Minnesota Session Laws - 1992, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1992 

                        CHAPTER 521-H.F.No. 2804 
           An act relating to agriculture; requiring labels for 
          packaged wild rice offered for wholesale or retail 
          sale in Minnesota to customers or consumers in 
          Minnesota to include the place of origin and the 
          method of harvesting; eliminating annual reporting 
          requirements and modifying record keeping 
          requirements; amending Minnesota Statutes 1990, 
          section 30.49, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, and by adding 
          subdivisions. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 30.49, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [CULTIVATED WILD RICE.] (a) Except as 
provided in paragraph (b), Wild rice containing a portion of 
wild rice that is cultivated and offered for wholesale or retail 
sale in this state must be plainly and conspicuously labeled as 
either "paddy grown" or as "cultivated" in letters of a size and 
form prescribed by the commissioner. 
    (b) Cultivated wild rice sold for international commerce is 
exempt from this subdivision. 
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 30.49, 
subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 2.  [NATURAL LAKE OR RIVER WILD RICE.] (a) A package 
containing only 100 percent natural lake or river wild rice that 
is offered for sale at wholesale or retail sale in this state 
may must be plainly and conspicuously labeled as "100 percent 
naturally grown, lake and river harvested wild rice" in letters 
of a size and form prescribed by the commissioner.  A package of 
wild rice labeled "100 percent naturally grown, lake and river 
harvested wild rice" must also contain the license number issued 
under section 84.152 of the last licensed dealer, if any, who 
handled the wild rice. 
    (b) A package that does not contain 100 percent natural 
lake or river wild rice may not contain a label authorized under 
paragraph (a). 
    (c) A package containing a portion of 100 percent naturally 
grown lake and river wild rice that is harvested by use of 
mechanical harvesting devices and that is offered for sale at 
wholesale or retail in this state must be plainly and 
conspicuously labeled as "machine harvested" in letters of a 
size and form prescribed by the commissioner.  In addition, the 
letters "machine harvested" must be placed near the product's 
identity on the label.  Packages containing 100 percent 
hand-harvested wild rice may be labeled as "hand harvested." 
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 30.49, is amended 
by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 2a.  [PLACE OF ORIGIN.] A package of cultivated or 
natural lake or river wild rice offered for sale at wholesale or 
retail in this state must specify the place of origin of the 
wild rice by a plain and conspicuous label placed near the 
product's identity on the label in letters of a size and form 
prescribed by the commissioner.  Only packages containing 
cultivated or natural lake or river wild rice that is 100 
percent grown in Minnesota may be labeled as "grown in 
Minnesota." 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 30.49, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [RECORDS.] (a) A person who buys, sells, 
processes, or markets over 500 pounds of cultivated or natural 
lake or river wild rice not for use in packaged blended rice and 
ready-to-eat rice must maintain the following records and shall 
submit annual reports on or before December 31 of each year to 
the commissioners of agriculture and natural resources for a 
period of three years.  A person who buys or sells, processes, 
or markets cultivated or natural lake or river wild rice not for 
use in packaged blended rice and ready-to-eat rice shall provide 
the department, on demand, relevant information from the records 
required under this section. 
    (b) Except for persons who sell or offer cultivated or 
natural lake or river wild rice for sale at retail, the report 
records must contain: 
    (1) the date of each transaction; 
    (2) the quantity of wild rice bought or sold; 
    (3) an identification of whether the wild rice is 
cultivated or paddy grown, or, whether it is naturally grown 
lake and river-harvested river wild rice and whether it is 
machine harvested or hand harvested; 
    (4) an identification of the place of origin of the wild 
rice; 
    (5) the names and addresses of the parties of the 
transaction and the department of natural resources license or 
permit numbers; 
    (5) (6) the lot numbers of all the wild rice bought or sold 
in each transaction; and 
    (6) (7) documents that track the rice, by lot number, 
through processing and the assignment of a final lot number on 
the finished product offered for distribution or sale in 
Minnesota. 
     (c) The records for persons who sell or offer wild rice for 
sale at retail must include an invoice indicating: 
    (1) the actual name of the product; 
    (2) the amount purchased; 
    (3) the date of the purchase; and 
    (4) the name, address, zip code, and telephone number of 
the supplier. 
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 30.49, is amended 
by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 4a.  [BULK SALES.] For purposes of this section, the 
bulk food product module labeling requirements contained in 
section 31.82 for cultivated or natural lake or river wild rice 
offered for sale at retail in bulk include the place of origin 
of the wild rice, and, if the wild rice is 100 percent natural 
lake or river wild rice and is machine harvested, the letters 
"machine harvested."  The place of origin must be placed near 
the product's identity in letters of a size and form prescribed 
by the commissioner.  The letters "machine harvested" must be 
placed near the product's identity in letters of a size and form 
prescribed by the commissioner. 
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 30.49, is amended 
by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 5a.  [MISBRANDING RELATING TO WILD RICE GROWN IN 
MINNESOTA.] A wild rice label that implies the wild rice is 
grown within the boundaries of the state of Minnesota is 
misbranded unless the package contains only 100 percent wild 
rice grown in Minnesota. 
     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 30.49, is amended 
by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 8.  [EXCEPTION.] This section does not apply to 
cultivated or natural lake or river wild rice sold at wholesale 
or retail outside this state. 
    Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Sections 1 to 3, 5, and 6 are effective for labels affixed 
to packages after January 1, 1993. 
    Presented to the governor April 17, 1992 
    Signed by the governor April 24, 1992, 4:02 p.m.