(a) The commissioner and his deputy, agents and assistants may take samples of milk, cream or milk products from any producer, dealer, vendor, processor or manufacturer upon tender of the market price thereof, and shall seal and mark such samples, and, upon request of such producer, dealer, vendor, processor or manufacturer, or his agent, shall seal and mark duplicate samples and leave the duplicate samples with such persons. The official analysis of such samples shall be made by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station or the Laboratory Division of the Department of Public Health, or any other laboratory approved for making such examinations.

(b) The commissioner shall collect from the dairy plant, producer, retail raw milk producer or milk dealer permittee a fee or fees established by the commissioner pursuant to section 22-128a, sufficient to cover the actual cost of bio-assays and chemical tests made on samples of milk and milk products. Such fees shall be deposited in the General Fund. The dairy plant, producer, retail raw milk producer or milk dealer permittee shall only be required to pay fees for samples taken to verify product safety when required routine testing has shown the product to be in violation of this chapter. The commissioner may suspend any license or permit issued pursuant to this chapter or chapter 431 to any dairy plant, producer, retail raw milk producer, cheese or yogurt manufacturer, dry milk manufacturer or dealer who fails to pay such fees within sixty days after being billed by the commissioner.

(1949 Rev., S. 3202; 1949, 1951, 1953, S. 1748d; 1959, P.A. 252, S. 1; 1961, P.A. 169; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 91-312, S. 21; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 05-175, S. 7.)

History: 1959 act divided section into Subsecs., made collection of fees to cover cost of bio-assays mandatory rather than optional by substituting “shall” for “may” and required that fees be deposited to general fund rather than set aside as separate fund to defray expenses of bio-assays and chemical analyses; 1961 act required commissioner to collect fees rather than Agricultural Experiment Station, replaced “Vitamin D milk, vitamins A and D skimmed milk and vitamin-mineral-fortified milk or other vitamins or vitamin-mineral-fortified milks” with “milk, skimmed milk, nonfat milk, fortified skimmed milk, or fortified nonfat milk to which vitamins, minerals or any combination thereof have been added” and added provision allowing commissioner to suspend permits of those who fail to pay fees within 60 days after billing; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 91-312 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that the fee or fees for bio-assays and chemical tests shall be “established by the commissioner pursuant to Sec. 22-128a”; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 05-175 made changes re producer and retail raw milk producer testing fees for milk and milk products and suspension of permits for failure to pay fees in Subsec. (b).