Comment Period Extended on New Pa. Milk Sanitation Regulations

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has extended the 30-day comment period on changes to the state’s milk sanitation regulations.
The changes, proposed Aug. 1, are the first changes to the regulations since 1982.

As per law, the department was required to hold a 30-day public comment period so people could have time to read and comment on the changes.

However, the timing of the proposed regulations and the short comment period raised the eyebrows of at least one organization, the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA).

On its Web site last week, the organization criticized the department about the timing of the new regulations and urged its members to write letters demanding a 60-day public comment extension.

Brian Snyder, executive director of PASA, said he was pleased the department at least extended the comment period by 30 days until the end of September.

But he added that the organization would push for an additional extension if needed as well as a possible public hearing on the new regulations.

“It was really inappropriate to have only 30 days,” Snyder said. “Many Amish farmers don’t have Internet access and were only given Web sites to access the regs. Anything that is released in August when the 30-day comment period ends around Labor Day is questionable at best.”

The updates include new sanitary regulations pertaining to milk production and processing as well as a separate section on standards specific to the production of raw milk in the state.

The department cited the need to update the regulations to come into compliance with the federal Interstate Milk Shippers Program.

The FDA conducted an audit of the state’s milk sanitation regulations several years ago, according to Justin Fleming, spokesperson for the department. The audit found that the department’s regulations referenced a 1978 pasteurized milk ordinance.

The new update brings the state into compliance with the programs as well as with pasteurized milk recommendations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and processing recommendations from the USDA.

“We’ve been working on this Chapter 59 revision for quite some time,” Fleming said. “There is no correlation between this and what’s happening in the industry now. The changes have been going on for two to three years.”

Fleming said most producers’ day-to-day operations won’t be affected by the new rules.

However, producer-handlers that only ship their milk within the state and farmers who sell raw milk will be directly affected.

The new regulations estimate about 40 producer-handlers would have to acquire new drug residue testing equipment. Fleming said it will put those operations on even footing with other processors that ship milk out-of-state and will ensure better milk safety.

Raw milk sellers, who already pay for regular testing for bacteria and somatic cell count tests, will now have to foot the bill for pathogen testing twice a year.

A representative from a DHIA organization that did not wish to be identified for this story said these tests could cost anywhere between $400 and $450 each.

On the actual regulations, Snyder admits that he has yet to study the entire document, but just glancing through, “I would say we have some questions on specific parts of it.”

PASA members, Snyder said, have already provided some feedback on the new regs. Reaction has been mixed. Some call the new rules reasonable and easier to understand, others had more questions.

Still, others are disenchanted with the new rules and consider them another way of regulating farmers.

“We’re getting feedback all over the spectrum,” Snyder said.

Anyone wishing to see the regulations or comment publicly can write to Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Region IV Office, 6 McIntyre Road, Gibsonia, PA 15044, or call Paul Hoge at (724) 443-1585.

The full text of the new regulations is also available at www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol39/39-31/1402.html.