Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:4735 – Penalties
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:4735
- Catfish: means only those species within the family Ictaluridae, Ariidae or Loricariidae. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:4733
- Catfish product: means any item capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any catfish or portion thereof, except products which contain catfish only in small proportions or historically have not been, in the judgment of the commissioner, considered by consumers as products of the United States commercial catfish industry and which are exempted from definition as a catfish product by the commissioner under such conditions as he may prescribe to assure that the catfish or portions thereof contained therein are not adulterated and that such products are not represented as catfish products. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:4733
- Commissioner: means the Louisiana commissioner of agriculture and forestry. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:4733
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Food service establishment: means a restaurant, cafeteria, lunch room, food stand, saloon, tavern, bar, lounge, or other similar facility operated as an enterprise engaged in the business of selling food to the public. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:4733
- Person: includes any individual, partnership, corporation, and association, or other legal entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:4733
- Retailer: means any person offering for sale catfish, catfish products, siluriformes, or siluriforme products to individual consumers and representing the last sale prior to human consumption and includes food service establishments unless otherwise stated herein. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:4733
A. The commissioner shall notify, in writing, any retailer or food service establishment in violation of this Subpart and shall give the retailer or food service establishment three days to correct the violation. No penalties shall apply to any retailer or food service establishment that corrects the violation within three days from the date of notification by the commissioner.
B. In addition to any other civil or criminal penalties, any person who violates any of the provisions of this Subpart or who otherwise misrepresents as catfish any other fish or other fish product not defined as catfish in La. Rev. Stat. 3:4733(1) or as catfish product in La. Rev. Stat. 3:4733(2) shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars. For a second offense, a person shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars. For any subsequent violations, a person shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by having the license for the retail or food establishment suspended indefinitely or until such establishment has corrected the violation, or both. Any retailer offering catfish or catfish products for sale that are found to be designated incorrectly as to the country of origin or the method of production shall not be held liable by reason of the conduct of another if the retailer proves they had no knowledge of the violation.
C. Any person against whom a complaint is made or who has been made subject to a fine or license suspension as provided by this Section may avail themselves of a due process administrative hearing.
D. Any owner or manager of a restaurant who is found guilty of a violation of this Section shall, upon a first offense, be fined one hundred dollars; upon a second offense, be fined two hundred fifty dollars and upon a third or subsequent offense, be fined one thousand dollars.
Acts 2009, No. 506, §1, eff. Nov. 1, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 16, §1, eff. May 26, 2010.