The commissioner may, for a length of time the commissioner considers necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, refuse to provide, or withdraw, inspection service under sections 31A.01 to 31A.16 from an establishment. The commissioner may refuse or withdraw inspection service if the commissioner determines, after giving the applicant for or recipient of the service an opportunity for a hearing, that the applicant or recipient is unfit to engage in any business requiring inspection under sections 31A.01 to 31A.16 because the applicant or recipient, or anyone responsibly connected with the applicant or recipient, has been convicted, in a federal or state court, of (1) a felony, or (2) more than one violation of a law, other than a felony, based on acquiring, handling, or distributing unwholesome, mislabeled, or deceptively packaged food or on fraud in connection with transactions in food. This section does not affect other provisions of this chapter for withdrawal of inspection services under sections 31A.01 to 31A.16 from establishments failing to maintain sanitary conditions or to destroy condemned carcasses, parts, meat, or meat food products.

For the purpose of this section a person is responsibly connected with a business if the person is a partner, officer, director, holder, or owner of ten percent or more of its voting stock or an employee in a managerial or executive capacity.

A determination and order of the commissioner under this section is final unless the affected applicant for or recipient of inspection service applies for judicial review within 30 days after the effective date of the order in the district court. Judicial review of an order must be based on the same record as the determination and order.

History: 1969 c 225 s 22; 1986 c 444; 1988 c 469 art 2 s 1