Massachusetts § 81 - Importation of shellfish for consumption; certification; labeling of containers

§ 81. Importation of shellfish for consumption; certification; labeling of containers

Section 81. No person shall transport, or cause to be transported, into this commonwealth for consumption as food any shellfish taken or dug from areas outside the commonwealth, or sell, cause to be sold, or keep, offer or expose for sale for consumption as aforesaid any shellfish so taken or dug, unless such person has been certified by the regulatory authority in the United States or foreign country under the uniform sanitation requirements of the cooperative program for the certification of interstate shellfish shippers, nor shall any person transport or cause to be transported within this commonwealth any shellfish for consumption as food, unless the container of such shellfish shall, at all times while in such transportation, bear a label or tag legibly marked with the name and address of the producer and of the shipper thereof and the numbers of such certificates, and the name of the place where and the date when taken, nor shall any person counterfeit, alter, deface or tamper with any label or tag, and absence of such label or tag so marked or failure to allow an inspection shall be prima facie evidence of violation of this section; provided, that the foregoing provisions relative to transportation shall not apply to common carriers, their servants or agents.

Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than three years, or both. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the department of public health, local boards of health, the director and all officers qualified to serve criminal process; provided, that the provisions of this section and of section eighty-two shall not apply to shellfish taken from an area declared to be contaminated under the provisions of section seventy-four or corresponding provisions of earlier laws.