Hazardous Product" means any meat and/or poultry product that is in a form capable of supporting rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms that may cause food infections or food intoxications. "Potentially hazardous product" does not include meat and/or poultry products that have a pH level of 4.6 or below and/or a water activity (aw) value of 0.85 or less.

(43) "Poultry" means domestic fowl and domesticated rabbit to be used for human food. "Fowl" includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, squab, quail, pheasant, ratites, and other domesticated birds.

(44) "Poultry Meat Food Product" means any article of food or any article intended or capable of being used as human food that is derived or prepared, in whole or in substantial and definite part, from any portion of poultry.

(45) "Poultry Product" means dressed poultry, ready-to-cook poultry, edible poultry by-product, and poultry meat food product. However, the following items contain poultry ingredients only in a relatively small proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the poultry food industry. Therefore, the following items are exempt from the definition of "poultry product" and the requirements of the Act and the regulations applicable to poultry products, if they comply with the conditions specified in this subchapter:
(A) Any human food product (in a consumer package) not provided for in subsection (B) of this section, if:
1. It contains less than 2 percent cooked poultry meat (deboned white or dark poultry meat, or both);

2. It contains less than 10 percent of cooked poultry skins, giblets, or fat, separately, and less than 10 percent of cooked poultry skins, giblets, fat, and meat (as meat is limited in this section) in any combination;

3. The poultry ingredients used in the product were prepared under federal inspection or were inspected under a foreign or state inspection system approved by the USDA or Department and imported in compliance with the Act and the requirements of this subchapter;

4. The immediate container of the product bears a label that shows the name of the product in accordance with this subchapter; and

5. The product is not represented as a poultry product. The aforementioned percentages of ingredients shall be computed on the basis of the moist, deboned, cooked poultry in the ready-to-serve product when prepared according to the serving directions on the consumer package.

(B) Bouillon cubes, poultry broths, gravies, sauces, seasonings, and flavorings if:
1. They contain poultry meat or poultry fat only in condimental quantities;

2. They comply with the provisions of subsections (b)(45)(A) 3., 4., and 5. of this section in all respects; and

3. In the case of poultry broth, it will not be used in the processing of any poultry product in any official establishment.

(C) Fat capsules and sandwiches containing poultry products if they comply with the provisions of subsections (b)(45)(A) 3., 4., and 5. of this section in all respects.

(D) Products of the types specified in this section except those specified in subsections (b)(45)(A) and (C) of this section will be deemed to be represented as poultry products if the kind name of the poultry (chicken, turkey, etc.) is used in the product name of the product without appropriate qualification. For example, a consumer-packaged noodle soup product containing less than 2 percent chicken meat on a ready-to-serve basis may not be labeled "Chicken Noodle Soup" but, when appropriate, could be labeled as "Chicken Flavored Noodle Soup."

(46) "Prepared" means slaughtered, cured, smoked, dried, rendered, or otherwise manufactured or processed.

(47) "Process schedule" means a written description of processing procedures, consisting of any number of specific, sequential operations directly under the control of the establishment employed in the manufacture of a specific product, including the control, monitoring, verification, validation, and corrective action activities associated with production.

(48) "Product" means any carcass, meat, meat byproduct, meat food product, poultry product, or poultry meat food product capable of use as human food.

(49) "Program" means the Meat, Poultry and Egg Safety Branch.

(50) "Renderer" means any person engaged in the business of rendering carcasses or parts or products of the carcasses of any livestock or poultry except rendering of products intended for human consumption and conducted under inspection.

(51) "Restricted ingredient" means an additive for which the amount that can be used in a meat or poultry product is limited by this subchapter.

(52) "State" means the State of California.

(53) "State Veterinarian" means an officially designated employee of the California Department of Food and Agriculture who has jurisdiction over livestock and poultry disease control, meat inspection, and dairy inspection.

(54) "Subchapter" references mean the regulations contained in Subchapter 1 of Chapter 4, Division 2, of Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations.

(55) "Supervision" means the controls, as prescribed in instructions to program employees, to be exercised by them over particular operations to insure that such operations are conducted in compliance with the Act and the requirements of this subchapter.

1. Repealer of Groups 1 and 2 (§§ 900 through 1175.2) and new Group 1 (§§ 900 through 904 and 920) filed 10-8-70 as an emergency; effective upon filing (Register 70, No. 41). For prior history, see Registers 58-23, 59-20, 61-10, 62-24, 65-1, 65-23, 65-24, 66-6, 66-23, 67-51, 68-26, 68-29, 68-31 and 70-20.
2. Certificate of Compliance--Section 11422.1, Gov. Code, filed 12-15-70 (Register 70, No. 51).
3. Amendment filed 8-4-72; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 72, No. 32).
4. Repealer of former article 1 (sections 900-921) and section and new article 1 (sections 900-900.3) and section filed 5-31-2007; operative 6-30-2007 (Register 2007, No. 22).
5. Change without regulatory effect amending subsections (b)(26), (b)(31) and (b)(49) filed 4-2-2012 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2012, No. 14).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 407, 18693, 18735, 18960 and 18961, Food and Agricultural Code. Reference: Chapter 4 (commencing with section 18650), Chapter 4.1 (commencing with section 18940); and Chapter 6 (commencing with section 19501), of Part 3, Division 9, and Chapter 3 (commencing with section 24951) of Part 1, Division 12, Food and Agricultural Code.

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