21 U.S.C. § 452
Section 452 · Congressional declaration of policy
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 16 court decisions — leading case Swift & Company v. Wickham (1964)
Most recently applied in Northwestern Selecta, Inc. v. Gonzalez-Beiro (July 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to provide for the inspection of poultry and poultry products and otherwise regulate the processing and distribution of such articles as hereinafter prescribed to prevent the movement or sale in interstate or foreign commerce of, or the burdening of such commerce by, poultry products which are adulterated or misbranded. It is the intent of Congress that when poultry and poultry products are condemned because of disease, the reason for condemnation in such instances shall be supported by scientific fact, information, or criteria, and such condemnation under this chapter shall be achieved through uniform inspection standards and uniform applications thereof.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1968—Pub. L. 90–492 inserted provisions declaring the policy of Congress to be to otherwise regulate the processing and distribution of poultry and poultry products as hereinafter prescribed so as to prevent the movement or sale in interstate commerce of, or the burdening of such commerce by poultry products which are adulterated or misbranded, and provisions that declared the policy of Congress to be that condemnation of diseased poultry and poultry products shall be achieved through uniform inspection standards and supported by scientific fact or criteria, and struck out provisions that declared the policy of Congress to be to provide for inspection by the inspection service to prevent the movement in interstate commerce or foreign commerce or in a designated major consuming area of poultry products which are unwholesome, adulterated, or otherwise unfit for human food.
Effective Date of 1968 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 90–492 effective Aug. 18, 1968, see section 20 of Pub. L. 90–492, set out as a note under section 451 of this title.