ORS 633.670: Inspection and sampling of seeds; seizure of seeds; report of inspection work.

(1) In the enforcement of ORS 633.511 to 633.750 and 633.996, the Director of Agriculture, deputies of the director, inspectors or samplers may: (a) Enter during regular business hours any store, warehouse, mill, cleaning or storage place, depot or other structure, freight car or other vehicle, in which agricultural, flower or vegetable seeds are being sold or offered for sale, stored, handled or transported. (b) Either alone or in the presence of a representative or employee of the person whose premises are so entered, examine and inspect any agricultural, flower or vegetable seeds being possessed, sold, offered or exposed for sale for planting purposes, in this state, for their compliance with those sections. (c) Draw or cause to be drawn a representative sample of any lot of such seed for official testing and analysis or, in the case of individually packaged seeds, select a number of such packages as a representative sample. (d) Examine any records or documents pertaining to any seed being sold or offered for sale, or records pertaining to any seed that has previously been sold or any other records involved in seed dealings. (2) Any sample so drawn may represent any lot, or portion of such lot, of such seed that shall be divided, at the request of the owner or person in charge, into two approximately duplicate samples, each of which shall be properly identified, labeled and sealed in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted under ORS 633.680. One of the samples shall be transmitted to the agricultural experiment station seed laboratory at Oregon State University for official testing for regulatory purposes. The other sample shall be tendered to the representative of the organization from whose structure or vehicle the sample was taken. (3) The director may seize any container of agricultural, flower or vegetable seed possessed, sold, offered or exposed for sale for planting purposes in this state that appears to be in violation of any of the provisions of ORS 633.511 to 633.750, and proceed in the manner directed by law for the disposal of products seized by the State Department of Agriculture. (4) Any sample taken under those sections, and the report showing the results of the official test made on any such sample, shall be prima facie evidence in any court in this state of the true condition of the entire lot, in the examination of which the sample was taken. (5) A copy of the result of any such test shall be mailed to the person or authorized representative, if known, owning, possessing or holding the seed from which the sample was drawn. (6) The director may cause to be published in the official paper or bulletin of the department a report of all seed inspection work done for regulatory purposes and shall indicate in the report: (a) The name and address of each person whose seed was inspected. (b) The total number of such inspections. (c) The number and kind of seeds of which samples were inspected and tested. (d) The number or a list of samples complying with ORS 633.511 to 633.750. (e) A detailed list showing kinds of seed and the nature of violations of any of the provisions of those sections as found in the inspection and testing of any such seeds belonging to any such person. [Amended by 1955 c.379 §14; 1995 c.371 §7; 2003 c.14 §385; 2007 c.281 §13]