Sanitation certificates for slaughterhouses and meat processors

(a) The board may issue certificates of sanitation to slaughterhouses and meat processors which are subject to this chapter and which meet minimum sanitary specifications required for: (1) The slaughtering of animals for use of the meat or meat products in intrastate commerce. (2) The processing, rendering, transporting, storing, and handling of the meat or meat products in intrastate commerce. The board may adopt rules, subject to chapter 91, governing the minimum sanitary specifications and prescribing forms, requiring reports, and providing for periodic renewals of the certificates. (b) Notwithstanding any other law or rule under this chapter which requires the renovation or upgrading of the physical facilities of slaughterhouses and meat processors in order to obtain a certificate of sanitation, the board shall nonetheless issue certificates of sanitation to slaughterhouses and meat processors licensed by the State; provided that: (1) The facilities of the slaughterhouses and meat processors are sanitary and the products which emerge from their respective operations are wholesome, not adulterated, and fit for human consumption; and (2) Upon the sale or transfer of any of the foregoing businesses, the person to whom the business is transferred shall be required to meet all of the requirements and the rules under this chapter.