DYES, CHEMICALS, AND PRESERVATIVES.
Regulation 39.
(a) No meat or meat food product for interstate commerce, or for foreign commerce except as hereinafter provided, shall contain any substance which lessens its wholesomeness, nor any drug, chemical, or dye (unless specifically provided for by a Federal statute), or preservative, other than common salt, sugar, wood smoke, vinegar, pure spices, and, pending further inquiry, saltpeter. Inspection and sampling of prepared meats and meat food products by Department employees shall be conducted in such manner and at such times as may be necessary to secure a rigid enforcement of this regulation.
(b) In accordance with the direction of the foreign purchaser or his agent, meats and meat food products prepared for export may contain preservatives in proportions which do not conflict with the laws of the foreign country to which they are to be exported.
When such meats or meat food products are prepared for export under this regulation they shall be prepared in compartments of the establishment separate and apart from those in which meats and meat food products are prepared according to paragraph (a) of this regulation, and such products shall be kept separate and shall be labeled with special trade labels, approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, and indicating that such products are for export only. Special export certificates will be issued for meats and meat food products of this character, and, if the products are not exported, under no circumstances shall they be allowed to enter domestic trade.