Article 2. General Requirements of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 104. >> Part 6. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 2.
(a) The director may declare any area within the
jurisdiction of this state to be a closed area if it is determined
that shellfish taken from the growing area may be unsafe or unfit for
human consumption.
(b) The director shall close to the taking of shellfish for a
period deemed advisable any waters to which shellfish from a closed
area may have been transferred.
(c) The director shall establish by order the areas that he or she
declares unsafe or unfit for shellfish harvesting and shall modify
or revoke the order in accordance with the results of chemical,
toxicologic, and bacteriological surveys conducted by the department.
The director shall file the order in the office of the department,
and shall furnish copies of the orders describing closed areas to the
Department of Fish and Game, the State Water Resources Control
Board, and to any interested person without charge.
(d) Prior to the director's declaration that shellfish-growing
waters may be unsafe and shellfish grown in these waters may not be
taken for human consumption, the department shall do all of the
following:
(1) Give at least 20 days' notice of its intended action. The
notice shall include a statement of either the terms or substance of
the intended action or a description of the subject and issues
involved, and the time when, the place where, and the manner in
which, interested persons may present their views thereon.
(2) Afford all interested persons reasonable opportunity to submit
data, views, or arguments orally or in writing. The department shall
consider fully all written and oral submissions respecting the
proposed action.
(e) If the department finds that the shellfish harvested from an
area is unsafe or unfit for human consumption and states in writing
its reasons for that finding, it may proceed without prior notice or
hearing to take emergency action. The action may be effective for a
period of not longer than 30 days, during which time the department
shall initiate the procedures contained in subdivision (d).
(a) The department shall adopt regulations regarding all of
the following:
(1) The classification and minimum requirements for growing and
harvesting areas, for relaying and depuration procedures, and for
aquaculture facilities that are used for the cultivation and
production of shellfish.
(2) Specifications for plant facilities and for the harvesting,
transporting, storing, handling, packing, and repacking of shellfish.
(3) Fees.
(b) The department shall adopt regulations by January 1, 1999, to
interpret and enforce the provisions of this chapter. The regulations
shall be adopted by the department in the manner prescribed by
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(c) The regulations shall conform, so far as possible, to the
standards or procedures established in the guidelines adopted by the
National Shellfish Sanitation Program that pertain to the evaluation
of shellfish-growing areas and handling facilities, but shall provide
for regulating other wastes or contaminants not covered by the
guidelines adopted by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program that
would render shellfish unsafe or unfit for human consumption. If the
department adopts standards or procedures that exceed standards or
procedures established in the guidelines adopted by the National
Shellfish Sanitation Program, the department shall provide a written
finding describing the public health need for those standards and
procedures in the rulemaking process.
(a) The director, or the director's duly authorized agent,
shall conduct sanitary surveys of any shellfish growing water as
deemed necessary to assure each of the following:
(1) Any shellfish grown in the water is safe as an article of food
and meets bacteriological, chemical, and toxicologic standards as
prescribed by regulation.
(2) Any shellfish grown in prohibited or restricted areas is
either relayed to or depurated in approved water for a period of time
as necessary to meet bacteriological, chemical, and toxicologic
standards, as prescribed by regulation.
(3) For good cause shown, a shellfish grower or harvester may
request the resurvey of restricted or unapproved growing water, and
the director, or the director's duly authorized agent, shall conduct
the sanitary resurvey.
(b) If it is found that the shellfish and growing water are in
compliance with the regulations promulgated under this chapter, the
director shall issue a certificate attesting to the compliance to the
lawful grower or harvester of the shellfish.
It is unlawful for any person to engage in commercial
shellfish cultivation or the harvesting for human consumption of
shellfish from naturally occurring populations, except as provided
for in Sections 5670, 7850, 8500, and 15101 of the Fish and Game Code
and in regulations adopted by the department pursuant to this
chapter, with regard to growing areas, relaying and depuration
procedures, and aquaculture facilities.
The director, or the director's duly authorized agent, may,
at any reasonable hour of the day, do any of the following:
(a) Enter and inspect any facility or area used for cultivation,
production, depuration, processing, transporting, or sale of
shellfish.
(b) Obtain samples of water and shellfish. Upon request, split
samples shall be given to the person from whose property the samples
were obtained.
(c) Inspect all shellfish plants and the practices followed in the
handling and packaging of shellfish. If it is found that the
operator is complying with the regulations promulgated under this
chapter, the director shall issue a certificate attesting to the
compliance.
(d) Cause a reinspection to be made at any time and may revoke the
certificate upon refusal of the operator to permit an inspection or
free access at all reasonable hours, or upon a finding that the plant
is not being operated in compliance with the regulations promulgated
under this chapter.
(e) No revocation, suspension, annulment, or withdrawal of any
certificate is lawful unless, prior to the institution of department
proceedings, the department gave notice by mail, to the certificate
holder, of facts or conduct that warrants the intended action, and
the certificate holder was given an opportunity to show compliance
with all lawful requirements for the retention of the certificate,
pursuant to Section 112265. This section does not preclude the
department from taking immediate action in accordance with
subdivision (e) of Section 112160.
It is unlawful for any person to take, sell, offer, or hold
for sale any shellfish from an area declared by the director to be
unsuitable for harvesting for human consumption, without complying
with all regulations adopted by the department to ensure that the
shellfish have been purified.
The intent of this section is not to prohibit the transplanting of
shellfish from restricted or prohibited growing areas, if permission
for the transplanting is first obtained from the Department of Fish
and Game pursuant to Section 237 of Title 14 of the California Code
of Regulations.
It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer, or hold for
sale any shellstock or shucked shellfish that has not been harvested
from a growing area which has been certified by the department or
that has not been purified in accordance with Section 112170.
It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer, or hold for
sale any shellstock or shucked shellfish that has not been handled
and packaged in accordance with specifications under this chapter,
and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer, or hold for
sale any shellfish where the facilities for packaging and handling of
the shellfish do not comply with regulations adopted by the
department under this chapter.
It is unlawful for any person to operate a shellfish plant
engaged in the handling and packaging of shellfish, either shucked or
in the shell, without a valid certificate issued by the department
for each plant or place of business.
It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer, or hold for
sale any shellstock or shucked shellfish without a label that bears a
valid certificate number and is in compliance with Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 110290) of Part 5.
It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer, or hold for
sale any shellfish not in a container bearing a valid certificate
number from a state or a nation whose shellfish certification program
conforms to the then current Manual of Recommended Practice for
Sanitary Control of the Shellfish Industry, issued by the United
States Public Health Service.
The provisions of Sections 112210 and 112215, with respect
to labeling requirements, shall not apply to any of the following:
(a) Shellstock held in dry storage under refrigerated conditions
not for shipment or sale.
(b) Shellstock sold on premises when the sale is the ultimate
point of sale.
Any shellfish that are held or offered for sale at retail
or for human consumption, and that have not been handled and packaged
in accordance with the specifications fixed by the department under
this chapter, or that are not in a certified container as provided in
Sections 112210 and 112215, or that are otherwise found by the
director to be unfit for human consumption, are subject to immediate
condemnation, seizure, and confiscation by the director or the
director's duly authorized agent. The shellfish shall be held,
destroyed, or otherwise disposed of as directed by the director.
The director may suspend or revoke any certificate issued
pursuant to this chapter for any violation of this chapter or the
regulations adopted pursuant thereto.