Chapter 19, Chapter 19

All garbage, regardless of previous processing, shall, before being fed to swine, be thoroughly heated to at least 212 degrees F for at least thirty minutes, unless treated in some other manner which shall be approved in writing by the commissioner as being equally effective for …

The commissioner, the consulting veterinarians, and their duly appointed and authorized assistants or employees, in the performance of their duties under this article and the rules and regulations adopted by the commissioner, shall have the power to enter any premises, public or …

(a) Any authorized representative of the commissioner shall have the power to enter at reasonable times upon any private or public property for the purpose of inspecting and investigating conditions relating to the treating of garbage to be fed to swine. (b) The commissioner may …

Every veterinarian engaged in the practice of his profession in this state, immediately upon receiving information thereof, shall report to the commissioner each case of any communicable disease, or of any animal reacting to a tuberculosis or mallein test; and every person who ha…

The commissioner is hereby charged with administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article, and is authorized to make and enforce all rules and regulations which the commissioner may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of the article.

The commissioner shall have authority to accept on behalf of the state the laws, rules and regulations of the United States bureau of animal industry for the prevention, control and eradication of communicable diseases among animals and poultry.

West Virginia shall be a participating state in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Traceability program. The commissioner may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code governing the collecti…

Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of, or who fails to perform any duty imposed by, this article, or who violates any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, may be punished by a fine of not less th…

The inspectors of the bureau of animal industry of the United States shall have the right to inspect, quarantine and condemn animals infected with any communicable disease, or suspected to be so infected, or that have been exposed to any such disease, and for these purposes are h…

The county court of any county is hereby authorized to cooperate with the commissioner of agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture in the control and eradication of bovine tuberculosis, or any other communicable disease of livestock, and in creating modified ac…

This article shall be known and may be cited as "The West Virginia Livestock Dealer's Licensing Act."

(a) The intent of this article is to protect and promote the public health and general welfare and to prevent fraud and deception in the production, processing, sale and distribution of eggs. This article provides for the registration of business houses engaged in selling, tradin…

(a) The commissioner shall by legislative rule establish standards for the grading, classification and marketing of shell eggs bought and sold by any person, firm or corporation in the State of West Virginia. These standards shall conform to, on date of the sale to the consumer, …

(a) Criminal penalties - Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article or rule adopted hereunder is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for the first offense, and upon conviction of each…

(a) Any packer or distributor engaged in the assembling, marketing or the processing of eggs for marketing shall maintain egg handling facilities in a manner commensurate with laws governing food establishments. (b) All eggs shall be stored or transported under refrigeration as r…

The provisions of this article are remedial and shall be liberally construed and applied so as to promote the purposes set out in the various sections of the article.

(a) The commissioner of agriculture may enter any store, vehicle, market or any other business or place where eggs are bought, stored, processed, packed or offered for sale and to make inspections as needed to determine compliance with this article and rules adopted under the aut…

(a) Criminal penalties. -- Any person violating any provision of this article or any rule adopted under the authority of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500 for the first offense, and for the s…

(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) Any person who causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or her or another would be a violation of the pr…

The commissioner may cooperate with and enter into agreements with governmental agencies of this state, other states, agencies of the federal government, agencies of foreign governments and private associations in order to carry out the purpose and provisions of this article.

The commissioner may not make public information which contains or relates to trade secrets, commercial or financial information obtained from a person or privileged or confidential information: Provided, That when the information is needed to carry out the provisions of this art…

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used in this article: (a) "Bond" means a written instrument guaranteeing that the person bonded shall faithfully fulfill the terms of the contract of purchase and guarantee payment of the purchase price of all livestock purchased…

(a) "Ambient temperature" means the atmospheric temperature surrounding or encircling shell eggs. (b) "Candle" means to determine the interior quality based on the use of a candling light as defined in federal standards adopted in section ten of this article. (c) "Case" means a c…

It shall be unlawful for any person except a livestock producer to engage in the business of buying, receiving or assembling livestock for resale, or selling livestock in this state without being licensed as a livestock dealer by the commissioner. All applications for a livestock…

(a) The commissioner shall issue an "Egg Distributor Permit" to every person distributing eggs in West Virginia. Each egg distributor shall apply to the commissioner of agriculture for this permit on forms provided by the commissioner at least thirty days prior to distributing eg…

Before issuing any livestock dealer's license, the commissioner shall require the applicant to file either: (1) A properly attested sworn statement that he or she is maintaining a valid surety bond pursuant to the requirements of The United States Department of Agriculture Packer…

Any person marketing eggs which he or she has produced is exempt from the provisions of section seven of this article except that carton labeling shall be according to legislative rule, cartons shall be clean and free of debris and eggs shall be held under refrigeration according…

