Grading of Farm Products (Consolidated Laws of New York: Agriculture and Markets Law; Article 12−A; §§ 156−c − 156−i)

1 Agriculture and Markets ARTICLE 12-A GRADING OF FARM PRODUCTS Section 156-c. Farm products; official standards. 156-d. Culls. 156-dd. Controlled atmosphere. 156-e. Sales prohibitions. 156-f. Rules and regulations. 156-g. Seizure of misbranded, mislabeled or misrepresented farm products. 156-gg. Branding closed packages of potatoes. 156-h. Food and farm products promotion. 156-i. Publicity fund. § 156-c. Farm products; official standards. The commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered, after investigation and public hearing, to establish and promulgate official definitions and standards for grading or classifying, packing and labeling farm products, or any of them, packed or repacked within the state; and to change such official standards from time to time. The commissioner, in establishing such official standards, shall, among other things, take into account so far as applicable the factors of maturity, condition, soundness, color, shape, size and freedom from defects. Such official standards shall not be lower in their requirements than the minimum requirements of the official standards for corresponding grades or classifications, as promulgated from time to time by the secretary of agriculture of the United States, commonly known as U. S. grades. The use of such official standards when established shall be optional, but if and when used in relation to any farm products they must be in conformance with such standards. § 156-d. Culls. The commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered, after investigation and public hearing, to establish and promulgate definitions of "culls" as applied to farm products, or any of them; and to change such definitions from time to time. § 156-dd. Controlled atmosphere. No person shall sell or exchange or offer or expose for sale or exchange or transport for sale any fruits or vegetables represented as having been exposed to "controlled atmosphere," "modified atmosphere," alone or with other words, or shall so use any such term or form of words or symbols of similar import on any container or lot of fruits or vegetables advertised, sold, offered for sale or transported for sale within this state unless such fruits or vegetables have been kept in a room or storage building with not more than five percent oxygen for a minimum of ninety days; provided, however, that a person may represent as having been exposed to controlled atmosphere or modified atmosphere any variety of apple stored in conformance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner prescribing shorter storage periods and particular atmospheric conditions for such variety of apple, and which take into account relevant scientific research and technology. A record on a form approved by the commissioner shall be kept at a convenient location adjacent to 2 said room or storage building from the day of sealing to the day of opening of said room or storage building, and shall be subject to review by the commissioner or his authorized agents at any time for a period of at least one year. § 156-e. Sales prohibitions. (1) No person shall sell, expose for sale or transport for sale farm products in open or closed packages, if the package containing them or the label on them shall bear any statement, design or device regarding such farm products which shall be false or misleading in any particular. (2) No person shall sell or offer for sale or transport for sale in either open or closed packages farm products packed in such manner that the face or shown surface shall not be an average of the contents of the package. (3) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to designate, display any sign designating, or advertise any place of business as a farmers' market, unless farm products as defined in section two hundred twenty-three of the agriculture and markets law principally are displayed and offered for sale or sold therein or thereon. § 156-f. Rules and regulations. The commissioner shall adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations generally to supplement and give full effect to the provisions of this article, and specifically to regulate the marketing, packing, labeling and shipping of "culls," as he shall deem necessary. Such rules and regulations shall be filed and open for public inspection at the principal office of the department and shall have the force of law. § 156-g. Seizure of misbranded, mislabeled or misrepresented farm products. Whenever the commissioner or his duly authorized representative shall find that any farm product is misbranded, mislabeled or misrepresented within the meaning of this article, he may seize such product, so that it cannot be sold, offered, exposed or transported for sale, and he may affix to such farm product a tag or other appropriate marking, giving notice that such product is misbranded, mislabeled or misrepresented, and warning all persons not to remove or dispose of such product by sale or otherwise until such product is branded or labeled properly and permission to dispose of the product has been granted by the commissioner or his duly authorized representative. It shall be a violation of this article for any person to remove or dispose of such product so seized by sale or otherwise without such permission. § 156-gg. Branding closed packages of potatoes. 1. No person shall sell, expose for sale, or transport for sale, potatoes in closed packages which are not branded or marked with the grade of the potatoes contained therein in conformity with official standards and grades for potatoes established and promulgated by the commissioner under the provisions of this article, or, with the official standards of the United States commonly known as U.S. grades, except that potatoes packed in consumer packages in retail stores containing fifteen pounds or less and exposed for sale therein need not be so marked provided they are exposed for sale immediately adjacent and conform in variety, grade, size and condition to a bulk display of such potatoes which includes as a part thereof a display sign conspicuously marked as to the grade of the potatoes in conformity with the foregoing requirements of this section. Potatoes in closed packages containing more than sixty pounds net not graded and classified as to quality in accordance with such 3 standards and grades, nor branded or marked in conformity therewith, shall be branded or marked "unclassified". 