Permit required

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person that does not possess a permit from the department to manufacture, have in storage, sell or offer for sale therein, or offer to give away any raw milk for human consumption. Nothing in this article shall prohibit the storage and personal consumption of raw milk by the owner of an animal or a resident of the premises of production. (b) Only a person that complies with the requirements of this article shall be entitled to receive and retain such a permit. Permits shall not be transferable to other persons or locations. (c) Each producer and distributor of raw milk for human consumption shall hold a valid permit issued by the department prior to beginning operation. No permit shall be issued until all parts of the operation meet the requirements of this article. 432 26-2-454 STDS., LBLG., ADULTERATION OF FOOD 26-2-455 (d) Application for all licenses and permits provided for in this article shall be made to the Commissioner on such forms as he or she may prescribe. All licenses shall be valid for a period of one year unless revoked or suspended as provided in this article. All licenses shall be renewable upon submission of all required application forms. The Commissioner may deny, refuse, suspend, or revoke any license, after notice and a hearing, for any violation of or failure to comply with this article or the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder; provided, however, that the hearing shall be held in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50, the “Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.” History. Code 1981, § 26-2-454, enacted by Ga. L. 2022, p. 809, § 2/HB 1175; Ga. L. 2023, p. 730, § 4(b)(8)/HB 475, effective July 1, 2023. The 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “person that” for “person who” in the first sentence of subsections (a) and (b). 26-2-455. Examination of raw milk by department; adulterated milk. (a) Raw milk for human consumption shall be examined by the department as often as necessary to determine that it is not adulterated or misbranded. The department may, upon written notice to the owner or person in charge, place a hold order on any raw milk for human consumption that it determines, or has probable cause to believe, to be unwholesome or otherwise adulterated or misbranded. Under a hold order, raw milk for human consumption shall be permitted to be suitably stored. It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or alter a hold order, notice, or tag placed on raw milk for human consumption by the department, and neither such milk nor the containers thereof shall be relabeled, repacked, reprocessed, altered, disposed of, or destroyed without permission of the department except on order by a court of competent jurisdiction. (b) When the freezing point of milk is greater than -0.525 degrees Celsius, the farm shall be notified that apparently the raw milk contains added water. If a second violation of this freezing point standard occurs within two years, an observed milking or operation of processing shall be conducted and samples analyzed. The freezing point obtained from raw milk collected during the observation shall be used to determine a definite freezing point from the individual farm. A violation of the determined freezing point for a specific operation by over 3 percent within two years of setting the standard shall call for a two-day permit suspension or equivalent. (c) When raw milk for human consumption is found to be adulterated by the presence of drugs, pesticides, herbicides, or other poisonous substances, it shall be impounded and additional samples analyzed. 433 26-2-455 FOOD, DRUGS, AND COSMETICS 26-2-456 Raw milk for human consumption found to be adulterated shall be disposed of until analysis shows the product not to be adulterated. If testing reveals raw milk for human consumption positive for drug residues, the raw milk shall be disposed of in a manner that removes it from the human and animal food chain. The department shall immediately suspend the producer’s Grade “A” raw milk for human consumption permit, or equally effective measures shall be taken, to prevent the sale of raw milk for human consumption containing drug residues, and a penalty shall be imposed. Future sales are prohibited until subsequent testing reveals the milk is free of drug residue. The Grade “A” producer’s permit may be reinstated to allow the sale of raw milk for human consumption when a representative sample taken from the producer’s raw milk is no longer positive for drug residue. Whenever a drug residue test is positive, a recall shall be initiated and an investigation shall be made to determine the cause. The farm inspection must be completed by the department to determine the cause of the residue and actions taken to prevent future violations, including on-farm changes in procedures necessary to prevent future occurrences as recommended by the department. History. Code 1981, § 26-2-455, enacted by Ga. L. 2022, p. 809, § 2/HB 1175. 26-2-456. Bottling, packaging, and sealing raw milk; labeling.