CHAPTER 64
STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE
COMMERCIAL FEEDING STUFFS
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 33, SEC. 9 OF VOLUME 32, LAWS OF DELAWARE, BEING 625, SEC. 58 OF THE REVISED CODE OF DELAWARE, 1935, RELATING TO COMMERCIAL FEEDING STUFFS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. That Chapter 33, Sec. 9 of Volume 32, Laws of Delaware, being 625, Sec. 58 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1935, be and the same is hereby amended by repealing 625, Sec. 58 and by inserting in lieu thereof the following 625, Sec. 58.
625 Sec. 58. (1) The term "Commercial Feeds" shall be held to include all materials used for feeding animals or birds, except the following:
(a) Unmixed whole seeds or grains ; as defined by the U. S. grain standards.
(b) The unmixed meals made directly from and consisting of the entire grains of corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, flaxseed, kafir, milo, and other seeds or grains.
(c) Whole hays, straws, cottonseed hulls, stover and silage, when unmixed with other materials.
(2) All manufacturers, importers, jobbers, firms, associations, corporations or persons shall before selling, offering or exposing for sale or distributing in this state any brand of commercial feed have printed on, or attached to each bag, package, carton, or can delivered with each bulk lot a plainly printed statement, hereafter referred to as the label, in a conspicuous place on the outside, containing a legible and clearly printed statement in the English language clearly and truly stating:
(a) The net weight of the contents of the package, bag, carton, can or bulk lot ;
(b) The brand or trade name of the feed ;
(c) The name and principal address of the manufacturer or person responsible for placing the commodity on the market;
(d) The minimum percentage of crude protein ;
(e) The minimum percentage of crude fat ;
(f) The maximum percentage of crude fiber ;
(g) The name of each ingredient used in its manufacture;
Provided that the official names of all materials which have been so defined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, shall be used in the declaration of the names of ingredients.
(h) In the case of mixed feeds containing more than a total of five per cent of one or more mineral ingredients, or other unmixed materials used as mineral supplements, and in the case of mineral feeds, mixed or unmixed, which are manufactured, represented and sold for the primary purpose of supplying mineral elements in rations for animals or birds, and containing mineral elements generally regarded as dietary factors essential for normal nutrition, the minimum percentage of calcium (Ca), of phosphorus (P), of Iodine (I), and the maximum percentage of salt (NaC1), if the same be present. Provided that if no nutritional properties other than those of a mineral nature be claimed for a mineral feed product, the per centums of crude protein, crude fat and crude fiber may be omitted.
(3) Before any manufacturer, importer, jobber, firm, association, corporation or person shall sell, offer or expose for sale or distribute in this State any brand of commercial feed, he or they shall make application for registration and file with the State Board of Agriculture a certified copy of the statement as specified in Paragraph 2, with the exception of Subdivision (a), for each brand of commercial feed ; said application shall be accompanied when the State Board of Agriculture shall so request, by a certified copy of the label and/or a sealed package containing at least one pound of the commercial feed to be registered in this state, and the company or person furnishing said sample shall thereupon make an affidavit that the said sample is representative of the commercial feed offered for registration. If such application for registration appears to meet the requirements of this Act the State Board of Agriculture shall issue a certificate of registration for such brand of commercial feed, which registration shall expire December 31st following its date of issuance.
Each and every importer, jobber, firm, association, corporation, or person selling, offering or exposing for sale or distributing in this State any commercial feeds to be used for mixing purposes only in the process of manufacturing or compounding registered commercial feeds shall be exempted from the payment of any registration fee, inspection tax, or both, provided the said feed is labeled or tagged with the information as provided in Section 2, and in addition:
(a) A declaration that such feed is to be used for mixing purposes in registered brands only.
(b) That the registration fee or inspection tax is not to be paid thereon.
