(a) For the purpose of the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter or any regulation adopted by the commissioner pursuant to section 22-111j, the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized agent, upon presenting appropriate credentials, may: (1) Enter any factory, warehouse or establishment within the state in which fertilizers are manufactured, processed, packed or held for distribution, (2) enter any vehicle being used to transport or hold such fertilizers, and (3) inspect such factory, warehouse, establishment or vehicle and all pertinent equipment, finished and unfinished materials, containers and labeling therein.

(b) The commissioner, or the commissioner's authorized agent, shall sample and inspect fertilizers distributed within this state at such times and places and to such extent as the commissioner may deem necessary to determine whether such fertilizers are in compliance with the provisions of this chapter or any regulation adopted by the commissioner pursuant to section 22-111j. The commissioner, individually or through the commissioner's duly authorized agent, is authorized to enter upon any public or private premises or carriers in order to have access to fertilizers subject to the provisions of this chapter and any regulations adopted by the commissioner pursuant to section 22-111j. The director or the director's agent shall analyze samples designated official by the commissioner.

(c) The methods of analysis and sampling shall be those adopted by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists International.

(d) The commissioner, in determining for administrative purposes whether any fertilizer is deficient in plant food, shall be guided solely by the official sample obtained and analyzed as provided for in this section.

(e) The results of official analysis shall be forwarded by the director to the commissioner, registrant and distributor. Upon request, the director shall furnish to the registrant a portion of any sample found subject to penalty or other legal action. Official samples for which penalties are assessed for nutritional deficiencies shall be retained by the director for not less than ninety days following the issuance of a deficiency report.

(February, 1965, P.A. 198, S. 6; 1969, P.A. 95, S. 2; P.A. 73-278, S. 4, 21; P.A. 76-103; P.A. 79-631, S. 32, 111; P.A. 09-229, S. 8.)

History: 1969 act replaced “Associated Official Agricultural Chemists Journal” with “Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists” in Subsec. (b); P.A. 73-278 inserted new Subsec. (a) re commissioner's inspection powers, relettering former Subsecs. (a) to (d) accordingly, replaced “director”, i.e. director of Agricultural Experiment Station with “commissioner”, i.e. commissioner of agriculture where appearing but retained revised provision re director's powers to analyze fertilizers by specifying that samples be designated as official by commissioner and restated provisions in Subsec. (e), formerly (d), deleting provision clarifying when report becomes official; P.A. 76-103 added Subsecs. (f) to (h) re penalties; P.A. 79-631 substituted “fertilizers” for “feeds” in Subsec. (a)(1); P.A. 09-229 deleted “commercial” re fertilizer throughout, added provisions re enforcement of regulations adopted pursuant to Sec. 22-111j in Subsecs. (a) and (b), amended Subsec. (e) to require director to retain official samples for which penalties are assessed for not less than 90 days, made conforming and technical changes throughout and deleted former Subsecs. (f) to (h) re penalties, effective July 1, 2009.