Va. Code Ann. § 3.2-5131

This is the official text of Va. Code Ann. § 3.2-5131, part of Virginia’s Code of Virginia — the complete compiled statutory law of Virginia, organized into 60+ numbered titles by subject.

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Right to enter and take samples

Official statutory text

The Commissioner is empowered, in the performance of his duties, to enter into any place where he has reason to believe food or drink is made, stored, sold, or offered for sale, and open any cask, tub, jar, bottle, or package containing or supposed to contain, any article of food or drink, and examine or cause to be examined the contents, and take samples for analysis. The person making such inspection shall take samples of the article or produce in the presence of at least one witness, and shall, in the presence of the witness, mark or seal the sample. The inspector shall tender at the time of taking to the manufacturer or vendor of the product, or to the person having the custody of the product, the value thereof, and the statement in writing for the taking of the sample.

Code 1950, § 3-326; 1966, c. 702, § 3.1-405; 2008, c. 860 .

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.