2. For the purpose of this section, a closed package shall mean any container the entire contents of which cannot be adequately inspected without opening it. § 156-h. Food and farm products promotion. 1. The commissioner may design, determine and adopt official brands to be used on labels and on packages and containers to identify New York state food products and New York state produced or landed aquatic products. The design of such brand or brands may contain the whole or a part of the seal of the state of New York. Each of such brands, when adopted by the commissioner, may be registered as a trade mark in the office of the secretary of state under the provisions of article twenty-four of the general business law, or any other provision of law which may hereinafter be enacted relating to the registration of trade marks. Any such trade mark shall be registered by the secretary of state without the exaction of any fee therefor. The commissioner may in his or her discretion register any such mark with the United States government and any other state or foreign country. 2. Such brand or mark may be imprinted upon packages or used on labels upon or attached to packages containing: (a) New York state grown farm products packed within this state in accordance with official standards established as provided by this article, article thirteen, article thirteen-a, article thirteen-b, article thirteen-c and article thirteen-d of this chapter or New York state produced or landed aquatic products, subject to and in accordance with rules and regulations to be promulgated by the commissioner; or (b) New York state processed food products, manufactured within this state in accordance with official standards established by the commissioner pursuant to regulation, which are essentially composed of New York state grown farm products, provided, however, that whenever the commissioner determines, after public hearing, that the use of ingredients not grown or produced in this state is necessary or beneficial in manufacturing a particular product because such ingredients are either not grown in New York or unavailable in sufficient quantity or at a reasonable price to allow the product to be composed of only New York state grown farm products, the standard for such product may authorize the inclusion of ingredients not produced in this state, except that in no event shall an official brand or mark be approved for use on a food product unless at least fifty-one percent of its content is derived from New York state grown farm products. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section, such brand or mark may be imprinted upon packages or labels attached to packages containing cheddar or American type cheese packed outside this state provided that such product is manufactured within the state and meets all other requirements for the inclusion or attachment of such brand or mark. 4. No such label shall be imprinted on or attached to any package of fresh or processed products unless said products have been produced and packed in accordance with an official quality control program established by the commissioner. The rules and regulations shall provide for a charge to be made for any inspections, except the commissioner, at his or her discretion, need not make a charge for inspections carried out for the purposes of research and development of grades, standards, inspection and quality control techniques. The commissioner shall cause to be printed labels bearing a state brand in sufficient quantities to 4 meet the demand therefor and/or authorize container manufacturers to imprint the state brand on packages at the time of manufacture or printing, and may sell such labels or charge a fee for such imprinting in an amount to be fixed by the commissioner. As an alternative method, the commissioner may in accordance with rules and regulations rent dies or cuts of the state brand to persons desiring to manufacture their own labels for use on fresh or processed products owned and packed by them, at a price to be fixed by the commissioner. Labels shall be affixed to or imprinted on packages in the manner prescribed by the rules and regulations. The label denoting the state brand may be used in conjunction with and in addition to any regional mark or name for growers, packers or processors in a county or group of counties and/or private mark or name under which the grower, packer or processor has been accustomed to pack and market fresh or processed products. Moneys derived from the sale or use of labels denoting the state brand shall be accounted for as to product source and shall be expended as the commissioner may direct for general publicity purposes and to advertise products identified with the state brand. 5. The rules and regulations may provide for an advisory committee of five packers or sellers of the state brand products, who shall advise the commissioner as to the general plan of any publicity campaign and in such other matter as the commissioner may request. The members of any such advisory committee shall serve without compensation. The commissioner shall have the power, by injunction or otherwise, to restrain any person who uses or attempts to use any state brand except in accordance with the provisions of this section. § 156-i. Publicity fund. All moneys received by the commissioner from sources other than the general fund or federal funds in the exercise of the powers and duties set forth in subdivisions two, two-a, two-b, two-c, five-a, eight, nine, ten, sixteen, eighteen and twenty-one of section sixteen of this chapter and all moneys received pursuant to section one hundred fifty-six-h of this article, including moneys received from any source for or arising from publicity and promotional activities, shall be transmitted to the state comptroller for deposit in an account or accounts within the miscellaneous special revenue fund. The commissioner may accept contributions of money to an account within the miscellaneous special revenue fund for services to aid in publicity work undertaken by him or her. All such moneys shall be paid out of such fund on vouchers approved by the commissioner, after audit by and upon the warrant of the comptroller. If a product ceases to be packed under the state brand for a period of two consecutive years, the commissioner, at his or her discretion, may distribute moneys remaining in the fund and to the account of such products to the accounts of any or all products continuing to be packed under the state brand and expend such moneys as this section provides.