                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER (§ 3.2-5100)

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 &#xA7;
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&#8217;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 &#xA7;
3.2-5122.

HISTORY: 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.