Montana Administrative Code

32.9.209 OTHER TYPES OF ABNORMAL MILK At least 4 times in 6 months, at irregular intervals, a sample of each producer's milk must be tested for antibiotic residues. When a producer's milk shows a positive test, he must be immediately cut off from all markets. He may not be reinst…

32.9.301 DAIRY ANIMAL HEALTH All animals in the herd must be maintained in a healthy condition and be properly fed and kept. The herd must be located in an area within the state of Montana which meets the requirements of a modified-accredited area as determined by chapter 3, sub-…

32.9.302 MILKING FACILITY AND HOUSING A milking barn or milking parlor of adequate size and arrangement must be provided to permit normal sanitary milking operations. It must be well lighted and ventilated, and the floors and gutters in the milking area must be constructed of con…

32.9.303 MILKING PROCEDURES The udders and flanks of all milking cows must be clipped of long hairs. The udders and teats must be washed or wiped immediately before milking with a clean damp cloth or paper towel moistened with a sanitizing solution and wiped dry, or by any other …

32.9.304 MILKHOUSE OR MILKROOM A milkhouse or milkroom conveniently located and properly constructed, lighted, and ventilated must be provided for handling and cooling milk and for washing, handling, and storing the utensils and equipment. Other products may not be handled in the…

32.9.305 UTENSILS AND EQUIPMENT Utensils, milk cans, milking machines (including pipeline systems) , and other equipment used in the handling of milk shall be maintained in good condition, must be free from rust, open seams, milk-stone, or any unsanitary condition, and must be wa…

32.9.306 WATER SUPPLY AND WASTE DISPOSAL The dairy farm water supply must be properly located, protected, and operated, and be easily accessible, ample, and of safe sanitary quality for the cleaning of dairy utensils and equipment. The water supply shall come from a source which …

32.9.401 GENERAL PREMISES The premises must be kept in a clean and orderly condition, be free from strong or foul odors, smoke, and may not contribute to excessive air pollution. Construction and maintenance of driveways and adjacent plant traffic areas should be of cement, aspha…

32.9.402 OPENINGS TO OUTSIDE All openings to the outer air, including doors, windows, skylights, and transoms, must be effectively protected or screened against the entrance of flies and other insects, rodents, birds, dust, and dirt. All outside doors opening into processing room…

32.9.403 INTERIOR STRUCTURAL SURFACES The walls, ceilings, partitions, and posts of rooms in which milk or dairy products are processed, manufactured, handled, packaged or stored (except dry storage of packaged finished products and supplies) or in which utensils are washed and s…

32.9.404 LIGHT, HEAT, AND VENTILATION Light must be ample, natural or artificial, or both, of good quality and well distributed. All rooms in which dairy products are manufactured or packaged or where utensils are washed must have at least 30 foot-candles of light intensity on al…

32.9.405 STORAGE, RECEIVING AND PROCESSING ROOMS Rooms and compartments in which any raw material, packaging, ingredient supplies, or dairy products are handled, manufactured, packaged, or stored must be so designed, constructed, and maintained as to assure desirable room tempera…

32.9.406 COOLERS AND FREEZERS Coolers and freezers where dairy products are stored must be clean, reasonably dry and maintained at the proper uniform temperature and humidity to adequately protect the product, and minimize the growth of mold. Adequate circulation of air must be m…

32.9.407 BOILER AND TOOL ROOMS The boiler and tool rooms must be separated from other rooms where milk and dairy products are processed, manufactured, packaged, handled, or stored. The rooms must be kept orderly and reasonably free from dust and dirt. Authorizing statute(s): Secs…

32.9.408 TOILET AND DRESSING FACILITIES Adequate toilet and dressing room facilities must be conveniently located. Toilet rooms may not open directly into any room in which milk or dairy products are processed, manufactured, packaged, or stored. Doors must be self-closing. Ventil…

32.9.409 LABORATORY Consistent with the size and type of plant and the volume of dairy products manufactured, an adequately equipped laboratory must be maintained and properly staffed with qualified and trained personnel for quality control and analytical testing. Authorizing sta…

