West Virginia Code Chapter 19. Agriculture § 19-10A-2. Definitions

(a) “Ambient temperature” means the atmospheric temperature surrounding or encircling shell eggs.

(b) “Candle” means to determine the interior quality based on the use of a candling light as defined in federal standards adopted in section ten of this article.

(c) “Case” means a container that is not a carton and that is used to pack eggs for distribution or sale to the consumer. A case may contain either loose or cartoned eggs.

(d) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of agriculture for the state of West Virginia or his or her duly authorized agent.

(e) “Container” means any carton, basket, case, cart, pallet or other receptacle.

(f) “Consumer” means any person using eggs for food and shall include restaurants, hotels, cafeterias, hospitals, state institutions and any other establishment serving food to be consumed or produced on the premises, but shall not include the armed forces or any other federal agency or institution.

(g) “Denatured” means rendering unfit for human food by treatment or the addition of a foreign substance as approved by the United States department of agriculture (USDA), agriculture marketing service (AMS), administrator.

(h) “Distributor” means a person or firm engaged in the business of buying eggs from producers or other persons on his or her own account and selling or transferring eggs to other distributors or retailers. A distributor further means a person or firm engaged in producing eggs from his or her own flock and marketing of any portion of this production on a graded basis.

(i) “Egg” means the product of the domesticated chicken hen or any other eggs offered for sale for human consumption.

(j) “Embargo” means a written stop sale order issued by the commissioner of agriculture prohibiting the sale, use of or transportation of eggs in any manner until the embargo is released by the commissioner.

(k) “General embargo” means a statewide written stop sale order issued by the commissioner of agriculture prohibiting the sale, use of or transportation of eggs in any manner until the embargo is released by the commissioner.

(l) “Graded egg” means an egg which is classified in accordance with the standards established by the United States department of agriculture.

(m) “Inedible” and “unfit for human food” means eggs described as black rots, yellow rots, white rots, mixed rots (addled eggs), sour eggs, eggs with green whites, eggs with stuck yolks, moldy eggs, musty eggs, eggs showing blood rings, eggs containing embryo chicks (at or beyond the blood ring state), and any eggs that are adulterated as that term is defined in the federal food, drug and cosmetic act.

(n) “Packer” means any person who grades, sizes, candles or packs eggs for the purpose of resale.

(o) “Person” means any partnership, association, business trust, corporation or any organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not.

(p) “Possession” means the fact of possession by any person engaged in the sale of a commodity is prima facie evidence that the commodity is for sale.

(q) “Processor” means a person who operates a plant for the purpose of breaking eggs for freezing, drying or commercial food manufacturing.

(r) “Producer” means any person owning laying hens who markets eggs.

(s) “Repacker” means any person who packs previously graded and packed shell eggs for resale.

(t) “Retailer” means any person who sells eggs directly to the consumer.

(u) “Sell” means to offer for sale, expose for sale, have in possession for sale, exchange, barter or trade.