26-2-84. Detention of carcasses, meat, and meat food products suspected of being adulterated or misbranded; removal of official marks.

Whenever any carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product of cattle, sheep, swine, nontraditional livestock, rabbits, goats, horses, mules, or other equines, or any product exempted from the definition of a meat food product, or any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased cattle, sheep, swine, nontraditional livestock, rabbit, goat, or equine is found by any authorized representative of the Commissioner upon any premises where it is held for purposes of, or during or after, distribution and there is reason to believe that any such article is adulterated or misbranded and is capable of use as human food, or that it has not been inspected, in violation of Part 3 of this article or Title I of the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or that such article or animal has been or is intended to be distributed in violation of any such provisions, it may be detained by such representative for a period not to exceed 20 days, pending action under Code Section 26-2-86 or notification of any federal authorities having jurisdiction over such article or animal; and it shall not be moved by any person, firm, or corporation from the place at which it is located when so detained, until released by such representative. All official marks may be required by such representative to be removed from such article or animal before it is released unless it appears to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that the article or animal is eligible to retain such marks.