3-710. Powers and duties; state preemption; egg promotion program

A. The department may acquire and distribute to interested persons useful information relative to preparing for market, handling, purchasing, transporting, storing and marketing eggs and egg products, including demonstrating how to classify eggs and egg products in accordance with the uniform standards and grades prescribed pursuant to this chapter.

B. The department may issue in booklet form copies of this article containing complete descriptive terms as to shell, aircell, white, yolk and germ, and may change definitions of terms and grades as they are made and promulgated by the United States department of agriculture.

C. On request of the United States government, and others, the director may negotiate and sign cooperative agreements to provide inspection and grading services and charge and receive payment for the reasonable cost of such services. The monies received for such services shall be deposited in the state egg inspection trust fund established by section 3-717.

D. When the production of papers, books and records relating to any matter under investigation is deemed advisable, the director may apply to the superior court in any county for an order requiring the production of the papers, books and records. If the court is satisfied that the papers, books and records are pertinent to the matter under investigation, their production shall be ordered.

E. A complaint filed with the department charging a noncompliance with or violation of any provision of this article shall be in writing and signed by the complainant.

F. The supervisor and inspectors shall enforce this article in conformity with rules adopted by the director. The refusal of an officer authorized under this article to carry out the orders and directions of the director in the enforcement of this article or prosecutions under this article is neglect of duty. The director shall make and enforce such rules as the director deems necessary to carry out this article.

G. An inspector may enter and inspect any place or conveyance within this state over which the inspector has supervision where eggs are produced, candled, incubated, stored, packed, delivered for shipment, loaded, shipped, transported or sold, and may inspect all invoices and eggs and the cases and containers of the eggs and equipment found in the places or conveyances, and may take for inspection representative samples of the invoices, eggs and cases or containers for the purpose of determining whether or not any provision of this article has been violated.

H. An inspector, while enforcing this article, may seize and hold as evidence an advertisement, sign, placard, invoice, case or container of eggs or egg products or all or any part of any pack, load, lot consignment or shipment of eggs or egg products packed, stored, delivered for shipment, loaded, shipped, transported or sold in violation of any provisions of this article.

I. The department may prescribe minimum standards for egg processing plants and sanitary standards for processing shell eggs. The department shall establish these standards by rule. Chemicals used in egg processing plants, sanitizers used in egg processing, egg soaps, egg oil and other substances used in processing shell eggs are subject to the approval of the director.

J. The director shall adopt rules for poultry husbandry and the production of eggs sold in this state. This subsection does not apply to egg producers operating or controlling the operation of an egg ranch that has fewer than twenty thousand egg-laying hens producing eggs.

K. Consistency of poultry husbandry practices for the production of eggs is a statewide matter. The regulation of poultry husbandry practices related to the production of eggs is not subject to further regulation by a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state.

L. The director may:

1. Establish an egg promotion program to provide certification, inspection and grading services and may prescribe, by rule, fees for those services. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection, monies collected from the fees shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the state egg inspection trust fund established by section 3-717.

2. Adopt rules to administer the egg promotion program, including participation guidelines, use requirements for department trademarks and certification marks and other rules the director deems necessary.

3. Conduct inspections to ensure compliance with the trademark and certification mark rules adopted pursuant to this subsection. The monies collected from fees for an inspection conducted pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the state egg inspection trust fund established by section 3-717.