(a) Any order, rule, regulation, or any other document, record, or entry contained in the official record or minutes of the department or of any county board of health shall be admissible in evidence in any proceeding before any court or other tribunal in this state where otherwise admissible and not privileged or confidential under this Code section when certified as true and correct by and duly authorized by the director at the county level and the examiner at the state level. It shall be the duty of the director or examiner, who shall be custodian of such records, to furnish and certify copies of the record or other evidence upon payment of reasonable costs therefor. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed as applying to Code Section 12-5-175.

(b) The department and county boards of health are authorized by regulation to classify as confidential and privileged documents, reports and other information and data obtained by them from persons, firms, corporations, municipalities, counties, and other public authorities and political subdivisions, where such matters relate to secret processes, formulas, and methods or where such matters were obtained or furnished on a confidential basis. All matters so classified shall not be subject to public inspection or discovery and shall not be subject to production or disclosure in any court of law or elsewhere until and unless the judge of the court of competent jurisdiction, after in camera inspection, determines that the public interest requires such production and disclosure or that such production and disclosure may be necessary in the interest of justice.