Torrance Municipal Code Art. 2 Inspection of Poultry Slaughtered, Dissected or Dismembered in City

Every person having a valid, unrevoked license to slaughter, dress and retail poultry, issued by the City, may elect to have all or any portion of such poultry inspected by the City health officer

Persons desiring the health officer to inspect the slaughtering, dissection or dismembering of poultry shall give notice to the health officer not less than twenty-four (24) hours before such inspection is to commence. Such persons shall then notify the health department at the end of the first and each succeeding working day on which inspection is desired, of the time on the following day when such inspection should be commenced, such notice to be in lieu of the twenty-four (24) hour notice required by this Section.

Each dissected primal part or piece of slaughtered, dissected or dismembered poultry inspected by the health officer, or each sealed package inspected by the health officer, shall bear a label, identification or stamp, approved and authorized by the health officer, except that factory or plant packaged dissected poultry need not have each part or piece individually stamped when the package itself bears the official stamp. Such stamping or identification, as provided above, shall be done in the presence of the health officer.

No person shall place any label, identification or stamp on any piece of dissected or dismembered poultry, or package thereof, or in any other way indicate that such poultry has been inspected by the health officer, unless the health officer has inspected such poultry as provided in this Article and approved of the label, identification, stamp or other indication so used.

The days and parts of days during which the inspection of slaughtering, dissecting or dismembering poultry may be done shall be fixed by agreement between the person requesting the inspection and the health officer. In case of failure to agree, the health officer shall designate the time at which such inspection shall be done.

The health officer shall inspect all poultry presented for inspection before dissection and before the heads have been removed.

The health officer shall follow accepted inspection practices and shall condemn all diseased, injured or emaciated poultry which are presented to him for inspection.

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, contract to sell, give away or otherwise dispose of any poultry for human consumption which has been condemned pursuant to Sec. 42.2.7.

In addition to all other fees required by this Article, other provisions of this Code or other ordinances of the City, within ten (10) days after receipt of a bill therefor, the person requesting the inspection by the health officer of slaughtered, dissected or dismembered poultry shall pay a fee of Two Dollars ($2.00) per hour for the time the health officer is present at such person’s slaughterhouse on official duty.

In addition to the inspection fee, provided for by the preceding section, the person requesting the inspection, as required by the preceding section, shall pay for all time spent by the health officer in traveling to and from the slaughterhouse at the rate of Two Dollars ($2.00) per hour, and, in addition thereto, seven (7) cents per mile, both ways, for such travel.

Travel time and mileage required to be paid under the provisions of the two preceding sections shall be computed from the health officer’s headquarters to the slaughterhouse and return to such headquarters.

Whenever two or more slaughterhouses operate under the provisions of this Article at such times and places and in such manner that the health officer can inspect and supervise their operations on the same trip, the charges for mileage and travel time may be prorated between the proprietors of such slaughterhouses. The health officer shall designate the route of travel to be followed, regardless of whether the inspection is made by him personally, or by one of his agents acting as the inspector, to and from the slaughterhouse and shall apportion the mileage and travel time charges as provided in this Section.

The health officer shall suspend the slaughterhouse license of any person who fails or refuses to pay any inspection travel time or mileage fees. or any part thereof, required by this Article when or before due and payable, until the whole sum due, plus interest from the past due date at the rate of seven (7) percent per year has been paid.