P.R. Laws tit. 5, § 125a
Whenever any official shall discover that any farm product, filled or empty containers, or any material used or that may be used for the packing or labeling of any farm product, is or are not complying with any standard or regulation established by the Secretary of Agriculture according to §§ 121—127 of this title, he may issue against said farm product, container or material a written detention order, signed by said official, copy of which shall be delivered to the owner and/or the person having same in his possession or custody, and it shall be the duty of the latter to keep said product, container or material under his custody, without use or consumption and out of normal trade at the place where such product, container or material has been detained, if adequate, or at such other place as the Secretary of Agriculture or his authorized representative may designate in writing, until the Secretary of Agriculture or his authorized representative shall lift in writing the detention order and shall authorize the marketing of the product, after the violation committed has been repaired, or shall determine any other action to be followed. Any natural or juridical person who, without a written authorization from the Secretary of Agriculture or his authorized representative, shall dispose of, or shall fail to keep in his possession or custody, any farm product, container or material which has been the object of a detention order issued under this section, at the place where such farm product, container or material has been detained, or in any adequate place designated in writing by the Secretary of Agriculture or his authorized representative, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof punished by a fine of not less than two hundred ($200) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000). Although the fine herein prescribed shall be the one applicable to said offense, and not the fines prescribed in § 126 of this title, the farm product, container or material for packing, the object of a disobeyed detention order, shall be subject to confiscation as provided in § 126 of this title.
The Commonwealth shall not be liable for any deterioration or damage sustained by any farm product, container or material during the effectiveness of a detention order. The marketing of any farm product subject to a detention order shall not be authorized if same is not fit for human use and consumption. In case of doubt the Secretary of Agriculture shall require its inspection by the inspectors of the Department of Health of Puerto Rico.
The Secretary of Agriculture or his authorized representative may lift the detention order affecting any farm product for the specific purpose of permitting the use of said product under his supervision for purposes other than human use or consumption.
In case of imported farm products, when it is not feasible or convenient to the importer to comply with the corresponding standard or regulation, said products shall, at the option of the importer, be returned to their point of origin, to be devoted, under the supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture or his authorized representative, to some use other than human use or consumption, or to be destroyed.
The owner of the property so detained and/or the person having it in his possession or custody may contest the detention order within the fifteen (15) days following the date on which he has received a copy thereof, through a complaint against the Commonwealth filed in the corresponding part of the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico, without the posting of bond, which complaint shall be notified to the Secretary of Justice, who shall file his plea thereto within the term specified for any ordinary action. The hearing shall be held without subjection to docket and against the judgment rendered no remedy shall lie other than a certiorari before the Supreme Court, limited to issues of law.
History —May 8, 1950, No. 241, p. 618, added as § 6A on June 26, 1961, No. 116, p. 254, § 3; June 13, 1964, No. 48, p. 112, § 1.