32.9.410 CULTURE STARTER FACILITIES Adequate facilities must be provided for the handling of starter cultures. The facilities must be sufficiently isolated (preferably a separate room) and may not be located near cheese vats, whey separators, or tanks where contamination is most …

32.9.411 WATER FACILITIES There must be an ample supply of both hot and cold water of safe and sanitary quality, with adequate facilities for its proper distribution throughout the plant, and protection against contamination and pollution. Water from other facilities, when offici…

32.9.412 STEAM FACILITIES Steam must be supplied in sufficient volume and pressure for satisfactory operation of each applicable piece of equipment. Culinary steam used in direct contact with milk or dairy products must be free from harmful substances or extraneous material and o…

32.9.413 AIR UNDER PRESSURE The method for supplying air under pressure which comes in contact with milk or dairy products or any product contact surface shall comply with the 3-a accepted practices for supplying air under pressure. The air used at the point of application must b…

32.9.414 DAIRY WASTE DISPOSAL Dairy wastes must be properly disposed of from the plant and premises. The sewer system shall have sufficient slope and capacity to readily remove all waste from the various processing operations. Where a public sewer is not available, all wastes mus…

32.9.415 EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS FOR MILK PROCESSING AND PRODUCT MANUFACTURE The equipment and utensils used for the processing of milk and manufacture of dairy products must be constructed to be readily demountable where necessary for cleaning and sanitizing. The product contact …

32.9.416 WEIGH CANS AND RECEIVING TANKS Weigh cans and receiving tanks must meet the 3-a sanitary standards, be easily accessible for cleaning both inside and outside, be elevated above the floor and protected sufficiently with the necessary covers or baffles to prevent contamina…

32.9.417 SEPARATORS AND PASTEURIZING EQUIPMENT All product contact surfaces of separators must be free from rust and pits and insofar as practicable be of stainless steel or other equally non-corrosive metals. Coil or dome-type batch pasteurizers must be stainless steel lined and…

32.9.418 PASTUERIZATION THERMOMETERS Long-stem indicating thermometers which are accurate within 0.5° F., plus or minus, for the applicable temperature range, must be provided for checking the temperature of pasteurization and cooling of products in vats and checking the accuracy…

32.9.419 PUMPS AND HOMOGENIZERS Pumps used for milk and dairy products must be of the sanitary type and constructed to meet 3-a sanitary standards. Unless pumps are specifically designed for effective cleaning-in-place, they shall be disassembled and thoroughly cleaned after use.…

32.9.420 VACUUM CHAMBER The vacuum chamber, as used for flavor control, must be made of stainless steel or other equally non-corrosive metal. The unit must be con-structed to facilitate cleaning and all product contact surfaces must be accessible for inspection. It must be equipp…

32.9.421 NEW EQUIPMENT AND REPLACEMENTS New equipment and replacements, including all plastic parts and rubber and rubber-like materials for parts and gaskets having product contact surfaces, must meet the then current 3-a sanitary standards. If 3-a sanitary standards are not ava…

32.9.422 EMPLOYEE SANITATION AND HEALTH All employees must wash their hands before beginning work and upon returning to work after using toilet facilities, eating, smoking, or otherwise soiling their hands. They must keep their hands clean and follow good hygienic practices while…

32.9.423 PROTECTION OF RAW MILK AND CREAM - EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES Milk cans used in transporting milk from dairy farm to plant must be of such construction (preferably seamless with umbrella lids) as to be easily cleaned, and must be inspected, repaired, and replaced as necess…

32.9.424 HOLDING AND PROCESSING OF MILK All milk must be held and processed under conditions and at tempera-tures that will avoid contamination and rapid deterioration. Drip milk from can washers or any other source may not be used for the manufacture of dairy products. Bulk milk…

32.9.425 CLEANING AND SANITIZING TREATMENT OF PLANT EQUIPMENT The equipment, sanitary piping, and utensils used in receiving and processing of the milk, and manufacturing and handling of the product must be maintained in a sanitary condition. Sanitary seal assemblies must be remo…

32.9.426 CLEANING AND SANITIZING - CANS, TANKS AND WASHERS Milk cans and lids must be cleaned, sanitized, and dried before returning to producers. Inspection, repair, or replacement of cans and lids must be adequate to substantially exclude from use cans and lids showing open sea…

