Article 8. Powers Of Enforcing Officers of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 12. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 8.

Any enforcement officer may do any of the following:
  (a) Enter and inspect any place or conveyance within the county or district over which he has supervision, where any eggs are produced, candled, incubated, stored, packed, prepared, delivered for shipment, loaded, shipped, transported, or sold.
  (b) Inspect the eggs and their containers and equipment which are found in any place or conveyance which he is authorized to enter and inspect.
  (c) Take for inspection and hold as evidence, if necessary, representative samples of the eggs and containers, for the purpose of determining whether or not any provision of this chapter or regulation adopted by the director pursuant to this chapter has been violated.

Any enforcement officer may, while enforcing this chapter or any regulations adopted by the director pursuant to this chapter, issue a hold card for all or any part of any pack, load, lot, consignment, or shipment of eggs which are packed, stored, delivered for shipment, loaded, shipped, transported, or sold in violation of any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter.

A commissioner in each county or the director shall perform a point-of-origin inspection on the eggs in the county of their origin to ensure that the eggs inspected meet all applicable regulations. The inspections performed under this section shall include inspections at shell egg packing plants and major distribution points. Regulations adopted to implement this section shall be developed in consultation with the Shell Egg Advisory Committee.

(a) The director, or the commissioner under the direction and supervision of the director, shall inspect eggs at the point of destination upon the request of a retailer or a consumer. The director, or the commissioner under the direction and supervision of the director, may also perform this inspection when he or she has probable cause to believe that a violation of this chapter, or a regulation adopted thereunder, is presently occurring or has recently occurred.
  (b) In addition, retail inspection for monitoring purposes may be conducted by the commissioners.

The enforcing officer may, and, if requested by an enforcing officer of the state or county of destination, shall, affix a warning to any vehicle or other means of transportation, or to any eggs not previously available for inspection in California unless accompanied by a federal certificate of grade, whether or not the eggs are exempt from the standards, and serve a disposal order upon the owner or person that has custody or possession of any load or lot.

The warning notice, and disposal order which directs the proper disposition of eggs, and the disposal order receipt to be signed by an enforcing officer at destination which confirms that disposition, shall be in the form which is specified by, and provided by, the director.

The enforcing officer at the point of destination of a load or lot shall determine that the load or lot has been delivered to the consignee at the destination which is specified in the order and shall then release the load or lot and countersign the disposal order receipt so given to him or her. He or she shall immediately forward the receipt to the enforcing officer who served the disposal order.

It is unlawful for any person to deliver any eggs which are subject to a disposal order to any person or destination except the person or destination which is shown on the disposal order, unless he or she is specifically authorized in writing to do so by an enforcing officer.

It is unlawful for any person to dispose of any eggs which are subject to a disposal order prior to the release in writing of the load or lot by the enforcing officer at the point of destination. This section does not, however, make it unlawful for any person to unload and store any eggs which are subject to a disposal order.

It is unlawful for any person to use or dispose of any eggs for which a disposal order has been issued, in any manner or for any purpose except the manner or purpose for which the disposal order was issued, unless the person is specifically authorized in writing to do so by an enforcement officer.