(a) No person shall sell, offer for sale, expose for sale or transport for sale any agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree or shrub seed that is subject to the germination requirements of section 22-61c and for which section 22-61c does not otherwise provide the applicable germination test requirement, if: (1) The test to determine the percentage of germination required by section 22-61c was completed more than ten months, including the month such testing was performed, before such seed is sold, offered for sale, exposed for sale or transported for sale in this state; (2) such seed is not labeled in accordance with the provisions of section 22-61c or has a false or misleading label; (3) such seed is associated with a false or misleading advertisement; (4) such seed consists of or contains prohibited noxious weed seeds; (5) such seed consists of or contains restricted noxious weed seeds per pound in excess of the number prescribed by rules as adopted by the Association of American Seed Control Officials, effective October 1, 1978, and amended from time to time, or in excess of the number declared or in excess of the maximum percentage allowed (0.50 per cent) for undesirable grass seeds on the label attached to the container of the seed or associated with such seed; (6) contains more than two and one-half per cent by weight of all weed seeds; (7) any labeling, advertising or other representation required by section 22-61c represents the seed to be certified seed or any class thereof unless: (A) (i) Such seed conforms to standards of purity and identify as to kind, species and subspecies, if applicable, or variety, as determined by a seed certifying agency, or (ii) in the case of any tree seed, that such seed was found by such seed certifying agency to be of the origin and elevation claimed, in compliance with the rules and regulations of such seed certifying agency, and (B) such seed bears an official label issued for such seed by a seed certifying agency which label certifies that the seed is of a specified class and a specified kind, variety, species and subspecies, if applicable; or (8) such seed is labeled with a variety name but such seed is not certified by a seed certifying agency, whenever such seed is a variety for which 7 USC 2321 specifies that the sale of such seed shall be as a class of certified seed, except any seed from a certified lot may be labeled as to variety name when used in a mixture by, or with, the approval of the owner of the variety.
(b) The prohibitions contained in subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any agricultural, vegetable, tree or shrub seed sold, offered for sale, exposed for sale or transported for sale in this state in a hermetically sealed container. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 22-61c and subsection (a) of this section, agricultural or vegetable seeds packaged in hermetically sealed containers under the conditions defined in rules as adopted by the Association of American Seed Control Officials, effective October 1, 1978, and amended from time to time, may be sold, exposed for sale or offered for sale or transportation in this state for a period of thirty-six months after the last day of the month that such seeds were tested for germination prior to packaging. If any agricultural or vegetable seed in a hermetically sealed container is sold, exposed for sale, or offered for sale or transportation in this state more than thirty-six months after the last day of the month in which such seed was tested prior to packaging, such seed shall be retested not earlier than ten months, inclusive of the month of such retest, prior to the sale, exposure for sale, offering for sale or transportation of such seed.
(c) No person shall: (1) Detach, alter, deface or destroy any label required pursuant to section 22-61c, (2) alter or substitute seed in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of section 22-61c, (3) use relabeling stickers that do not have both the calendar month and year the germination test was completed, the sell by date and the lot number that matches the existing, original lot number, (4) use a relabeling sticker for a seed more than one time, (5) disseminate any false or misleading advertisement concerning any seed that is subject to the provisions of section 22-61c or this section, (6) hinder or obstruct, in any way, the seed control officer in the performance of his or her duties, as prescribed by section 22-61c, (7) fail to comply with a “stop sale” order or to move or otherwise handle or dispose of any lot of seed held under a “stop sale” order or dispose of any tag attached to such a lot, except with the express permission of the seed control officer, (8) use the word “trace” or the phrase “contains > than .01%” as a substitute for any statement that is required pursuant to section 22-61c, (9) use the word “type” in any labeling in connection with the name of any agricultural seed variety, or (10) alter or falsify any seed label, seed tests, laboratory report, record or other document for the purpose of creating a misleading impression as to kind, variety, history, quality or origin of such seed.
(d) (1) No person shall sell, offer for sale, expose for sale or transport for sale any agricultural or vegetable seed or seed used for lawn or turf purposes that is not labeled in accordance with the provisions of section 22-61c.
(2) Any such labeling described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be performed by a person who is registered with the Commissioner of Agriculture.
(3) Any person who labels seed pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection shall register annually with the Commissioner of Agriculture. The application for a seed labeler registration shall be submitted to the commissioner in a manner and on a form prescribed by the commissioner. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars. All seed labeler registrations shall expire on March thirty-first of each year.
(P.A. 14-223, S. 3; P.A. 22-54, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 22-61d added Subsec. (d) re prohibition on selling, offering for sale, exposing for sale or transporting for sale any agricultural or vegetable seed or seed used for lawn or turf purposes not labeled in accordance with provisions of the section and requirement that any labeling be performed by a person registered annually with the Commissioner of Agriculture, effective July 1, 2022.
Structure Connecticut General Statutes
Title 22 - Agriculture. Domestic Animals
Section 22-61b. - Definitions.
Section 22-61c. - Seed label and other requirements.
Section 22-61e. - Records. Inspection. Exemption.
Section 22-61h. - “Stop sale” orders.
Section 22-61i. - Seizure of seed lots. Temporary or permanent injunction.