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Title 21 — Food and DrugsRelease 119-73

§142 Milk or cream when unfit for importation

Title 21 › Chapter CHAPTER 4— - ANIMALS, MEATS, AND MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCTS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - IMPORTATION OF MILK AND CREAM › § 142

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Milk or cream must be refused import when safety checks fail. That includes if not all producing cows are healthy and they were not examined within one year; if raw‑milk cows did not have a tuberculin test by an authorized U.S. or foreign vet within one year; if the farm scores below 50/100 by USDA; if bacteria per cc exceed raw milk 300,000, raw cream 750,000, pasteurized milk 100,000, or pasteurized cream 500,000; or if the product’s temperature is over 50°F.

Full Legal Text

Title 21, §142

Food and Drugs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Milk or cream shall be considered unfit for importation (1) when all cows producing such milk or cream are not healthy and a physical examination of all such cows has not been made within one year previous to such milk being offered for importation; (2) when such milk or cream, if raw, is not produced from cows which have passed a tuberculin test applied by a duly authorized official veterinarian of the United States, or of the country in which such milk or cream is produced, within one year previous to the time of the importation, showing that such cows are free from tuberculosis; (3) when the sanitary conditions of the dairy farm or plant in which such milk or cream is produced or handled do not score at least fifty points out of one hundred points according to the methods for scoring as provided by the score cards used by the Bureau of Dairy Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture at the time such dairy farms or plants are scored; (4) in the case of raw milk if the number of bacteria per cubic centimeter exceeds three hundred thousand and in the case of raw cream seven hundred and fifty thousand, in the case of pasteurized milk if the number of bacteria per cubic centimeter exceeds one hundred thousand, and in the case of pasteurized cream five hundred thousand; (5) when the temperature of milk or cream at the time of importation exceeds fifty degrees Fahrenheit.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Transfer of Functions

Agricultural Research Service became the successor to functions of Bureau of Dairy Industry under Secretary of Agriculture’s Memorandum 1320, Supplement 4, Nov. 2, 1953.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

21 U.S.C. § 142

Title 21 — Food and Drugs

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73