Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

84 STAT. 1628

62 Stat. 756.

such form and manner, as the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare may prescribe, to the extent that they are concerned therewith, the receipt, delivery, sale, movement, and disposition of all eggs and egg products handled by them, and shall, upon the request of a duly authorized representative of either of said Secretaries, permit him at reasonable times to have access to and to copy all such records.

PENALTIES

SEC. 12. (a) Any person who commits any offense prohibited by section 8 of this Act shall upon conviction be subject to imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both such imprisonment and fine, but if such violation involves intent to defraud, or any distribution or attempted distribution of any article that is known to be adulterated (except as defined in section 4(a) (8) of this Act), such person shall be subject to imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. When construing or enforcing the provisions of section 8, the act, omission, or failure of any person acting for or employed by any individual, partnership, corporation, or association within the scope of his employment or office shall in every case be deemed the act, omission, or failure of such individual, partnership, corporation, or association, as well as of such person.

:

(b) No carrier or warehouseman shall be subject to the penalties of this Act, other than the penalties for violation of section 11 of this Act or paragraph (c) of this section 12, by reason of his receipt, carriage, holding, or delivery, in the usual course of business, as a carrier or warehouseman of eggs or egg products owned by another person unless the carrier or warehouseman has knowledge, or is in possession of facts which would cause a reasonable person to believe that such eggs or egg products were not eligible for transportation under, or were otherwise in violation of, this Act, or unless the carrier or warehouseman refuses to furnish on request of a representative of the Secretary the name and address of the person from whom he received such eggs or egg products and copies of all documents, if there be any, pertaining to the delivery of the eggs or egg products to, or by, such carrier or warehouseman.

(c) Any person who forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person while engaged in or on account of the performance of his official duties under this Act shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. Whoever, in the commission of any such act, uses a deadly or dangerous weapon, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. Whoever kills any person while engaged in or on account of the performance of his official duties under this Act shall be punished as provided under sections 1111 and 1112 of title 18, United States Code.

REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS

SEC. 13. Before any violation of this Act is reported by the Secretary of Agriculture or Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to any United States attorney for institution of a criminal proceeding, the person against whom such proceeding is contemplated shall be given reasonable notice of the alleged violation and opportunity to present his views orally or in writing with regard to such contemplated proceeding. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring the Secretary of Agriculture or Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

to report for criminal prosecution violations of this Act whenever he believes that the public interest will be adequately served and compliance with the Act obtained by a suitable written notice of warning.

REGULATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION

SEC. 14. The Secretary shall promulgate such rules and regulations as he deems necessary to carry out the purposes or provisions of this Act, and shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Act except as otherwise provided in paragraph (d) of section 5 of this Act.

EXEMPTIONS

SEC. 15. (a) The Secretary may, by regulation and under such conditions and procedures as he may prescribe, exempt from specific provisions of this Act

(1) the sale, transportation, possession, or use of eggs which contain no more restricted eggs than are allowed by the tolerance in the official standards of United States consumer grades for shell eggs;

(2) the processing of egg products at any plant where the facilities and operating procedures meet such sanitary standards as may be prescribed by the Secretary, and where the eggs received or used in the manufacture of egg products contain no more restricted eggs than are allowed by the official standards of United States consumer grades for shell eggs, and the egg products processed at such plant;

(3) the sale of eggs by any poultry producer from his own flocks directly to a household consumer exclusively for use by such consumer and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees, and the transportation, possession, and use of such eggs in accordance with this paragraph;

(4) the processing of egg products by any poultry producer from eggs of his own flocks' production for sale of such products directly to a household consumer exclusively for use by such consumer and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees, and the egg products so processed when handled in accordance with this paragraph;

(5) the sale of eggs by shell egg packers on his own premises directly to household consumers for use by such consumer and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees, and the transportation, possession, and use of such eggs in accordance with this paragraph;

(6) for such period of time (not to exceed two years) during the initiation of operations under this Act as the Secretary determines that it is impracticable to provide inspection, the processing of egg products at any class of plants and the egg products processed at such plants; and

(7) the sale of eggs by any egg producer with an annual egg production from a flock of three thousand or less hens.

