(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any producer, handler, processor, or retailer of products sold as organic shall immediately make available for inspection by, and shall upon request, within 72 hours of the request, provide a copy to, the director, the Attorney General, any prosecuting attorney, any governmental agency responsible for enforcing laws related to the production or handling of products sold as organic, or the secretary of any record required to be kept under this section for purposes of carrying out this article and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 46000) of Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code. Records acquired pursuant to this subdivision shall not be public records as that term is defined in Section 7920.530 of the Government Code and shall not be subject to Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(b) Upon written request of any person that establishes cause for the request, the director and the secretary shall obtain and provide to the requesting party within 10 working days of the request a copy of any of the following records required to be kept under this article that pertain to a specific product sold or offered for sale, and that identify substances applied, administered, or added to that product, except that financial information about an operation or transaction, information regarding the quantity of a substance administered or applied, the date of each administration or application, information regarding the identity of suppliers or customers, and the quantity or price of supplies purchased or products sold shall be removed before disclosure and shall not be released to any person other than persons and agencies authorized to acquire records under subdivision (a):
(1) Records of a handler, as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 110840, records of previous handlers, if any, without identifying the previous handlers or producers, and, if applicable, records obtained as required in subdivision (b).
(2) Records of a retailer, as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 110840, records of previous handlers, if any, as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of, Section 110840, without identifying the previous handlers, and, if applicable, records obtained as required in subdivision (b).
This subdivision shall be the exclusive means of public access to records required to be kept by handlers and retailers under this article.
A person required to provide records pursuant to a request under this subdivision, may petition the director or the secretary to deny the request based on a finding that the request is of a frivolous or harassing nature. The secretary or director may, upon the issuance of this finding, waive the information production requirements of this subdivision for the specific request for information that was the subject of the petition.
(c) Information specified in subdivision (b) that is required to be released upon request shall not be considered a “trade secret” under Section 110165, Section 1060 of the Evidence Code, or the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Title 5 (commencing with Section 3426) of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Civil Code).
(d) The director or the secretary may charge the person requesting records a reasonable fee to reimburse the director, the secretary, or the source of the records for the cost of reproducing the records requested.
(e) Any person who first imports into this state, for resale, products sold as organic shall obtain and provide to the enforcement authority, upon request, proof that the products being sold have been certified by an accredited certifying organization or have otherwise been produced in compliance with this article.
(f) The director shall not be required to obtain records not in the director’s possession in response to a subpoena. Prior to releasing records required to be kept pursuant to this chapter in response to a subpoena, the director shall delete any information regarding the identity of suppliers or customers and the quantity or price of supplies purchased or products sold.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 276. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)