Every licensed livestock dealer shall make and retain for at least two years written livestock sales records in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, including, but not limited to, records indicating the identification numbers or letters, sex, brand and approximate …

No distributor may market eggs unless there is clearly designated on the container the consumer grade and size or weight class established in accordance with the provisions of this article and the eggs shall conform to the designated grade and size or weight class, except when so…

(a) The commissioner of agriculture is hereby invested with the authority to, and shall upon the verified written complaint of any person or by his/her own initiative, investigate the actions of any livestock dealer, or any person who assumes to act in that capacity. Upon verific…

(a) If an authorized representative of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture determines, after an inspection, that any lot of eggs is in violation of this article, the representative may issue an embargo under the provisions of section ten of this article. An embargo shall …

The commissioner may refuse to grant or may suspend or revoke a livestock dealer's license when it is determined from the evidence that there is reasonable cause to believe that any of the following situations exists: (a) Where the applicant or licensee has violated the laws of t…

(a) Any container or subcontainer in which eggs are marketed to consumers shall bear on the exterior of the container the following: (1) The identity of the packer by registry of USDA plant number or by state permit number or name and address of the packer, distributor, retailer …

(a) Every person, firm or corporation selling eggs to a retailer or manufacturer shall furnish an invoice showing the size and quality of the eggs according to the standards prescribed by this article together with the name and address of the person by whom the eggs were sold and…

All funds collected under this article shall be paid into the state Treasury and credited to a special fund to be appropriated by order of the commissioner for the enforcement of this article.

(a) All eggs offered for sale at retail shall be plainly marked as to grade and size with letters not less than three-eighths inch in height. (b) All eggs advertised or displayed for sale for human food at a given price shall be advertised or displayed in the manner adopted by le…

The commissioner shall administer and enforce the provisions of this article and shall have authority to issue regulations, after a public hearing, following due notice in conformance with the provisions of the state administrative procedures as set forth in chapter twenty-nine-a…

The Legislature finds that local production and sale of locally manufactured cheese products is a culturally significant tradition and that the preservation of historic methods of cheese production is in the public interest; that local cheese production is an important part of th…

In 2018, the Legislature created the Joint Task Force on Milk Rules and Regulations in response to concerns about current regulation of the dairy industry in West Virginia. The Joint Task Force heard from, and collected data and other information from, dairy farmers, industry rep…

The legislative intent of this article is to protect, promote and preserve the public health and general welfare and to prevent fraud and deception in the manufacture, sale, offering for sale, exposing for sale, and possession with intent to sell, frozen desserts and products res…

Advances in food technology have resulted in the development of a variety of products of similar usage as standardized dairy products that are so similar in appearance, odor and taste that they are difficult to differentiate from dairy products. Therefore, it is the purpose of th…

The southern dairy compact is hereby entered into on behalf of the State of West Virginia. The southern dairy compact shall become effective when enacted into law by a majority of the states within the compact group of states and when the consent of Congress has been obtained. Th…

It is the intent of the Legislature that this article regulate the purchase of milk on the basis of weight, measure or components in the milk; confer powers and impose duties upon the commissioner of agriculture; prescribe penalties; and provide for the enforcement thereof. Furth…

The commissioner has the power and duty to: (a) Adopt, promulgate and enforce rules to carry out the purpose of this article; (b) Have access to and enter at all reasonable times all places where frozen desserts or imitation frozen desserts are manufactured, stored, held, transpo…

(a) The commissioner may deny any application for a permit, license, or certificate whenever the permit, license, or certificate has been applied for fraudulently, the applicant has grossly interfered with the duties of the commissioner, the applicant is determined to be not in c…

(a) The commissioner may deny any application for a permit, license or certificate whenever said permit, license or certificate has been applied for fraudulently, the applicant has grossly interfered with the duties of the commissioner or the applicant is determined to be not in …

The commissioner has the power and duty to: (a) Adopt, promulgate and enforce rules to carry out the purpose of this article, including establishing definitions and standards of quality and identity for dairy products and imitation dairy products; (b) Have access to and enter at …

(a) The commissioner may deny any application for a permit whenever said permit has been applied for fraudulently, the applicant has grossly interfered with the duties of the commissioner or the applicant is determined to be not in compliance with or not able to comply with this …

(a) Any person aggrieved by any action taken under this article shall have the opportunity for a hearing before the commissioner under the rules promulgated by the commissioner. (b) Hearings shall be conducted according to procedures set forth by rule. (c) All the testimony and e…

(a) The commissioner may deny any application for a permit whenever said permit has been applied for fraudulently, the applicant has grossly interfered with the duties of the commissioner, or the applicant is determined to be not in compliance with or not able to comply with this…