Alabama Administrative Code
Title 420 - ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH
Chapter 420-3-17 - PRODUCTION, PROCESSING, HANDLING OR DISTRIBUTION OF MILK FOR MANUFACTURING PURPOSES, DRY MILK PRODUCTS, BUTTER, CHEESE OR CONDENSED MILK PRODUCTS
Section 420-3-17-.02 - Definitions

(a) Health Department - The State of Alabama, Department of Public Health or County Health Department, as defined by Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 22-1-1 and 22-3-10, and any officer, agent or employee of the said department authorized to act for the department with respect to the enforcement and administration of these rules.

(b) Health Officer - The State Health Officer of the State of Alabama Department of Public Health or a County Health Officer as provided in Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 22-2-8 and 22-3-4; or their authorized representatives and any officer or agent or employee of the said departments authorized to act for the department with respect to the enforcement and administration of these rules.

(c) Rules - The provisions of Subpart .02 to .06 herein.

(d) Permit - A permit issued under these rules by the Health Department.

(e) Fieldman - A person qualified and trained in the sanitary methods of production and handling of milk as set forth herein, and generally employed by a processing or manufacturing plant for the purpose of making dairy farm surveys and doing quality control work.

(f) Fieldman, approved - A fieldman qualified, trained, and approved by the Health Department to perform farm inspections and raw milk grading.

(g) Inspector - A qualified trained person employed by the Health Department to perform dairy farm or plant inspections and raw milk grading.

(h) Milk grader or bulk milk collector - A person permitted by the Health Department as described in .06(2)(d) who is qualified and trained for the grading of raw milk in accordance with the quality standards and procedures of Sections .03 and .06.

(i) Producer - The person or persons who exercise control over the production of the milk delivered to a processing plant or receiving station and those who receive payment for this product. A "new producer" is one who has only recently entered the production of milk for the market. A "transfer producer" is one who has been shipping milk to one plant and transfers his shipments to another plant.

(j) Dairy farm or farm - A place or premise where one or more milking cows are kept, a part or all of the milk produced thereon being delivered, sold, or offered for sale to a plant for manufacturing purposes.

(k) Dairy plant or plant - Any place, premise, or establishment where milk or dairy products are received or handled for processing or manufacturing and/or prepared for distribution. When "plant" is used in connection with the production, transportation, grading, or use of milk it means any plant that handles or purchases milk for manufacturing purposes; When used in connection with requirements for plants or permitting of plants, it means only those plants that manufacture dairy products.

(l) Milk - The term "milk" shall include the following:

(m) Milk for manufacturing purposes - Milk produced for processing and manufacturing into products for human consumption but not subject to Grade A or comparable requirements.

(n) Acceptable milk - Milk that qualifies under Section .03(2) as to sight and odor and that is classified No. 1 or No. 2 for sediment content Section .03(3) and No. 1 or No. 2 for bacterial estimate Section .03(4).

(o) Probational milk - Milk classified No. 3 for sediment content Section .03(3) or milk classified "Under-grade" for bacterial estimate Section .03(4) that may be accepted by plants for specific time periods.

(p) Reject milk - Milk that does not qualify under Section .03(2) as to sight and odor, or that is classified No. 4 for sediment content Section .03(3) which is rejected by the plant by the provisions of Section .03(5).

(q) Excluded milk - All of a producer's milk excluded from the market by the provisions of Section .03(7).

(r) Dairy products - Butter, cheese (natural or processed), dry whole milk, nonfat dry milk, dry buttermilk, dry whey, evaporated milk (whole or skim), condensed whole milk and condensed skim milk (plain or sweetened), and such other products, for human consumption, as may be otherwise designated.

(s) Farm certification for permit - Certification by an inspector or approved fieldman that a producer's herd, milk facility and housing, milking procedure, cooling, milk-house or milkroom, utensils and equipment and water supply have been found to meet the applicable requirements of Subpart .04 for the production of milk to be used for manufacturing purposes.

(t) Official Methods - Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, a publication of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Box 540, Benjamin Franklin Station, Washington, DC.

(u) Standard methods - Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, a publication of the American Public Health Association, 1790 Broadway, New York, NY.

(v) 3-A Sanitary Standards - The standards for dairy equipment formulated by the 3-A Sanitary Standards Committees representing the International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the Dairy Industry Committee. Published by the International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians, Box 437 Shelbyville, IN 46176.

(w) C-I-P or Cleaned-in-place - The procedure by which sanitary pipelines or pieces of dairy equipment are mechanically cleaned in place by circulation.

(x) Atmosphere relatively free from mold - No more than 10 mold colonies per cubic foot of air as determined in Standard Methods.

(y) Sanitizing treatment - Application of any effective sanitizing agent to a clean surface for the destruction of pathogens and other organisms as far as is practicable. The sanitizing agents used shall comply with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

(z) Official State Laboratory - An official laboratory is a biological, chemical, or physical laboratory which is under the direct supervision of the State Health Department.

(aa) Officially Designated Laboratory - An officially designated laboratory is a commercial laboratory authorized to do official work by the State Health Officer, or a milk Industry laboratory officially designated by the State Health Officer for the examination of producer samples of raw milk for pasteurization and commingled milk tank truck samples of raw milk for antibiotic residues, bacterial limits, somatic cell count, sediment and added water.

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