Any person responsible for the operation of any establishment in which horses or parts thereof are processed and sold, exposed, or offered for sale at retail for human food, shall register with the department of agriculture and secure from the director of agriculture a license to operate each separate establishment in which horses or parts thereof are processed and sold, exposed, or offered for sale at retail. No person responsible for the operation of such a processing establishment shall operate the enterprise without first securing a license to engage in such business. All licenses shall be valid to and including the thirtieth day of June following the date of issuance.

Any person required to be licensed under this section shall file with the director an application for a license to engage in the business of processing horses or parts thereof for sale at retail for human food setting forth such information covering the ownership, location, operation, equipment, facilities, and sanitary condition of the establishment, the health of the horses, or the commodities to be processed, as is required by the director. If examination of the information provided in the application and other pertinent information available to the director indicates that the parts of horses to be processed are fit for human food, and that the processing establishment to be operated complies with the sanitary standards prescribed in this chapter, or in rules adopted pursuant thereto, the director shall accept the application and issue a license.

The director may refuse to issue a license to any applicant if he determines that any information supplied by the applicant is false or misleading or that the establishment to be operated fails to comply with the sanitary or wholesomeness standards established in this chapter, or in rules adopted pursuant thereto. The director may suspend or revoke any license for the operation of an establishment for flagrant violation of any of those sections or rules adopted pursuant thereto. There shall be no refusal to issue a license, or no suspension or revocation of any such license, until the applicant or licensee is given an opportunity for a hearing by the director in regard to the refusal, suspension, or revocation, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. An appeal may be taken from the action of the director in refusing, suspending, or revoking a license to the court of common pleas as provided in that chapter.

An annual registration fee of fifty dollars for each establishment, in which horses and horse meat and horse meat products are processed and sold at retail, shall be paid to the director by each applicant under this section. Registration shall be renewed annually and the registration fee paid with the application for annual renewal.

Effective Date: 06-20-1994