(a) It shall be the duty of every manufacturer or distributor of commercial fertilizers or soil additives to label each container thereof with the following printed clearly legible information:
(1) Name of the product in the container.
(2) Name and address of the manufacturer.
(3) Net weight in pounds of each bundle, and in the case of liquid fertilizers, also the volume in gallons and the liquid density at twenty-seven (27) degrees centigrade, expressed in pounds per gallon (ppg).
(4) Distinctive name or trademark.
(5) Minimum grade or guaranteed analysis.
(6) Instructions for use. This requirement shall be necessary only in those products indicated under regulations by the Secretary.
(7) Name of the material used as filler, in the case of products imported or introduced into Puerto Rico.
(8) A statement indicating the sources of the raw material containing nitrogen (N), assimilable phosphoric acid (P 2 O 5) and water soluble potash (K 2 O).
When the commercial fertilizer or soil additive is distributed in bulk, this information, in printed or written form, shall be included for each shipment or lot and a copy thereof shall be furnished to the buyer at the time of delivery.
(b) The grade of a commercial fertilizer and the minimum guaranteed analysis of the raw material for fertilizers shall be stated as the percentage (%) per weight as follows:
(1) Percentage of nitrogen (N).
(2) Percentage of assimilable phosphoric acid (P 2 O 5).
(3) Percentage of water soluble potash (K 2 O).
The guaranteed content of any other [nutritive] element or substance in a commercial fertilizer or raw material for fertilizers shall be stated in percentage by minimum guaranteed weight of said [nutritive] element or substance. In the case of bone, tankage or phosphated products for which ordinary laboratory methods are not applicable for the determination of assimilable phosphoric acid (P 2 O 5), the amount of phosphoric acid (P 2 O 5) shall be stated as total phosphoric acid (P 2 O 5), unless it is desired to also state the assimilable phosphoric acid (P 2 O 5) determined by the corresponding official laboratory method of the Official Analytic Chemists Association of the United States of America, and in this case, the corresponding guarantee shall be on the basis of the assimilable phosphoric acid (P 2 O 5).
The guaranteed analysis of a soil additive shall be labeled stating the minimum percentage by weight of the content of the active ingredient or ingredients and the percentages of guaranteed pulverization; Provided, That the grade of pulverization and minimum analysis to be guaranteed in any soil additive shall be established by the Secretary through regulations.
(c) Every lot of commercial fertilizer that has been prepared according to the specifications furnished by the consumer or user before being mixed shall be clearly and legibly labeled with the following information:
(1) Name and address of the manufacturer.
(2) Net weight in pounds of each container or bundle, and in the case of liquid fertilizers, the volume in gallons and the liquid density at twenty-seven (27) degrees centigrade, stated in pounds per gallon (ppg).
(3) Minimum grade or guaranteed analysis stated in the manner indicated in subsection (b) of this section.
History —May 8, 1973, No. 19, p. 57, § 4; July 20, 1979, No. 171, p. 443, § 3; Aug. 24, 1997, No. 103, § 4, eff. 30 days after Aug. 24, 1997.