State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Rhode-island > Title-21 > Chapter-21-2 > 21-2-5SECTION 21-2-5
§ 21-2-5 Analysis of raw milk by privatemilk laboratories. – (a) Each milk plant engaged in processing milk shall, at least once in eachcalendar month, either through its own agents or through its milk haulers,collect, preserve, and submit to a private milk laboratory for analysis asample or samples of the milk of each producer supplying milk to the milkplant. The laboratory shall determine the bacterial counts of the sample, bothas raw milk and after pasteurization in the laboratory, the determination to bemade by the standard plate count method, as well as a determination for anyharmful substances that the director may by regulation require, and shall keepa record of these findings for a period of not less than one year following thefindings which shall be open to inspection by the director or any milkinspector. The laboratory shall make a report to the milk plant submitting thesample with respect to each determination.
(b) The director may by regulation require any milk plant tosubmit samples of milk after pasteurization in the plant to a privatelaboratory for analysis for the purpose of ascertaining bacterial counts or thepresence of harmful substances or organisms as the director may require, andthe laboratory shall make its reports on its analysis available to the directorin the same manner as with respect to samples of raw milk submitted byproducers.
(c) Regulations promulgated by the director pursuant to thissection requiring sampling by a private milk laboratory shall not impose anunreasonable burden on milk plants. The director may in his or her discretionengage private laboratories to perform any additional tests that he or she mayrequire in the event the expense of the tests constitutes an unreasonableburden on milk plants. The director may by regulation require producers of rawmilk cheese to submit samples of unpasteurized milk for said analysis.
