CHAPTER 339
STATE BOARD OF HEALTH
POULTRY PROCESSING
AN ACT REGULATING THE PROCESSING OF POULTRY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. No person, firm or corporation shall viscerate or dress any poultry within this State without having first applied for and having received a license from the State Board of Health. The term "person" for the purpose of this Act shall be taken to mean and include any individual, firm, association or corporation. The term "poultry processing plant" for the purpose of this Act shall be taken to mean and include any place where chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys are slaughtered, de-feathered, cleaned and chilled, or cut up for commercial shipment, and shall include feeding stations, packing rooms, feeding rooms, refrigerators, dressing room, and adjacent grounds controlled by the Operator.
This Act shall not apply to or restrict the slaughtering of poultry when the same forms part of a general farm operation.
Section 2. Persons desiring a license to operate and maintain an establishment for the slaughtering of poultry shall make application in duplicate upon forms which may be secured from the State Board of Health. Said application shall contain the name and address of the applicant, the location of the viscerating or dressing plant and such other pertinent information as shall be prescribed by the State Board of Health in pursuance of the provisions of this Act.
Section 3. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of Five ($5.00) Dollars, upon receipt of which application and fee the State Board of Health shall inspect the viscerating or dressing plant in the manner hereinafter provided, and upon a finding that the said plant is capable of being operated in a sanitary and satisfactory manner shall issue said license.
Section 4. Said license shall be for the fiscal year ending June 30th, unless sooner revoked as herein provided, and shall be renewed annually thereafter. The license fee shall be payable to the State Treasurer.
Section 5. A license may be denied at the time of the application or revoked after its issuance if the establishment of the applicant is in an unsanitary condition, or becomes so thereafter, or if the establishment of the applicant fails to provide for the removal of its filth or other refuse in a sanitary manner or in a manner not creating a noisome or obnoxious condition, or if the establishment violates any other rules or regulations laid down by the State Board of Health.
Section 6. All licenses granted shall be numbered and bear the name of the town and state and the street address, or otherwise describe the location of the establishment, and shall be displayed in a conspicuous place on the premises so covered.
Section 7. The State Board of Health shall have power to revoke any license issued under the provisions of this Act whenever it determines that any provisions of this Act have been violated. Any person, firm or corporation whose license has been so revoked shall discontinue the viscerating or dressing of poultry within this State until the provisions of this Act have been complied with and a new license issued. The State Board of Health may revoke such license temporarily until there is a compliance with such conditions as it may prescribe, or permanently for the unexpired period of such license.
Section 8. Before revoking any license the State Board of Health shall give written notice to the licensee affected, stating that it contemplates the revocation of the same and giving its reason therefor. Said notice shall appoint a time of hearing before said Board, and shall be mailed by registered mail to the licensee. On the day of hearing the licensee may present such evidence to the State Board of Health as he or it deems fit, and after hearing all the testimony, the State Board of Health shall decide the question in such manner as to it appears just and right.
Section 9. Any licensee who feels aggrieved at the State Board of Health may appeal from said decision within ten (10) days to the Resident Judge of the Superior Court of the County wherein licensee resides, and issue shall be framed in said. Court and a trial had, and the decision of the Resident Judge shall be final.
Section 10. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars nor more than Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars. A separate offense shall be deemed to be committed on each and every day such violation is continued.
Section 11. Should any person, firm or corporation continue to violate the provisions of this Act, and upon complaint of the State Board of Health, the Attorney General shall institute proceedings in the Court of Chancery for an injunction to enjoin the further operation of the poultry viscerating or dressing plant until the conditions constituting such violation or violations are corrected.
Section 12. That all Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency only.
Section 13. If any word, section, paragraph, clause, or sentence of this Act shall be declared invalid by any Court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining sections, paragraphs, clauses, and sentences shall not be affected.
Section 14. This Act shall not become effective until the Thirtieth day of June, 1949.