(a) The Commissioner of Agriculture may, after investigation and public hearing, establish and promulgate definitions of “culls” as applied to farm products, or any of them; and may alter such definitions from time to time.

(b) 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 bears any statement, design or device regarding such farm products which is false or misleading in any particular. 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 is not an average of the contents of the package.

(c) The Commissioner of Agriculture shall adopt such regulations generally to supplement and give full effect to the provisions of this section, and specifically to regulate the marketing, packing, labeling and shipping of culls, as he deems necessary. Such regulations shall be filed and open for public inspection at the principal office of the Department of Agriculture and shall be published at least once in three newspapers published in this state.

(d) Any person, firm or corporation which violates any provision of this section shall be fined not more than fifty dollars for the first offense and not more than two hundred dollars for each subsequent offense.

(1949 Rev., S. 3074; 1959, P.A. 412, S. 12; 637, S. 2; 1961, P.A. 67; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 446, 448; P.A. 85-204, S. 6, 14; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e), (f); P.A. 04-189, S. 1.)

History: 1959 acts required consultation with commissioner of consumer protection re culls in Subsec. (a), transferred regulation powers and duties in Subsec. (c) from commissioner and department of agriculture to commissioner and department of consumer protection and later replaced commissioner of agriculture with commissioner of agriculture, conservation and natural resources; 1961 act dropped “conservation” from commissioner's title; 1971 act replaced commissioner of agriculture and natural resources with commissioner of agriculture; P.A. 85-204 amended Subsec. (a) by eliminating the requirement that the commissioner of agriculture consult with the commissioner of consumer protection and amended Subsec. (c) by transferring regulatory authority from the commissioner of consumer protection to the commissioner of agriculture; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner and Department of Agriculture with Commissioner and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004.