Virginia § 3.2-5100 - Duties of Commissioner

§ 3.2-5100. Duties of Commissioner

A. The Commissioner shall inquire into the dairy and food and drink products, and the articles that are food or drinks, or the necessary constituents of the food or drinks, that are manufactured, sold, exposed, or offered for sale in the Commonwealth.

B. The Commissioner may procure samples of the dairy and food products covered by this chapter and may have the samples analyzed.

C. The Commissioner shall issue a permit to any food manufacturer, food storage warehouse, or retail food establishment that, after inspection, is determined to be in compliance with all applicable provisions of this chapter and any regulations adopted thereunder. Any person that intends to manufacture, store, sell, or offer for sale an industrial hemp extract, as defined in § 3.2-5145.1, or food containing an industrial hemp extract (i) shall be subject to such permit requirement and (ii) shall indicate the person's intent to manufacture, store, sell, or offer for sale an industrial hemp extract or food containing an industrial hemp extract on its permit application. The Commissioner shall notify any applicant denied a permit of the reason for such denial. Any food manufacturer, food storage warehouse, or retail food establishment issued a permit pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from any other license, permit, or inspection required for the sale, preparation, or handling of food unless such food manufacturer, food storage warehouse, or retail food establishment is operating as (a) a restaurant as defined in Title 35.1, as jointly determined by the State Health Commissioner and the Commissioner; (b) a plant that processes and distributes Grade A milk as referenced in this title, as determined by the State Health Commissioner; or (c) a shellfish establishment as defined in Title 28.2, as determined by the State Health Commissioner.

D. The Commissioner shall make a complaint against the manufacturer or vendor of any food or drink or dairy products that are adulterated, impure, or unwholesome, in contravention of the laws of the Commonwealth, and furnish all evidence to obtain a conviction of the offense charged. The Commissioner may make complaint and cause proceedings to be commenced against any person for enforcement of the laws relative to adulteration, impure, or unwholesome food or drink, and in such cases he shall not be obliged to furnish security for costs.

E. The Commissioner may develop criteria to determine if food manufacturers that are operating in a building deemed, in consultation with the Director of the Department of Historic Resources, to be historic are producing food products that are low risk of being adulterated. If, pursuant to such criteria, any such manufacturer is producing food products that are deemed to be low risk, the Commissioner may exempt the food manufacturer from specified provisions of this chapter, or regulations adopted thereunder, that pertain to the structure of the building, provided that the Commissioner determines that such exemption is unlikely to result in the preparation for sale, manufacture, packing, storage, sale, or distribution of any food that is adulterated, as defined in § 3.2-5122.

Code 1950, §§ 3-323 to 3-325; 1966, c. 702, §§ 3.1-402 to 3.1-404; 1972, c. 741; 2008, c. 860; 2022, cc. 204, 291; 2023, cc. 744, 794.