(b) The Secretary may immediately suspend or terminate any exemption under paragraph (a) (2) or (6) of this section at any time with respect to any person, if the conditions of exemption prescribed by this section or the regulations of the Secretary are not being met. The Secretary may modify or revoke any regulation granting exemption under this Act whenever he deems such action appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this Act.

84 STAT. 1629

84 STAT. 1630

ENTRY OF MATERIALS INTO OFFICIAL PLANTS

SEC. 16. The Secretary may limit the entry of eggs and egg products and other materials into official plants under such conditions as he may prescribe to assure that allowing the entry of such articles into such plants will be consistent with the purposes of this Act.

IMPORTS

SEC. 17. (a) No restricted eggs capable of use as human food shall be imported into the United States except as authorized by regulations of the Secretary. No egg products capable of use as human food shall be imported into the United States unless they were processed under an approved continuous inspection system of the government of the foreign country of origin or subdivision thereof and are labeled and packaged in accordance with, and otherwise comply with the standards of this Act and regulations issued thereunder applicable to such articles within the United States. All such imported articles shall upon entry into the United States be deemed and treated as domestic articles subject to the other provisions of this Act: Provided, That they shall be labeled as required by such regulations for imported articles: Provided further. That nothing in this section shall apply to eggs or egg products purchased outside the United States by any individual for consumption by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees.

(b) The Secretary may prescribe the terms and conditions for the destruction of all such articles which are imported contrary to this section, unless (1) they are exported by the consignee within the time fixed therefor by the Secretary or (2) in the case of articles which are not in compliance solely because of misbranding, such articles are brought into compliance with this Act under supervision of authorized representatives of the Secretary.

(c) All charges for storage, cartage, and labor with respect to any article which is imported contrary to this section shall be paid by the owner or consignee, and in default of such payment shall constitute a lien against such article and any other article thereafter imported under this Act by or for such owner or consignee.

(d) The importation of any article contrary to this section is prohibited.

REFUSAL OF INSPECTION

SEC. 18. The Secretary (for such period, or indefinitely, as he deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act) may refuse to provide or may withdraw inspection service under this Act with respect to any plant if he determines, after opportunity for a hearing is accorded to the applicant for, or recipient of, such service, that such applicant or recipient is unfit to engage in any business requiring inspection under this Act, because the applicant or recipient or anyone responsibly connected with the applicant or recipient has been convicted in any Federal or State court, within the previous ten years, of (1) any felony or more than one misdemeanor under any law based upon the acquiring, handling, or distributing of adulterated, mislabeled, or deceptively packaged food or fraud in connection with transactions in food, or (2) any felony, involving fraud, bribery, extortion, or any other act or circumstances indicating a lack of the integrity needed for the conduct of operations affecting the public health.

For the purpose of this section, a person shall be deemed to be responsibly connected with the business if he is a partner, officer, director, holder, or owner of 10 per centum or more of its voting stock, or employee in a managerial or executive capacity.

84 STAT. 1631

The determination and order of the Secretary with respect thereto Judicial under this section shall be final and conclusive unless the affected review. applicant for, or recipient of, inspection service files application for judicial review within thirty days after the effective date of such order in the United States court of appeals for the circuit in which such applicant or recipient has its principal place of business or in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judicial review of any such order shall be upon the record upon which the determination and order are based. The provisions of section 201 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, as amended (7 U.S.C. 194) 42 Stat. 162; shall be applicable to appeals taken under this section.

This section shall not affect in any way other provisions of this Act for refusal of inspection services.

ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION

SEC. 19. Whenever any eggs or egg products subject to the Act, are found by any authorized representative of the Secretary upon any premises and there is reason to believe that they are or have been processed, bought, sold, possessed, used, transported, or offered or received for sale or transportation in violation of this Act or that they are in any other way in violation of this Act, or whenever any restricted eggs capable of use as human food are found by such a representative in the possession of any person not authorized to acquire such eggs under the regulations of the Secretary, such articles may be detained by such representative for a reasonable period but not to exceed twenty days, pending action under section 20 of this Act or notification of any Federal, State, or other governmental authorities having jurisdiction over such articles and shall not be moved by any person from the place at which they are located when so detained until released by such representative. All official marks may be required by such representative to be removed from such articles before they are released unless it appears to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the articles are eligible to retain such marks.

