Code of Maine Rules
01 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY
001 - AGRICULTURE - GENERAL
Chapter 252 - RULES GOVERNING CERTIFICATION OF SEED POTATOES IN THE STATE OF MAINE
Section 001-252-4 - PACKING REQUIREMENTS

(a) All Certified or Foundation Seed Class seed potatoes must be packed to meet the official seed potato grade as defined in Department Rule, Chapter 253 - Official Seed Potato Grade for Maine Certified Seed Potatoes.

(b) All seed potatoes not meeting the Maine Seed Potato Grade will not be issued a Shipping Inspection Tag and cannot be sold as seed.

(a) Sizes and identification of seed potatoes in the Certified Seed Class shall be as follows:

(b) Sizes and identification of seed potatoes in the Foundation Seed Class shall be as follows:

(c) There are no restrictions on size and shape requirements for fingerling seed potatoes.

(a) Seed potatoes may be certified and shipped for out-of-state export, excluding the Post-Harvest Test results, based upon the tolerances allowed during the field inspections providing all other certification requirements are met according to Chapter 253:OFFICIAL SEED POTATO GRADE FOR MAINE CERTIFIED SEED POTATOES.

(b) Shipments of certified seed potatoes for out of state export prior to availability of Post-Harvest Test results must be inspected by an Inspector at shipping point.

(c) The shipment shall be tagged by an Inspector with a blue shipping tag stating the grade, size, variety, grower name of the shipper and the word "Certified", except that the words "Field Foundation" may be used if the maximum disease tolerances established for the Foundation Seed Class in the Post-Harvest Test are not exceeded during field inspection and all other requirements of the Foundation Seed Class are met.

(a) Special permits to ship Maine Certified and/or Foundation Class seed potatoes not conforming to the packing requirements in this section may be granted by the Department upon oral or written application by the shipper, stating the justification for the request, variety, grade, field year, approximate quantity to be shipped, receiver, and time and destination of the proposed shipment.

(b) The Department shall verify that the receiver has been notified of the cause of the special permit and has agreed to accept the seed potatoes as shipped.

(c) Any shipments made under such a permit must be inspected by an Inspector and identified and tagged as seed as prescribed by the Department.

(d) Any shipments made under such a permit must meet the requirements in the Maine Seed Potato Grade for foreign material, decay, freezing or soft breakdown (see also Department Rule, Chapter 253, Official Seed Potato Grade for Maine Certified Seed Potatoes).

(e) Any shipment made under such a permit must in all respects other than as authorized under the terms of the special permit, meet all other requirements of the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program.

(f) Special permit shipments shall be tagged with a red shipping tag stating grower name, grade, size and variety. Bulk Certificates will be marked "Special Permit" and shall detail the reason.

(g) The shipper receiving such a special permit shall comply with such terms and conditions as the Department deems appropriate in issuing the special permit.

(a) Bulk shipment of Certified and Foundation Class seed potatoes is permitted, provided such shipments are identified by a bulk certificate issued by a Seed Potato Inspector.

(b) The Bulk Certificate must state the variety, size, grade, certification number and field year of potatoes in the load.

(c) The Bulk Certificate must be attached to and may be used to identify the lot only as long as it is in the original conveyance as identified on the certificate.

(a) Other requirements for packing seed potatoes are specified in Department Rule, Chapter 253 - Official Seed Potato Grade for Maine Certified Seed Potatoes.

(a) Any person, firm or corporation engaged in grading, sizing or packing Maine certified seed potatoes which have been bought or otherwise obtained from others for proposed sale shall be considered a seed packer.

(b) Any seed packer must notify the area Seed Potato Inspector for prior approval before receiving any seed potatoes.

(c) Approval will be granted only to those seed packers who demonstrate compliance with the following requirements, which shall be adhered to at all times during packing operations:

(d) Sanitary and handling procedures, including cleaning and disinfecting of equipment and the shipping and handling methods used to ensure against varietal mixture and other contamination, must be provided by the packer and approved by the Seed Potato Inspector.

(e) Whenever a Seed Potato Inspector determines that any seed packer is not complying with the requirements stated above, the seed potatoes will be rejected from the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program.

(a) All trailer trucks into which Certified or Foundation Class Seed is to be loaded must be cleaned and disinfected before loading.

(b) If an Inspector observes Certified or Foundation Class Seed being packed into a trailer truck which is not cleaned and disinfected thoroughly, the Inspector will not issue tags or bulk certificates for that load.