§ 305C — Food processor or distributor licensing; application of section

Section 305C. The department shall issue and may renew on an annual basis a license to every person engaged in the business of processing or distributing food for sale at wholesale, including every person who prepares, manufactures, packs, repacks, cans, bottles, keeps, exposes, stores, handles or distributes food or who operates a food warehouse. Said license requirement shall not apply to any person who is a purveyor of fresh fruits and vegetables, a farmer who produces and sells raw farm products, including eggs, persons licensed under section ten B, forty, forty-eight A, sixty-five H, sixty-six or one hundred and twenty or licensed under chapter one hundred and thirty-eight, persons holding a permit under chapter one hundred and thirty, nor to any person who operates an establishment under the inspection of the meat inspection division of the bureau of animal industry of the United States department of agriculture.Said license shall apply to one place of business only. Prior to issuing a license, the department shall inspect each place of business for which application is made. The department shall send a copy of each such license to the board of health of the city or town in which each licensee is located.The fee for each license and for each annual renewal thereof shall be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provisions of section three B of chapter seven.No person shall carry on the business of a food processor or food distributor unless such person holds a valid license from the department. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars. The superior court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin any violation of this paragraph or to take such other action as equity and justice may require.Subject to the requirements of chapter thirty A, the department may refuse to issue or renew, suspend or revoke such license if (1) any statement in the license application or upon which the license was issued is determined to be false or misleading; (2) the applicant or licensee has been convicted of a crime relating to the processing, storage, distribution or sale of food in connection with the licensed business; (3) the applicant or licensee has failed to comply with any applicable provision of this chapter or any applicable rule or regulations; or (4), the applicant or licensee refuses to admit representatives of the department at any reasonable time for purposes of inspection. The commissioner may, without a prior hearing, suspend a license if he finds that such licensee is operating his business in a manner which is endangering or may cause imminent danger to the public health. In every case of suspension of a license without a prior hearing, the licensee shall be promptly afforded an opportunity for such hearing.The department may make such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the enforcement of this section. Such rules and regulations may provide administrative penalties for the violation of any rule or regulation promulgated hereunder not to exceed five hundred dollars for any single violation.