Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 10 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Part 3 › Subtitle 15 - FOOD › Chapter 10.15.06 - Production, Processing, Transportation, Storage, and Distribution of Grade "A" Milk › Section 10.15.06.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				  the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Bobtailer" means a person who operates
				  or controls a Grade A milk route, and distributes Grade A pasteurized milk
				  products that the person buys from a Grade A distributor or milk
				  processor.
(2) "Bulk milk
				  hauler/sampler" means a person who:
(a)
				  Collects official samples;
(b)
				  Transports raw milk from a farm or raw milk products to or from a milk plant,
				  receiving station, or transfer station;
(c) Possesses a permit from any state to
				  sample raw milk or raw milk products; and
(d) Possesses a Maryland Bulk Milk Hauler
				  license if they are sampling milk or raw milk products in Maryland.
(3) "Certified industry dairy farm
				  inspector" means an individual who is certified by the Secretary under
				  Health-General Article, §21-414, Annotated Code of Maryland, to carry out
				  the inspections of dairy farms.
(4)
				  "Dairy farm" means a place where at least one cow, goat, or other hoofed mammal
				  is kept, and from which the milk is sold or offered for sale.
(5) "Department" means the Department of
				  Health and Mental Hygiene or the Department's designee.
(6) "Extensive alteration" means the adding
				  or tearing down of walls, plumbing, or other structural components of a dairy
				  farm or milk facility.
(7) "Grade
				  'A' distribution station" means a place or vehicle where, for redistribution
				  and sale, Grade "A" pasteurized milk products routinely are received, stored,
				  or transferred.
(8) "Grade A fluid
				  milk" means pasteurized homogenized or pasteurized non-homogenized Grade A
				  milk, cream, or half and half that has been processed to produce whole milk,
				  low fat milk, or nonfat milk.
(9)
				  "Grade A milk or milk products" means the milk of a cow, goat, or other hoofed
				  mammal that is produced, processed, pasteurized, bottled, packaged, or prepared
				  in accordance with the Grade "A" Pasteurized Milk Ordinance.
(10) "Impound" means to detain and hold milk
				  or milk products under the authority of the Secretary, as provided under
				  Health-General Article, §21-428, Annotated Code of Maryland.
(11) "Improper handling" means Grade A milk
				  or a milk product intended for human consumption that:
(a) Has been adulterated;
(b) Has been misbranded;
(c) Has not been kept at the required
				  temperature;
(d) Is injurious to
				  health if consumed; or
(e) Is
				  otherwise unsafe.
(12)
				  "Industry plant sampler" means a person employed at a milk plant, a receiving
				  station, or a transfer station who is responsible for the collection of
				  official samples for regulatory purposes at the milk plant, receiving station,
				  or transfer station.
(13) "Milk"
				  means the milk of a cow, goat, or other hoofed mammal that is produced,
				  processed, pasteurized, bottled, packaged, or prepared in accordance with the
				  Grade "A" Pasteurized Milk Ordinance.
(14) "Milk facility" means a:
(a) Milk plant;
(b) Grade A distribution station;
(c) Receiving station;
(d) Transfer station;
(e) Milk processor; or
(f) Milk tank truck cleaning
				  facility.
(15) "Milk
				  marketing agency" means a person who negotiates the price of milk to be offered
				  for sale and supplies milk.
(16)
				  Milk Plant.
(a) "Milk plant" means a place
				  where, for distribution, milk products are:
(i) Processed;
(ii) Pasteurized;
(iii) Bottled or packaged; or
(iv) Prepared.
(b) "Milk plant" does not include a place
				  where milk products are sold at retail only.
(17) "Milk processor" means a person who
				  owns, operates, or controls a milk plant.
(18) "Milk producer" means a person who:
(a) Operates a dairy farm; and
(b) Provides, sells, or offers milk for sale
				  to a:
(i) Milk plant;
(ii) Receiving station; or
(iii) Transfer station.
(19) "Milk tank truck" means a
				  truck and its equipment that are used to transport milk or milk
				  products.
(20) "Milk tank truck
				  cleaning facility" means a place, premises, or establishment, separate from a
				  milk plant, receiving station, or transfer station, where a milk tank truck is
				  cleaned and sanitized.
(21) "Milk
				  transportation company" means a person who is responsible for a milk tank
				  truck.
(22) "Official laboratory"
				  means a biological, chemical, or physical laboratory that is operated by the
				  Department.
(23) "Officially
				  designated laboratory" means a commercial laboratory authorized to conduct
				  testing of milk and milk products on behalf of the Department or a milk
				  industry laboratory officially designated by the Department for the
				  examination, pursuant to the standards set forth in the Grade "A" Pasteurized
				  Milk Ordinance, of:
(a) Producer samples of
				  Grade A raw milk for pasteurization; or
(b) Commingled milk tank truck samples of
				  Grade A raw milk.
(23-1)
				  "On-farm processor" means a licensed milk plant that is located on the same
				  premises as a licensed milk producer.
(24) "Permit" means an official document
				  issued by the Secretary in accordance with Health-General Article, Title 21,
				  Subtitle 4, Annotated Code of Maryland, that authorizes the holder of the
				  permit to do an act that is within the scope of the permit.
(25) "Permittee" means a person who holds a
				  permit.
(26) Person.
(a) "Person" means an individual, receiver,
				  trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, or representative of any
				  kind and any partnership, firm, association, corporation, or other
				  entity.
(b) "Person" includes:
(i) An operator of a facility that is owned
				  by a State or local unit of government; or
(ii) A State or local unit of government if
				  the State or local unit of government is the operator of the
				  facility.
(27) "Raw milk" means unpasteurized
				  milk.
(28) "Receiving station"
				  means a place where, for delivery to a milk plant, raw milk is collected,
				  cooled, and stored.
(29) "Sale" or
				  "sell" means a transaction that involves the:
(a) Transfer, dispensing, or serving of milk
				  and milk products with or without charge; or
(b) Right to acquire milk and milk products:
(i) Through barter or contractual
				  arrangement; or
(ii) In exchange
				  for any other form of compensation including, but not limited to, an agistment
				  agreement, which is the sale of shares or interest in a cow, goat, or other
				  lactating hoofed mammal, or herd of cows, goats, or other lactating hoofed
				  mammals.
(30)
				  "Sanitization" means the application of an effective method or substance to
				  clean surfaces to destroy pathogens and other microorganisms.
(31) "Seasonal milk producer" means a milk
				  producer that holds a permit to produce milk seasonally and stops producing
				  milk for 30 days or more and then starts producing milk again within 12 months
				  year after year.
(32) "Secretary"
				  means the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene or the Secretary's
				  designee.
(33) "Sell-by date" means
				  the end of the sell-by period.
(34)
				  "Sell-by period" means the length of time a Grade A milk product may be kept
				  for sale.
(35) "Transfer station"
				  means a place where milk is transferred directly from a milk tank truck to
				  another milk tank truck for delivery to a milk plant.