(4) For the purpose of defraying the expenses connected with the sampling, inspection and analysis of commercial feeds sold or offered for sale within this state and for other items incident to carrying out the provisions of this Act, each and every manufacturer, importer, jobber, firm, association, corporation or person before selling, offering or exposing for sale, or distributing any commercial feeds as defined in Paragraph 1 of this Act shall pay annually to the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, a registration fee of one dollar ($1.00) for each brand registered, and all corporations, firms or persons engaged in the manufacture of commercial feeds sold in this State shall on or before the first day of February of each year, make state-
ment under oath, in due form of law, which shall be filed with the State Board of Agriculture and which shall set forth the number of net tons of each and every brand of such commercial feeds sold or distributed in this State during the preceding calendar year; and upon such statement shall pay to the State Board of Agriculture the sum of ten cents per net ton of two thousand pounds for each ton sold or distributed in this State during the preceding calendar year. Provided that in lieu of paying a registration fee of one dollar ($1.00) for each brand registered, making a statement under oath of the number of net tons sold during a preceding calendar year, and paying the sum of ten cents (100 per net ton of two thousand pounds sold or distributed in this state ; commercial feeds, in cans or small packages of ten pounds or less, may be registered upon payment of an annual registration fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each such commercial feed registered. Each applicant for a certificate of registration shall include in such application a permit granting to the State Board of Agriculture or its duly designated representative, permission to verify from applicants records such applicant's statement of tonnage.
(4-A) The registration fee and inspection tax as provided in Paragraph 4 shall not apply to any feed mixed according to a formula furnished by a consumer; provided, that all such packages of feeds mixed according to a formula furnished by the consumer shall be plainly marked or tagged on the outside of at least one package in the lot so mixed with the words "Mixedto-Order For", followed by the name and address of the person for whom the order was mixed.
(5) Whenever a manufacturer, importer, jobber, firm, association, corporation or person selling, offering or exposing for sale or distributing a brand of commercial feed as defined in Paragraph 1 of this Act shall have filed the statement required by Paragraph 3 and paid the inspection fee as required by Paragraph 4 no other agent, importer, jobber, firm, association, corporation or person shall be required to file such statement or pay such fee upon such brand.
(6) The State Board of Agriculture shall have power to refuse to register any commercial feed under a brand or trade name which would be misleading or deceptive, or which would tend to mislead or deceive as to the materials of which it is composed, or when the recognized official names of each and all ingredients used in its manufacture are not stated. The State Board of Agriculture shall also have the power to refuse to register more than one commercial feed under the same name when offered by the same manufacturer. Should any commercial feed be registered in this state, and it is afterward discovered that such registration was in error or is in violation of any of the provisions of this Act, the State Board of Agriculture shall have the power to cancel such registration. The State Board of Agriculture shall have the power to refuse to allow any manufacturer, importer, jobber, firm, association, corporation or person to lower the guaranteed analysis or change the ingredients of any brand of his or their commercial feeds during the term for which registered, unless satisfactory reasons are presented to the State Board of Agriculture for making such change or changes.
(7) The State Board of Agriculture is authorized in person or by deputy to *have free access during regular business hours to all places of business, mills, buildings, carriages, cars, vessels and parcels of whatsoever kind used in this State in the manufacture, transportation, importation, sale or storage of any commercial feed, and shall have the power and authority to open any parcel containing or supposed to contain any commercial feeds and to take therefrom in the manner prescribed in Paragraph 8, samples for analysis, and said State Board of Agriculture may cause to be analysed annually at least one sample so taken of every commercial feed found sold, offered or exposed for sale or distributed in this state.
(8) No action shall be maintained for a violation of the provisions of this Act, based upon an analysis of a sample from less than ten separate original packages, unless there be less
than ten separate original packages in the lot, in which case portions for the official sample shall be taken from each original package; if the commercial feed is in bulk, portions shall be taken from not less than ten different places in the lot ; provided that this does not exclude sampling in bulk when not exposed sufficiently to take portions from ten different places, in which case portions are to be taken from as many places as practicable. If the sample thus procured is larger than is required, it shall be thoroughly mixed and quartered until a sample of suitable size remains. Said sample, if requested, shall be divided into two parts, and shall be placed in suitable containers and sealed, one of said containers so sealed, if requested, shall be delivered to the person apparently in charge of such feeds ; in sampling canned or small packaged goods, one entire can or small package from each twenty (20) or less in the lot shall be deemed sufficient for examination ; the said State Board of Agriculture shall analyze, or cause to be analyzed, the sample so collected, and the result of such analysis, together with such additional information as the said State Board of Agriculture may deem advisable, shall be promptly transmitted to the manufacturer and to the dealer or person in whose possession the product was sampled, and may be published in reports or bulletins from time to time. The manufacturer or person responsible for the placing of any commodity so sampled upon the market or the dealer or person in dose possession the feed was found shall upon request to the State Board of Agriculture within ten days after report is mailed be furnished with a portion of the official sample. The methods of analysis shall be those in effect at the time by the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists of North America.
