§ 53-1-104 — Food deemed adulterated

A food shall be deemed to be adulterated if: (1) (A) It bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance that may render it injurious to health; but in case the substance is not an added substance, the food shall not be considered adulterated under this subdivision (1)(A) if the quantity of the substance in the food does not ordinarily render it injurious to health; (B) It bears or contains any added poisonous or added deleterious substance that is unsafe within the meaning of § 53-1-107 ; (C) It consists, in whole or in part, of a diseased, contaminated, filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance, or if it is otherwise unfit for food; (D) It has been produced, prepared, packed or held under unsanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered diseased, unwholesome or injurious to health or if it is a potentially hazardous food, which would consist of meat, poultry, liquid eggs and partially cooked egg products, fish, milk and milk products, shellfish, partially cooked bakery products, such as cream filled pies, but not including standard fully cooked bakery products, and other ingredients capable of supporting rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic micro-organisms and is transported, stored or offered for sale at a product temperature in excess of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit (45° F) if a cold food, or below one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit (140° F) if a hot food; provided, that a food that is offered for sale in a frozen state must be stored, transported and displayed at zero degrees Fahrenheit (0° F). However, a ten degree Fahrenheit (10° F) product temperature is acceptable for defrosting or recycling periods; (E) It is the product of a diseased animal or an animal that has died otherwise than by slaughter, or that has been fed upon the uncooked offal from a slaughterhouse; or (F) Its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance that may render the contents injurious to health; (2) (A) Any valuable constituent has been, in whole or in part, omitted or abstracted from the food; (B) Any substance has been substituted, wholly or in part, for the food; (C) Damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or (D) Any substance has been added to the food or mixed or packed with the food so as to increase its bulk or weight, or reduce its quality or strength or make it appear better or of greater value than it is; (3) It is confectionery and it bears or contains any alcohol or nonnutritive article or substance, except harmless coloring, harmless flavoring, harmless resinous glaze not in excess of four-tenths of one percent (0.4%), harmless natural gum, and pectin; provided, that this subdivision (3) shall not apply to any confectionery by reason of its containing less than one-half of one percent (0.5%) of volume of alcohol derived solely from the use of flavoring extracts, or to any chewing gum by reason of its containing harmless nonnutritive masticatory substances; (4) It bears or contains a coal-tar color other than one from a batch that has been certified under the federal act; or (5) The food has been made to appear of better quality than the product actually is through the use of any form of illumination that, by type, color, density, or by other means, alters the appearance of the food product; or if packaging or other materials are used that impart a misleading color or appearance to the food. However, the mere keeping of freshly cooked or prepared foods or liquids warmed pending their being served for consumption, through the use of heat generating lamps of any color, shall not constitute an adulteration.

Legislative History

Acts 1941, ch. 120, § 10; C. Supp. 1950, § 6580.10; Acts 1974, ch. 626, § 2; 1976, ch. 658, § 3; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 52-110.