There is the rule as it exists today. "Whole Shoulder", "Boston Butt", "Picnic". All three are clearly legal. The rule goes on to say that they may be cooked either "bone in" or "bone out". Nowhere does the rule say "..or portions thereof..." or anything similar.PORK: Pork is defined as Boston Butt, Picnic and/or Whole
Shoulder, weighing a minimum of five (5) pounds. Pork shall
be cooked whole (bone in or bone out) and shall not be
separated during the cooking process. At no time shall the
meat once separated be returned to a cooker.
Earlier I believed that it would be fairly simple for a rep inspecting meat to spot a collar that somebody may have mistakenly purchased. After seeing some additional pictures yesterday, and this morning, I'm not so sure and I agree with Bunny that it's a very tough spot for the reps to be in!
The rules and, more importantly, their intent are pretty clear to me. They exist, as written, to create a level playing field for ALL competitors. When folks start deciding that something is legal, because it isn't expressly prohibited, Pandora's Box is wide open.
EDIT: I can't wait for the day when teams start adding litigators to the lineup, and we are a lot closer to that point than many of you may believe.....allegedly.