(a) The Department shall administer and enforce all regulatory laws governing:
(1) The production, processing, and distribution of milk and milk products.
(2) The sanitary and healthful condition of the milk and milk products sold or offered for sale by establishments under the department's jurisdiction.
(3) The laboratory work of testing and analyzing milk and milk products.
(4) Dairy farms and milk plants are hereby made a part of this statute.
(b) The department shall conduct on-site inspections of dairy farms and milk plants, and collect test samples of milk and milk products, as required by this chapter.
(c) The department shall designate employees who shall be certified by the United States Food and Drug Administration as state milk sanitation rating officers, sampling surveillance officers, and laboratory evaluation officers in accordance with the requirements published in “Methods of Making Sanitation Ratings of Milk Supplies,” “Evaluation of Milk Laboratories,” and “Procedures Governing the Cooperative State-Public Health Service/Food and Drug Administration Program for Certification of Interstate Milk Shippers,” respectively, as adopted by department rule. These officers shall conduct routine sanitation compliance survey ratings of milk producers, milk plants, laboratories, receiving stations, manufacturers of single-service containers for milk and milk products. These ratings shall be made in accordance with the recommendations of the United States Food and Drug Administration published in Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products.
(d) The department may impound any adulterated or misbranded milk or milk product to prevent human consumption, and may dispose of it in a manner that does not create a nuisance.
(e) The department has authority to adopt rules to implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter. The rules shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) standards for milk and milk products;
(2) provisions for the production, transportation, processing, handling, sampling, examination, grading, labeling, and sale of all milk and milk products sold for public consumption in the Virgin Islands;
(3) provisions for the inspection of dairy herds, dairy farms, milk plants and the facilities of milk distributors; and
(4) provisions for the issuance and revocation of permits issued by the department pursuant to this chapter;
(f) The department shall conduct routine tests or inspections on raw milk that is shipped from outside the Virgin Islands. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the authority of the department to review industry records or sample milk at any stage of production, processing, or distribution in cases of suspected hazard to public health.