(9) If it shall appear from the examination of any sample of feed or other evidence that any of the provisions of this Act have been violated, the State Board of Agriculture or its duly authorized deputy may affix or cause to be affixed to each package of commercial feed appearing to be in violation of any of the provisions of this Act a special tag setting forth that the commercial feed to which the tag is affixed is in apparent violation of the commercial feed law of the State of Delaware and must not be distributed, transported, sold or otherwise disposed of nor may the special tag be removed, defaced or destroyed without written permission of the State Board of Agriculture, and the State Board of Agriculture shall cause notice of such apparent violation to be given to the manufacturer and the dealer from whom said sample was taken ; any party so notified shall be given an opportunity to be heard under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the State Board of Agriculture, After such hearing, if it appears that any of the provisions of this Act have been violated, the State Board of Agriculture may certify the facts to the proper prosecuting attorney and furnish that officer with a copy of the results of the analysis or other examination of such sample, duly authenticated by the analyst or other agent or officer making the examination, under the oath of such analyst, agent or officer.
(10) Any manufacturer, importer, jobber, firm, association, corporation or person who shall impede, obstruct, hinder or otherwise prevent or attempt to prevent the said State Board of Agriculture or any authorized agent of the said State Board of Agriculture in the performance of his duty in connection with the provisions of this Act, or who shall sell, offer or expose for sale or distribute in this State any commercial feeds as defined in Paragraph 1, without complying with the requirements of the provisions of this Act, or who shall sell, offer or expose for sale or distribute in this State any commercial feed which contains a smaller per centum of crude protein, crude fat, calcium, phosphorus, or iodine, or a larger percentage of crude fiber or salt than is certified to be contained therein, or who shall fail to properly state the name of each and every ingredient used in its manufacture, or shall sell, offer, or expose for sale or distribute in this State any commercial feed which carries any false or misleading statements upon or attached to the package, or if false or misleading statements regarding its feeding value are made on the package by the corporation, firm or individual registering said commercial feed, or if the number of net pounds set forth upon the package is not correct, or who shall distribute, transport, sell or otherwise dispose of any commercial feed to which special tags of the State Board of Agriculture have been affixed or who shall remove, deface or destroy any of the special tags of the State Board of Agriculture without written permission, or who shall violate any other provision of this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for the first violation and not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each subsequent violation. Any manufacturer, importer, jobber, firm, association, corporation or person who shall sell, offer or expose for sale or distribute any commercial feeds mixed or adulterated with any substance or substances injurious to the health of animals or birds, or any commercial feeds carrying attached thereto any metal tag hooks shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and in addition to the penalty provided in this Section, the lot of feeds shall be subject to seizure by judicial court action, condemnation and disposition as the court may direct, the proceeds from such sale to be covered into the State Treasury. The court may in its discretion release the feeds so seized when the requirements of the provisions of this Act have been complied with, and upon payment of all costs and expenses incurred by the State in any proceedings connected with such seizure.
(11) The State Board of Agriculture is hereby empowered to enforce the provisions of this Act and to prescribe and enforce administrative rules, regulations, definitions and standards which shall be in harmony with the provisions of this Act and the official pronouncements of the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Incorporated, and such administrative rules, regulations, definitions and standards when so prescribed shall have all the effect and authority of the remainder of this Act.
(12) All monies received under the provisions of this Act shall be promptly transferred to the State Treasurer and covered into the general fund of the State.
(13) Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional, or the applicability thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the constitutionality of the remainder of the Act and the applicability thereof to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
(14) All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.
(15) This Act shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval.