To assure the protection of the consuming public, no person shall operate a meat processing plant in this state without having first obtained a permanent license from the Commissioner; provided, however, that any meat processing plant operating under a federal grant of inspection from the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service, shall be exempt from such license requirement. There shall be no fee for such license. The license shall be kept on file in each place of business. The license shall not be transferable. The Georgia Department of Agriculture may refuse to grant inspection, and any such license may be revoked or suspended by the Commissioner for the violation of this article or rules and regulations or sanitary standards and specifications adopted pursuant to this article. The Commissioner shall notify the licensee of the reasons why he or she intends to revoke or suspend the license, and the licensee shall be entitled to a hearing before the Commissioner within ten days after receipt of such notice of intention to revoke or suspend. At such hearing the Commissioner shall consider the circumstances and shall give the licensee reasonable time to correct the conditions or circumstances that caused the notice of intention to revoke or suspend the license to be given.
(Ga. L. 1956, p. 748, § 5; Ga. L. 2007, p. 620, § 2/HB 433.)
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Operators of plants where livestock grown or prepared for human food must obtain license.
- License is necessary for the operation of a meat, poultry, or dairy processing plant in this state where livestock is grown or fed out, slaughtered, and sold for human consumption by the owner. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 1.
Manufacturers of milk products, including frozen desserts.- Places manufacturing dairy products such as frozen desserts, which include ice cream, frozen custard, ice milk, milk sherbet, and similar products containing milk or milk by-products are subject to licensure. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 1.
State Park Authority operating ice cream parlor.- State Park Authority, created as a body corporate and politic and deemed to be an instrumentality of the state and a public corporation, is not required to obtain a dairy processing plant license to operate an ice cream parlor. 1958-59 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 5.
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 35A Am. Jur. 2d, Food, §§ 11, 32, 37 et seq.
C.J.S.- 36A C.J.S., Food, § 17, 18.
ALR.
- Right of one who acquires title to, or other interest in, real property to benefit of a license previously issued by the public, permitting use of property for a specified purpose, 131 A.L.R. 1339.