A Feb. 17 vote by the Washington State Legislature’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee whether a bill to remove regulations on raw milk sold directly from the farm is a serious threat to public health or just an early fluke. You can see why. House Bill 1490, which was the subject of a public committee hearing on January 27, reads:
- Exempts certain direct sales of milk to consumers from the provisions of the Washington Milk and Dairy Act.
- Milk sold under the exemption must meet certain health and safety standards.
The bipartisan Olympia trie sponsoring HB 1490 includes Rep. Ed Orcutt of R-Kalama. Congressman Mike Chapman, D Port Angels. Rep. Cindy Jacobsen, R-Puyallup. Sponsors believe the bill would also ease Washington’s federal ban on raw milk.
Under current law, the state of Washington strictly prohibits the sale of raw milk outside of legal herd-sharing agreements. Raw milk has to be lowered to regulatory standards, which can be achieved with HB 1490.
The bipartisan legislative staff provided an analysis of the bill and existing laws in Evergreen.
The production and sale of milk in Washington State is governed by the Washington State Milk and Dairy Act. This law is administered by the Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and establishes sanitary, animal health, and milk grading standards.
Under this law, milk producers, distributors and processors must be licensed by the WSDA.
The 2017 Interstate Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO), issued by the U.S. Public Health Service, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is the national standard for milk hygiene.
Adoption of PMOs by states is voluntary. However, by complying with the PMO, milk can move in interstate commerce without restriction. WSDA has adopted most of its 2017 provisions
PMO through its rule-making authority under law.
The PMO has established specific chemical, physical, bacteriological and thermal standards for various grade “A” milk and dairy products including raw milk, pasteurized milk, ultra-pasteurized milk, whey and milk powder. increase.
The exact criteria vary by dairy type, but most grade ‘A’ dairy products must test negative for drugs and not exceed 10 coliforms per milliliter (ml). not. Bacterial limits for Grade ‘A’ pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized milk and dairy products shall not exceed 20,000 per ml. The bacterial limit for grade ‘A’ raw milk should not exceed 100,000 per ml before mixing with milk from other producers and mixed milk should not exceed 300,000 per ml before pasteurization. yeah. The somatic cell count in raw milk from an individual producer must not exceed 750,000 per ml.
About HB1490
Milk sold directly to consumers from small farms may be classified as Washington Milk and Dairy Products as long as the milk is not advertised for sale and the producer complies with specific animal health and milk safety requirements. exempt from legal requirements.
Small farms are defined as locations with 2 or fewer production cows or 9 or fewer small animals such as sheep or goats.
Animal health and milk safety requirements include:
- All animals raised by producers must be free of tuberculosis and brucellosis, as established by annual testing.
- Milk must be tested in at least 4-month intervals over a 6-month period using methods approved by the Department of Agriculture.
The test must show that the milk does not contain:
- any drug;
- Over 15,000 bacteria per milliliter (ml);
- >25 coliforms per ml.and
- More than 500,000 somatic cells per ml of raw cow milk and more than 750,000 somatic cells per ml of raw sheep or goat milk.
If 3 of the last 5 consecutive tests exceed one of the milk’s quality standards, the milk cannot be sold until subsequent tests show the milk meets the standards again. .
No budget allocations are included and no accounting memo is requested by the sponsor. The bill will enter into force 90 days after the closing of the session in which it was passed.
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