32.9.427 CLEANING OF STRUCTURAL PARTS All windows, glass, partitions, and skylights must be washed as often as necessary to keep them clean. Cracked or broken glass must be replaced promptly. The walls, ceilings, and doors must be washed periodically and kept free from soil and u…

32.9.428 PEST CONTROL In addition to any commercial pest control service, if one is utilized, a specially designated employee must be made responsible for the performance of a regularly scheduled insect and rodent control program. Poisonous substances, insecticides, and rodentici…

32.9.429 TEST RECORD KEEPING Adequate plant records must be maintained of all required tests and analyses performed in the laboratory or throughout the plant during processing and manufacturing on all milk receipts and dairy products. Such records must be available for examinatio…

32.9.430 PACKAGING AND GENERAL IDENTIFICATION The size, style, and type of packaging used for dairy products must be commercially acceptable containers and packaging materials which will satisfactorily cover and protect the quality of the contents during storage and regular chann…

32.9.431 STORAGE OF FINISHED PRODUCT Dry storage must be stored at least 18 inches from the wall in aisles, rows, or sections and lots, in such a manner as to be orderly and easily accessible for inspection. Rooms should be cleaned regularly. It is recommended that dunnage or pal…

32.9.501 ROOMS AND COMPARTMENTS The coolers and freezers must be equipped with facilities for maintaining proper temperature and humidity conditions, consistent with good commercial practices for the applicable product, to protect the quality and condition of the products during …

32.9.502 EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS All product contact surfaces of a continuous churn must be of non-corrosive material. All non-metallic product contact surfaces must comply with 3-a sanitary standards for plastic, rubber and rubber-like materials. All product contact surfaces must…

32.9.503 OPERATIONS AND OPERATING PROCEDURES- PASTEURIZATION The milk or cream must be pasteurized at the plant where the milk or cream is processed into the finished product. The cream for buttermaking must be pasteurized at a temperature of not less than 165° F. and held contin…

32.9.504 COMPOSITION AND WHOLESOMENESS All ingredients used in the manufacture of butter and related products must be subject to inspection and be wholesome and practically free from impurities. Chlorinating facilities must be provided for butter wash water if needed. All other n…

32.9.505 CONTAINERS Containers used for the packaging of butter and related products must be commercially acceptable containers or packaging material that will satisfactorily protect the quality of the contents in regular channels of trade. Caps or covers which extend over the li…

32.9.506 GENERAL IDENTIFICATION Commercial bulk shipping containers must be legibly marked with the name of the product, net weight, name and address of manufacturer, processor or distributor or other assigned plant identification (manufacturer's lot number, churn number, etc.) a…

32.9.507 STORAGE OF FINISHED PRODUCT IN COOLERS All products must be kept under refrigeration at temperatures of 40°F. or lower after packaging and until ready for dist-ribution or shipment. The products must not be placed directly on floors or exposed to foreign odors or conditi…

32.9.508 STORAGE OF FINISHED PRODUCT IN FREEZER Plastic cream or frozen cream intended for storage must be placed in quick freezer rooms immediately after packaging, for rapid and complete freezing within 24 hours. The packages must be piled or spaced in such a manner that air ca…

32.9.601 ROOMS AND COMPARTMENTS A separate starter room equipped with a tight-fitting door should be provided for the propagation and handling of starter cultures. All necessary precautions must be taken to prevent contamination of the room, equipment and the air therein. A filte…

32.9.602 EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS Bulk starter vats must be of stainless steel or equally corrosion-resistant metal and should be constructed according to the applicable 3-a sanitary standards. The vats must be in good repair, equipped with tight-fitting lids and have adequate temp…

32.9.603 OPERATIONS AND OPERATING PROCEDURES If the cheese is labeled as pasteurized, the milk must be pasteurized by subjecting every particle of milk to a minimum temperature of 161° F. for not less than 15 seconds. HTST pasteurization units must be equipped with the proper con…

32.9.604 WHEY DISPOSAL Adequate sanitary facilities must be provided for the disposal of whey. If outside, necessary precautions must be taken to minimize flies, insects, and development of objectionable odors. Whey or whey products intended for human food must at all times be ha…