31 Pa. Stat. § 294a

Current through Pa Acts 2024-53, 2024-56 through 2024-111
Section 294a - License to open and separate eggs; place of business; containers; denaturing unwholesome eggs; right of access; penalties

It shall be unlawful for any person, copartnership, association or corporation to conduct at any given place any business of opening eggs and separating the egg content from the shell and using or disposing of the content thereof for any purpose, unless he, she, it or they have first applied for and secured a license so to do from the Department of Agriculture. The form of such license shall be prescribed by the Department of Agriculture. The application for a license, in addition to other matters which may be required to be stated thereon by said Department of Agriculture, shall contain an accurate description of the place where the proposed separation of eggs is intended to be carried on and the name and style under which said business is proposed to be conducted. If the said application is satisfactory to the Department of Agriculture and said name and style shall not in the judgment of the Department of Agriculture be calculated to deceive or mislead the public as to the real nature of the business so proposed to be carried on, the Department of Agriculture shall issue to the applicant a license, authorizing him, her, it or them to engage in the business of opening the eggs and separating the egg content from the shell, for which said license the applicant shall first pay the annual sum of fifty ($50) dollars. The said license fee when received by the Department of Agriculture shall be immediately covered into the State Treasury for the use of the Commonwealth. Such license shall not authorize the holder thereof to carry on the business of opening the eggs and separating the egg content from the shell at any place other than that designated in the application and license. All licenses shall be taken out for a full year.

The opening of eggs unfit for food purposes shall not be permitted in any building or premises where the opening of eggs for food purposes is carried on, except such as are opened incident to the opening of eggs fit for food, in which case such eggs as are found to be unfit for food purposes must be placed in containers painted of a bright red color, the shells of the eggs broken or smashed, and the contents of the eggs denatured by kerosene or other denaturant approved by the Department of Agriculture. Such red colored containers must be emptied of their contents every twenty-four hours and must not be used for wholesome eggs.

It shall be unlawful for any person, copartnership, association or corporation by himself, herself, itself or themselves or by his, her, its or their agents, servants or employes to sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, or have in possession, eggs that are unfit for food within the meaning of this act for any purpose, use, cause or reason whatsoever, unless the same shall have first been denatured with a sufficient quantity of kerosene to render all of the same unfit for use in the preparation of food products, and further providing that the shells of all such eggs that may be unfit for food as hereinbefore mentioned shall first be removed or broken by smashing or otherwise so as to permit a free impregnation of the whole of the egg substance by the denaturing fluid.

For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this act the Department of Agriculture through its officers, agents and assistants shall have full access to all places of business, factories, mills, buildings, cars, automobiles, trucks, wagons, vessels, barrels, tanks, containers and packages of whatever kind used in keeping, storing, shipping, transporting and handling eggs and shall have power to take sufficient quantity of eggs therefrom upon or offering payment for the same for the purpose of making an analysis thereof and shall have power to detain, seize, hold and/or quarantine the entire quantity of eggs a reasonable length of time for the result of the analysis to be known.

All persons, copartnerships, associations or corporations violating any of the provisions of this act, or interfering with, or refusing to give access to the Department of Agriculture or any of his agents or assistants, when securing quantities of eggs for the purpose of analysis, shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding, be subject to the penalties hereinafter provided.

31 P.S. § 294a

1909, March 11, P.L. 13, § 1. Amended 1941, July 24, P.L. 498, § 1.