New Mexico Department of Agriculture employees hit the road to inspect fresh and processed chile products as part of New Mexico Chile Advertising Act

New Mexico Department of Agriculture employees hit the road to inspect fresh and processed chile products as part of New Mexico Chile Advertising Act

Las Cruces, New Mexico – It’s that “chile” time of year, and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture Standards and Consumer Services inspectors will be out in full force conducting a “chile blitz” around the state. The purpose is to ensure processed and fresh chile products are in compliance under the New Mexico Chile Advertising Act and NMAC 21.16.7.

The Act stipulates that it is unlawful for a person to:

·       Knowingly advertise, describe, label or offer for sale chile peppers as New Mexico chile, or to advertise, describe, label or offer for sale a product as containing New Mexico chile, unless the chile peppers or chile peppers in the product were grown in New Mexico

·       Knowingly advertise, describe, label or offer for sale chile peppers, or a product containing chile peppers, using the name of any city, town, county, village, pueblo, mountain, river or other geographic feature or features located in New Mexico in a misleading or deceptive manner that states or reasonably implies that the chile peppers are, or the product contains, New Mexico chile unless the chile peppers or chile peppers in the product were grown in New Mexico

You may find the New Mexico Chile Advertising Act, NMAC 21.16.7 New Mexico Chile Verification and Record requirements, and the verification/registration forms at http://www.nmda.nmsu.edu/scs/licenseregistration/new-mexico-chile-labeling-registration/.

If you are growing or selling fresh chile and advertising it as New Mexico chile, you must register with the NMDA Standards and Consumer services division by completing a verification/registration form. The verification form for New Mexico fresh chile must accompany each load of chile and be followed through with the chile to the point of sale.

If you are producing or selling processed chile products and advertising it as New Mexico chile, you must register with the NMDA Standards and Consumer services division by completing a verification/registration form. You are only required to complete the form once for each product.

A list of registered vendors and products may be found at http://www.nmda.nmsu.edu/helpfaq/new-mexico-chile-verified/.

Questions? Contact Raymond Johnson at 575-646-1616 or rjohnson@nmda.nmsu.edu