Chapter 106

No person shall advertise eggs for sale at a given price unless the unabbreviated grade or quality and size-weight are conspicuously designated in block letters at least half as high as the tallest letter in the word "eggs" or the tallest figure in the price, whichever is larger.…

The North Carolina Board of Agriculture is authorized to make and amend, from time to time, such rules and regulations as may be necessary to administer and enforce the provisions of this Article. Such rules and regulations shall be published and copies thereof made available to …

(a) Any person engaged in the marketing of or the processing of eggs for marketing shall, in addition to maintaining egghandling facilities in a manner commensurate with laws governing food establishments, keep the eggs in a proper environment, in accordance with regulations prom…

The Commissioner, or his authorized agents or representatives, may enter, during the regular business hours, any establishment or facility where eggs are bought, stored, offered for sale, or processed, in order to inspect and examine eggs, egg containers, and the premises, and to…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of this Article shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. (b) In addition to the criminal penalties provided for above, the Commissioner of Agriculture may apply by equity to a court of competent jurisdiction, and such court shall have ju…

Nothing in this Article shall be construed as requiring the Commissioner to report for criminal prosecution violations of this Article whenever he believes that the public interest will be adequately served and compliance with the Article obtained by a suitable written notice or …

Each remedy provided in this Article shall be in addition to and not exclusive of any other remedy provided for in this Article. (1965, c. 1138, s. 1.)

(a) Whoever commits any act prohibited by any section of this Article or aids, abets, induces, or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal. (b) Whoever causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or another would be a violation of the provisions of th…

In construing and enforcing the provisions of this Article, the act, omission, or failure, of any agent, officer or other person acting for or employed by an individual, association, partnership, corporation, or firm, within the scope of his employment or office shall be deemed t…

The General Assembly finds and declares that eggs are important to the prosperity of this State and are a major source of income to a large segment of the State's population. Additional research, education, publicity, advertising and other means of promoting the sale and use of e…

As used in this Article: (1) "Board" means the North Carolina Board of Agriculture. (2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture. (3) "Department" means the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (1987, c. 815, s. 1; 1997-261, s. 43.)

An excise tax is levied on eggs and processed eggs sold for use in this State. The tax on eggs is five cents (5¢) for each case of 30 dozen eggs. The tax on processed eggs is eleven cents (11¢) for each 100 pounds of processed eggs sold for use in this State. The tax imposed by t…

(a) The tax imposed by this Article is payable monthly to the Department by the handler of eggs or processed eggs. The tax is due when a report is required to be filed. A handler shall file a report with the Department on a form provided by the Department within 20 days after the…

Eggs sold by a handler who sells less than 500 cases a year are exempt from the tax levied under this Article. Processed eggs sold by a handler who sells less than 1,000 pounds of processed eggs a year are exempt from the tax levied under this Article. The Board shall establish a…

The tax provided for herein shall not be levied upon any eggs which are assessed under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (7 USC 601 et seq.). (1987, c. 815, s. 2.)

The handler shall keep a complete record of the eggs or processed eggs handled by him for a period of not less than two years from the time the eggs or processed eggs were handled. These records shall be open for inspection by the Commissioner or his duly authorized agents and sh…

The tax imposed under the provisions of this Article and unpaid on the date on which the tax was due and payable shall bear interest at the rate determined in accordance with G.S. 105-241.21 from and after such due date until paid. If any person defaults in any payment of the tax…

All moneys levied and collected under the provisions of this Article shall be deposited with the State Treasurer to a fund to be known as the "North Carolina Egg Fund". All moneys credited to the "North Carolina Egg Fund" are hereby appropriated to the North Carolina Egg Associat…

(a) It shall be a Class 1 misdemeanor for any handler knowingly to report falsely to the Department the quantity of eggs or processed eggs handled by him during any period, to falsify the records of the eggs or processed eggs handled by him, to fail to keep a complete record of t…

After October 1, 1987 no egg assessment shall be collected under Article 50 of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes. (1987, c. 815, s. 3.)

Suitable means or appliances shall be provided for the proper cleaning or sterilizing of freezers, vats, mixing cans or tanks, conveyors, and all utensils, tools and implements used in making or handling cream, ice cream, butter or cheese and all such apparatus shall be thoroughl…

Every person, company, or corporation who shall receive milk, cream, or ice cream which is delivered in cans, bottles, or other receptacles, shall thoroughly clean same as soon as practicable after the contents are removed and before the said receptacles are returned to shipper o…

Creameries and factories that purchase milk and cream from producers of same on a butterfat basis, and pay for same on their own test, shall make and pay on correct test, and any failure to do so shall constitute a violation of this Article. The Board of Agriculture, under regula…

It shall be the duty of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to enforce this Article, and the Board of Agriculture shall cause to be made by the experts of the Department such examinations of plants and products named herein as are necessary to insure the complianc…

If it shall appear from the examinations that any provision of this Article has been violated, the Commissioner of Agriculture shall have authority to order the plant or place of manufacture closed until the law is complied with. If the owner or operator of the place refuses or f…