JUDICIAL SEIZURE PROCEEDINGS

SEC. 20. (a) Any eggs or egg products that are or have been processed, bought, sold, possessed, used, transported, or offered or received for sale or transportation, in violation of this Act, or in any other way are in violation of this Act; and any restricted eggs, capable of use as human food, in the possession of any person not authorized to acquire such eggs under the regulations of the Secretary shall be liable to be proceeded against and seized and condemned, at any time, on a complaint in any United States district court or other proper court as provided in section 21 of this Act within the jurisdiction of which the articles are found. If the articles are condemned they shall, after entry of the decree, be disposed of by destruction or sale as the court may direct and the proceeds, if sold, less the court costs and fees, and storage and other proper expenses, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States, but the articles shall not be sold contrary to the provision of this Act, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, or the laws of the jurisdiction in which they are sold: Provided, That upon the execution and delivery of a good and sufficient bond conditioned that the articles shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of contrary

72 Stat. 944.

52 Stat. 1040. 21 USC 301.

80 Stat. 1296.

15 USC 1451

note.

84 STAT. 1632

to the provisions of this Act, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 52 Stat. 1040. Act, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, or the laws of the juris

21 USC 301.

80 Stat. 1296. 15 USC 1451

note.

66 Stat. 722.

diction in which disposal is made, the court may direct that they be delivered to the owner thereof subject to such supervision by authorized representatives of the Secretary as is necessary to insure compliance with the applicable laws. When a decree of condemnation is entered against the articles and they are released under bond, or destroyed, court costs and fees, and storage and other proper expenses shall be awarded against the person, if any, intervening as claimant thereof. The proceedings in such cases shall conform, as nearly as may be, to the supplemental rules for certain admiralty and maritime claims, except that either party may demand trial by jury of any issue of fact joined in any case, and all such proceedings shall be at the suit of and in the name of the United States.

(b) The provisions of this section shall in no way derogate from authority for condemnation or seizure conferred by other provisions of this Act, or other laws.

JURISDICTION

SEC. 21. The United States district courts and the District Court of the Virgin Islands are vested with jurisdiction specifically to enforce, and to prevent and restrain violations of, this Act, and shall have jurisdiction in all other cases, arising under this Act, except as provided in section 18 of this Act. All proceedings for the enforcement or to restrain violations of this Act shall be by and in the name of the United States. Subpenas for witnesses who are required to attend a court of the United States, in any district, may run into any other district in any such proceeding.

APPLICABILITY OF OTHER ACTS

SEC. 22. For the efficient administration and enforcement of this Act, the provisions (including penalties) of sections 6, 8, 9, and 10 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended (38 Stat. 721-723, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 46, 48, 49, and 50) (except paragraphs (c) through (h) of section 6 and the last paragraph of section 9), and the provisions of subsection 409(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 1096, as amended; 47 U.S.C. 409 (1)), are made applicable to the jurisdiction, powers, and duties of the Secretary in administering and enforcing the provisions of this Act and to any person with respect to whom such authority is exercised. The Secretary, in person or by such agents as he may designate, may prosecute any inquiry necessary to his duties under this Act in any part of the United States, and the powers conferred by said sections 9 and 10 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended, on the district courts of the United States may be exercised for the purposes of this Act by any court designated in section 21 of this Act.

RELATION TO OTHER AUTHORITIES

SEC. 23. (a) Requirements within the scope of this Act with respect to premises, facilities, and operations of any official plant which are in addition to or different than those made under this Act may not be imposed by any State or local jurisdiction except that any such jurisdiction may impose recordkeeping and other requirements within the scope of section 11 of this Act, if consistent therewith, with respect to any such plant.

(b) For eggs which have moved or are moving in interstate or foreign commerce, (1) no State or local jurisdiction may require the use of standards of quality, condition, weight, quantity, or grade which

« ForrigeFortsett »