View all text of Part 555 [§ 555.1 - § 555.12]

§ 555.11 - Transportation and other transactions concerning dead, dying, or diseased fish, and fish or parts of fish that died otherwise than by slaughter.

No person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or transporting in commerce, or importing any dead, dying, or diseased fish or parts of fish that died otherwise than by slaughter shall:

(a) Sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in commerce, any dead, dying, or diseased fish or parts of fish that died otherwise than by slaughter, unless the fish and parts are consigned and delivered, without avoidable delay, to establishments of animal food manufacturers, renderers, or collection stations that are registered as required by part 550 of this subchapter, or to official establishments that operate under Federal inspection, or to establishments that operate under a State or Territorial inspection system approved by FSIS as one that imposes requirements at least equal to the Federal requirements for purposes of section 301(c) of the Act;

(b) Buy in commerce or import any dead, dying, or diseased fish or parts of fish that died otherwise than by slaughter, unless he is an animal food manufacturer or renderer and is registered as required by part 550 of this subchapter, or is the operator of an establishment inspected as required by paragraph (a) of this section and such fish or parts of fish are to be delivered to establishments eligible to receive them under paragraph (a) of this section;

(c) Unload en route to any establishment eligible to receive them under paragraph (a) of this section, any dead, dying, or diseased fish or parts of fish that died otherwise than by slaughter, which are transported in commerce or imported by any such person: Provided, That any such dead, dying, or diseased fish, or parts of fish may be unloaded from a means of conveyance en route where necessary in case of a wreck or otherwise extraordinary emergency, and may be reloaded into another means of conveyance; but in all such cases, the carrier must immediately report the facts by telephone or other electrical or electronic means to the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit, Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.

(d) Load into any means of conveyance containing any dead, dying, or diseased fish, or parts of fish that died otherwise than by slaughter, while in the course of importation or other transportation in commerce any fish or parts of fish not within the foregoing description or any other products or other commodities.