United States

Department of

Agriculture

Agricultural 

Marketing

Service

Dairy

Division

USDA Specifications

for Light Butter

Effective March 18, 1995
1 March 18, 1995

USDA Specifications for Light Butter

1.0 Plant Requirements.

Light butter shall be manufactured and packaged in accordance with the requirements

contained in 7 CFR Part 58, Grading and Inspection, General Specifications for Approved

Plants and Standards for Grades of Dairy Products and be inspected by the Agricultural

Marketing Service, Dairy Division, Dairy Grading Branch.

2.0 Product Age and Temperature Requirements.

Light butter shall be cooled and maintained between 350 F. to 400 F. (1.60 C. to 4.40 C.)

prior to inspection, then tempered to 450 F. to 550 F. (7.20 C. to 12.70 C.) for product

evaluation. The light butter shall be at least 48 hours old when evaluated.

3.0 Regulatory.

Light butter shall comply with all applicable Federal regulations including those contained

in 21 CFR Part 101.67 for nutrient content claims for butter, and 21 CFR Part 130.10 for

foods named by use of a nutrient content claim and a standardized term, and the statutory

standard for butter (21 U.S.C. 321a).

4.0 Composition Requirements.

C Milkfat -- Not more than 40%

C Salt -- Not more than 1.5%

Note: The moisture content though not specified shall be less than the amount of cream,

milk or milk constituents.

5.0 Dairy Ingredients.

The quality of the cream used in the manufacture of light butter shall meet the

requirements of cream acceptable for the manufacture of U.S. Grade AA butter. Dairy

products used as ingredients for which there are U.S. grades established (nonfat dry milk

and butter) shall meet the criteria of U.S. Extra Grade or U.S. Grade AA respectively. 

Dairy products for which there are no USDA grades established shall meet the applicable

requirements of 7 CFR Part 58. The plants which produce dairy ingredients for use in the

light butter shall be approved by the Dairy Grading Branch, Dairy Division, Agricultural
2 March 18, 1995

Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

6.0 Nondairy Ingredients.

6.1 Stabilizers and emulsifiers shall be clean and wholesome, and shall be approved by the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 182 and Part 184.

6.2 Food colors shall be those certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as safe for

human consumption 21 CFR Part 73.

6.3 Salt shall be free flowing, white refined sodium chloride and shall meet the requirements

of the Food Chemical Codex.

7.0 Quality Requirements.

7.1 Flavor.

Shall possess a pleasing clean dairy flavor. May possess slight acid, coarse, feed, flat, and

definite cooked flavors. A safe and suitable bacterial culture or other ingredients may be

added for flavoring.

7.2 Body and texture.

Shall possess a smooth creamy texture. May be slightly leaky and short bodied.

7.3 Color and appearance.

The product shall have a uniform light to medium yellow color when compared to the

USDA Butter Color Standards. It may be waxy in appearance.

8.0 Microbial Requirements.

Microbial determinations shall be made in accordance with the methods described in the

latest edition of Standards Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, published by

the American Public Health Association. Samples shall be taken as often as necessary to

insure microbial control.

C Coliform -- Not more than 10 per gram.

C E. Coli. -- Negative.

C Yeast and Mold -- Not more than 10 per gram.
3 March 18, 1995

C Standard Plate Count -- Not more than 1,000 per gram.

9.0 Official Identification.

Products officially inspected and found to meet these requirements may be identified with

the official USDA Quality Approved Inspection Shield.