Fla. Stat. § 500.172 — Florida Code / Title XXXIII / Chapter 500 / Section 500.172
500.172 Embargoing, detaining, destroying of food, food processing equipment, or areas that are in violation.
Status: in_force

(1) When the department, or its duly authorized agent who has received appropriate education and training regarding the legal requirements of this chapter, finds or has probable cause to believe that any food, food processing equipment, food processing area, or food storage area is in violation of this chapter or any rule adopted under this chapter so as to be dangerous, unwholesome, mislabeled, fraudulent, or insanitary within the meaning of this chapter, an agent of the department may issue and enforce a stop-sale, stop-use, removal, or hold order, which order gives notice that such article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area is or is suspected of being in violation and has been detained or embargoed and which order warns all persons not to remove, use, or dispose of such article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area by sale or otherwise until permission for removal, use, or disposal is given by the department or the court. The department is authorized to enter into a written agreement with the owner of such food, food processing equipment, food processing area, or food storage area, or otherwise facilitate the destruction of any article found or suspected by the department to be in violation of this section. A person may not remove, use, or dispose of such detained or embargoed article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area by sale or otherwise without such permission from or in accordance with a written agreement with the department.

(2) If an article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area detained or embargoed under subsection (1) has been found by the department to be in violation of law or rule, the department may, within a reasonable period after the issuance of such notice, petition the circuit court in the jurisdiction of which the article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area is detained or embargoed for an order for condemnation of such article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area. When the department has found that an article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area so detained or embargoed is not in violation, the department shall rescind the stop-sale, stop-use, removal, or hold order.

(3) If the court finds that the detained or embargoed article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area is in violation, such article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area shall, after entry of the decree, be destroyed or made sanitary at the expense of the claimant thereof under the supervision of the department, and all court costs, fees, and storage and other proper expenses shall be taxed against the claimant of such article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area or her or his agent. However, if the violation can be corrected by proper labeling of the article or sanitizing of the processing equipment, processing area, or storage area, and after such costs, fees, and expenses have been paid and a good and sufficient bond, conditioned that such article be so labeled or processed or such processing equipment, processing area, or storage area so sanitized, has been executed, the court may by order direct that such article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area be made available to the claimant thereof for such labeling, processing, or sanitizing under the supervision of the department. The expense of such supervision shall be paid by the claimant. Such bond shall be returned to the claimant of the article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area on representation to the court by the department that the article, processing equipment, processing area, or storage area is no longer in violation of this chapter and that the expenses of such supervision have been paid.

(4) When the department or any of its authorized agents finds in any room, building, vehicle, or other structure any meat, seafood, poultry, vegetable, fruit, or other perishable articles which are unsound or contain any filthy, decomposed, or putrid substances, or which may be poisonous or deleterious to health or otherwise unsafe, the same is declared to be a nuisance, and the department or its authorized agent shall condemn or destroy the same or in any other manner render the same unsalable as human food.

History: s. 6, ch. 19656, 1939; CGL 1940 Supp. 4151(669); s. 18, ch. 59-302; ss. 14, 19, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 2, ch. 70-994; s. 8, ch. 82-225; s. 16, ch. 87-388; s. 17, ch. 94-180; s. 606, ch. 97-103; s. 37, ch. 2014-150; s. 10, ch. 2023-154; s. 50, ch. 2025-22.