As used in this chapter, unless otherwise stated or the context of the subject matter clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity.
(2) "Distributor" means one or more of the persons listed in this item wherever located or operating, within or without South Carolina, doing business and engaged in receiving, producing, processing, manufacturing, subdistributing, distributing, marketing, or handling one or more of the products covered by this chapter and offering the products for sale in this State. Distributor means a person, whether or not a producer, except a distributor who sells less than one hundred gallons of fluid milk products a day produced on his own farm, who:
(a) receives, processes, manufactures, and packages products covered by this article for human consumption;
(b) offers for sale products covered by this chapter at wholesale or retail;
(c) operates a store or other establishment from which products covered by this chapter are offered for sale at retail.
(3) "Producer" means a person, whether or not the person also is a distributor or member or a producer association who produces milk for sale as fluid milk in the State.
(4) "Independent producer" means a producer who is not a member of a producer association or association of producers.
(5) "Market" means a county or group of counties within this State, including the State as a whole.
(6) "Producer association or association of producers" means a cooperative association of producers incorporated and existing under the cooperative laws of South Carolina or an association incorporated and existing under similar laws of another state, which is authorized to do business in South Carolina and which the board determines to have full authority for the sales of milk and dairy products of its members.
(7) "Store" means an establishment which purchases or otherwise acquires in processed and packaged form one or more of the products covered by this chapter for use or resale for human consumption.
(8) "Licensee" means a person required to obtain a license by this chapter and who is a de facto licensee under this chapter.
(9) "Milk" means the clean lacteal secretion obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows, including milk cooled, pasteurized, standardized, or otherwise processed with a view of selling it as fluid milk, cream, skimmed milk, cultured milk, or as another fluid milk product.
(10) "Doing business" means the engaging in or the transaction of activity in this State for financial profit or gain.
(11) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.
HISTORY: 1986 Act No. 540, Part II, Section 32A; 1992 Act No. 407, Section 1, eff June 1, 1992.