PRINTER'S NO. 3889
No. 2597 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY CUTLER, DENLINGER, BEAR, BEYER, BOYD, CAUSER,
CREIGHTON, FLECK, GEIST, HELM, HERSHEY, HICKERNELL,
HUTCHINSON, KAUFFMAN, McILHATTAN, MENSCH, ROHRER, SAYLOR AND
STERN, JUNE 10, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
JUNE 10, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 2, 1935 (P.L.589, No.210), entitled, as
2 amended, "An act to safeguard human health and life by
3 providing for the issuance of permits to, and regulation of
4 persons and entities selling milk and milk products;
5 conferring powers, and imposing duties on the Secretary of
6 Agriculture; and otherwise providing for the administration
7 of the act; and imposing penalties," further providing for
8 definitions; providing for raw milk products; and abrogating
9 inconsistent regulations.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. Section 1 of the act of July 2, 1935 (P.L.589,
13 No.210), referred to as the Milk Sanitation Law, amended October
14 13, 1959 (P.L.1301, No.435) and June 19, 1982 (P.L.558, No.163),
15 is amended to read:
16 Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That for the purpose and
17 within the meaning of this act, the following definitions shall
18 obtain:
19 "Milk" means milk, skimmed milk, cream, sour milk, sour
20 cream, buttermilk, and all other fluid derivatives of milk.
1 "Milk products" means ice cream, ice cream mix, custard ice
2 cream, french ice cream, frozen custard, and other similar
3 frozen products, and all dairy products used in the manufacture
4 thereof.
5 "Canned milk" means condensed, evaporated or concentrated
6 milk in hermetically sealed containers or for manufacturing
7 purposes.
8 "Certified Milk" means milk from dairy farms operated in
9 accordance with the "Methods and Standards for the Production
10 and Distribution of 'Certified Milk,' last adopted by the
11 American Association of Medical Milk Commissions Incorporated,"
12 and the production and handling of which shall be certified to
13 by a commission instituted in compliance therewith.
14 "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture of this
15 Commonwealth, or his authorized representative.
16 "Person" includes singular and plural, masculine and
17 feminine, and any individual, firm, copartnership, institution,
18 association, or corporation thereof.
19 "To Sell," "for sale" or "sold" and similar terms means the
20 selling, exchanging, delivering, or having in possession, care,
21 control, or custody with intent to sell, exchange, or deliver,
22 or to offer or to expose for sale.
23 "Dairy farm" is a place or premise where one or more cows are
24 kept, and a part of all the milk from which is sold or delivered
25 to any person.
26 "Milk plant" is any place or premise or establishment where
27 milk is collected, separated, processed, stored, bottled,
28 pasteurized, or prepared in any manner for sale as milk, milk
29 products or manufactured dairy products.
30 "Approved inspector" is one, who has proven to the
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1 satisfaction of the secretary, to be a person of good character,
2 trained by school and experience to carry on dairy farm and milk
3 plant inspection in a capable and efficient manner, and has
4 received a certificate of approval from the secretary.
5 Applications for certificates of approval for approved
6 inspectors shall be made on forms which may be secured from the
7 Secretary of Agriculture, and shall be accompanied by a fee of
8 fifteen ($15) dollars. Certificates of approval shall expire on
9 December thirty-first of each year. Applications for renewal
10 shall be made on forms satisfactory to the Secretary of
11 Agriculture, and shall be accompanied by a registration fee of
12 five ($5) dollars, and shall be returned to the Secretary of
13 Agriculture not later than December fifteenth of each year.
14 Certificates of approval shall not constitute an approved
15 inspector an official employe, agent or authorized
16 representative of the Department of Agriculture, nor shall he
17 represent himself so to be.
18 Certificates of approval may be refused, suspended or revoked
19 for cause, upon such notice and subject to such conditions, as
20 the secretary shall deem necessary.
21 "Municipality" includes any city, borough, town, or township
22 in this Commonwealth.
23 "Milk for manufacturing purposes" means milk produced for
24 processing and manufacturing into products for human consumption
25 but not subject to requirements of milk for pasteurization.
26 "Manufactured dairy products" means butter, cheese (natural
27 or processed), dry whole milk, nonfat dry milk, dry buttermilk,
28 dry whey, evaporated milk (whole or skim), condensed whole and
29 condensed skim milk (plain or sweetened), and such other
30 products for human consumption, as may be designated by the
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1 secretary.
2 "Bed and breakfast homestead or inn" means a private
3 residence which contains no more than ten bedrooms used for
4 providing overnight accommodations to the public and in which
5 breakfast is the only meal served and is included in the charge
6 for the room.
7 "Farmers' market" means a building, structure or place owned,
8 leased or otherwise in possession of a person, municipal
9 corporation or public or private organization, used or intended
10 to be used by two or more farmers or an association of farmers
11 for the purpose of selling agricultural commodities directly to
12 consumers and which is located within this Commonwealth.
13 "Manufactured raw milk products" means butter, natural or
14 processed cheese, dry whole milk, nonfat dry milk, dry
15 buttermilk, dry whey, evaporated milk, whole or skim, condensed
16 whole and condensed skim milk, plain or sweetened, and such
17 other products for human consumption, as may be designated by
18 the secretary, manufactured from raw milk.
19 "Retail food establishment" means an establishment which
20 stores, prepares, packages, vends, offers for sale or otherwise
21 provides food for human consumption and which relinquishes
22 possession of food to a consumer directly, or indirectly,
23 through a delivery service such as home delivery of grocery
24 orders or delivery service provided by common carriers. The term
25 does not include dining cars operated by a railroad company in
26 interstate commerce or a bed and breakfast homestead or inn.
27 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
28 Section 2.1. The secretary shall issue permits for the sale
29 of raw milk, "raw milk products" and "manufactured raw milk
30 products" by members of entities, including cooperatives,
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1 incorporated groups or other associations, if all of the
2 following apply:
3 (a) The entity is registered with the Department of
4 Agriculture as required by the department.
5 (b) The entity inspects and issues permits to its members in
6 accordance with this act.
7 (c) The entity provides to the secretary, in the manner
8 required by the secretary, independent third-party verification
9 that all persons permitted under this section are in compliance
10 with standards established under this act.
11 (d) Raw milk products and manufactured raw milk products
12 produced under this section may:
13 (1) Be sold only under the direct supervision of a person
14 holding a valid raw milk permit.
15 (2) Not be sold to any person for the purposes of resale to
16 another person except for sale to a public eating establishment
17 or a bed and breakfast homestead or inn for on-site consumption
18 by patrons of the establishment.
19 (3) Not be repackaged in any manner for the purposes of
20 resale.
21 (d.1) The limitations under the sale of "manufactured raw
22 milk products" shall not apply to cheese manufactured from raw
23 milk that has been aged a minimum of sixty (60) days.
24 Section 3. The Department of Agriculture shall promulgate
25 regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
26 Section 4. All regulations inconsistent with the provisions
27 of this act are abrogated to the extent of the inconsistency.
28 Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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