The Board of Agriculture is authorized to make such definitions and to establish such standards of purity for products and sanitation for plants or places of manufacture named herein with such regulations, not in conflict with this Article, as shall be necessary to make provision…

For the purpose of defraying the expenses incurred in the enforcement of this Article, the owner, proprietor or operator of each ice cream factory where ice cream, milk shakes, milk sherbet, sherbet, water ices, mixes for frozen or semifrozen desserts and other similar frozen or …

Any person, firm, or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall only be fined not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense in …

The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that it shall be the policy of this State to support and promote sound science in agriculture. For purposes of this section, "sound science in agriculture" means the use of science-based agricultural practices, technologies, or biolo…

Wherever the word "milk" appears hereinafter in this Article, it shall be construed to include all whole milk, cream, chocolate milk, buttermilk, skim milk, special milk and all flavored milk, including flavored drinks, skim condensed, whole condensed, dry milks and evaporated. (…

The Commissioner of Agriculture is hereby authorized and empowered: (1) To require such reports as will enable him to determine the quantities of milk purchased and the classification in which it was used or disposed; (2) To designate any area of the State as a natural marketing …

It shall be unlawful for any operator of a milk processing plant or any milk distributor, required to make reports under this Article, or their affiliates or subsidiaries, to sell, use, transfer, or distribute any milk in a classification higher than the classification in which i…

For the purpose of administering this Article the Commissioner of Agriculture or his agent is hereby authorized to enter at all reasonable hours all places where milk is being stored, bottled, or processed, or where milk is being bought, sold, or handled, or where books, papers, …

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business herein regulated to fail to furnish the information and file the reports required by this Article, and each day's failure to furnish the reports required hereunder shall constitute a separate offense…

Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Article and/or any rule, regulation or order promulgated in accordance with the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. (1941, c. 162, s. 7; 1951, c. 1133, s. 4; 1993, c. 539, s.…

The following definitions shall apply throughout this Article: (1) "Grade 'A' milk" means fluid milk and milk products which have been produced, transported, handled, processed and distributed in accordance with the provisions of the rules adopted by the Board of Agriculture. (2)…

The Board of Agriculture shall adopt rules relating to the sanitary production, transportation, processing and distribution of Grade "A" milk. The rules, in order to protect and promote the public health, shall provide definitions and requirements for: (i) the sanitary production…

No person shall produce, transport, process, or distribute Grade "A" milk without first having obtained a valid permit from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (1983, c. 891, s. 2; 2011-145, s. 13.3(l), (o).)

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall enforce the rules of the Board of Agriculture governing Grade "A" milk by making sanitary inspections of Grade "A" dairy farms, Grade "A" processing plants, Grade "A" milk haulers and Grade "A" distributors; by determining…

This Article shall not repeal or limit the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' authority to carry out labeling requirements, required butterfat testing, aflatoxin testing, pesticide testing, other testing performed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Servic…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section: (1) Only milk that is Grade "A" pasteurized milk may be sold or dispensed directly to consumers for human consumption. (2) Raw milk and raw milk products shall be sold or dispensed only to a permitted milk hauler or to a p…

If the Commissioner of Agriculture or a local health director has probable cause to believe that any milk designated as Grade "A" milk is misbranded or does not satisfy the milk sanitation rules adopted pursuant to G.S. 106-266.31, the Commissioner of Agriculture or a local healt…

Article 28B Regulation of Production, Distribution, etc., of Milk and Cream.

The State Board of Agriculture shall have full power to make and promulgate rules and regulations for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in its inspection and control of the purchase and sale of milk and other dairy products in North Carolina; to make and establi…

Every person who shall test milk or cream in this State by, or sample milk for, the Babcock method or otherwise for the purpose of determining the percentage of butterfat or milk fat contained therein, where such milk or cream is bought and paid for on the basis of the amount of …

The Commissioner of Agriculture shall establish and promulgate rules and regulations not inconsistent with this Article that shall govern the granting of licenses under this Article and shall establish and promulgate rules and regulations not inconsistent with this Article that s…

The Commissioner of Agriculture shall have power to revoke any license granted under the provisions of this Article, upon good and sufficient evidence that the provisions of this Article or the rules and regulations of the Commissioner of Agriculture are not being complied with: …

In taking samples of milk or cream from any milk can, cream can or any container of milk or cream, the contents of such milk can, cream can, or container of milk and cream shall first be thoroughly mixed either by stirring or otherwise, and the sample shall be taken immediately a…

In the use of the Babcock test all persons shall use the "standard Babcock testing glassware, scales, and weights." The term "standard Babcock testing glassware, scales and weights" shall apply to glassware, scales and weights. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, company, …

(a) The definitions set forth in this section shall apply to milk, dairy products, ice cream, frozen desserts, frozen confections or any other products which purport to be milk, dairy products or frozen desserts for which a definition and standard of identity has been established…