(a) The establishment of conditions under which carcasses, meat and meat products of meat animals shall be stored or otherwise handled by any person engaged in buying, selling, freezing, storing, or transporting such articles, so as to assure that such articles will not be adulterated or misbranded when delivered to the consumer.

(b) The establishment of requirements for any person engaged in buying, selling or transporting dead, dying, disabled, or diseased meat animals, or parts thereof, to assure that such animals, or the unwholesome meat or meat products thereof, will be prevented from being used for human food.

(c) The establishment of minimum standards of quality and wholesomeness, and definitions and standards of identity for meat products. The definitions and standards so promulgated shall conform so far as practicable to the definitions and standards promulgated by authority of the United States and shall not be inconsistent with the definitions and standards promulgated by such federal authority under the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Such standards of quality and wholesomeness, and definitions and standards of identity shall be applicable to any establishment, retail meat market, grocery store or other place where meat products are prepared, sold, held or offered for sale.

(2) In promulgating such rules the department may consider:

(a) Meat inspection programs and standards of other states and of the United States;

(b) Economic, health and welfare consequences to this state which might result from the production, preparation, handling, sale or consumption of unwholesome meat or meat products;

(c) Necessary procedures required to prohibit the sale or consumption of unwholesome meat or meat products; and

(d) Minimum standards of refrigeration necessary to protect meat or meat products from spoilage, contamination and disease. [1973 c.174 §9; 1987 c.158 §120b]