North Carolina § 106-267 - Inspection, grading and testing dairy products; authority of State Board of Agriculture.

§ 106-267. Inspection, grading and testing dairy products; authority of State Board of Agriculture.

The State Board of Agriculture shall have full power to make and promulgate rules and regulations for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in its inspection and control of the purchase and sale of milk and other dairy products in North Carolina; to make and establish definitions, not inconsistent with the laws pertaining thereto; to qualify and determine the grade and contents of milk and of other dairy products sold in this State; to regulate the manner of testing the same and the handling, treatment and sale of milk and dairy products, to require processors of fortified milk and milk products to pay all costs for assays of vitamin-fortified products, to provide for the issuance of permits upon compliance with this Article and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and to promulgate such other rules and regulations not inconsistent with the law as may be necessary in connection with the authority hereby given to the Commissioner of Agriculture on this subject. History (1933, c. 550, ss. 1-3; 1951, c. 1121, s. 1; 1981, c. 338; c. 495, s. 5; 1997-261, s. 109.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2018-113, s. 6(a)-(f), provides: "(a) It is declared to be the policy of the State of North Carolina that it is necessary to take steps to assure the continued viability of dairy farming and to assure consumers of an adequate, local supply of pure and wholesome milk. The dairy industry is an essential agricultural activity and dairy farms, and associated suppliers, marketers, processors, and retailers, are an integral component of the region's economy. The North Carolina General Assembly finds that the United States Food and Drug Administration has not provided consistent guidance to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, dairy farms, associated suppliers, marketers, processors, retailers, and consumers as to the application of the established standard of identity of milk as defined in 21 C.F.R. § 131.110. The North Carolina General Assembly seeks to be a national leader in the preservation of the dairy industry while balancing the need to maintain interstate commerce. "(b) The following definitions apply to this section: "(1) 'Department' means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. "(2) 'FDA' means the United States Food and Drug Administration. "(3) 'Milk' means the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy hooved mammals. Hooved mammals include, but are not limited to, the members of the Order Cetartiodactyla, such as: Family Bovidae (cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, yaks, etc.), Family Camelidae (llamas, alpacas, camels, etc.), Family Cervidae (deer, reindeer, moose, etc.), and Family Equidae (horses, donkeys, etc.). "(c) In accordance with the established standard of identity for milk defined in 21 C.F.R. § 131.110 and the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, the Department shall immediately develop an enforcement plan to enforce FDA's standard of identity for milk as adopted in the North Carolina Administrative Code to prohibit the sale of plant-based products mislabeled as milk. "(d) No later than 90 days after the effective date of this subsection, the Department shall begin to implement its enforcement plan, which shall include, but is not limited to, notification of the Department's intent to embargo all mislabeled products offered for sale in this State. All plant-based products displayed for sale in this State shall be labeled in accordance with FDA's standard of identity for milk and the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance no later than six months after the effective date of this section. "(e) Subsection (d) of this section is effective upon the enactment into law of a mandatory labeling requirement to prohibit the sale of plant-based products mislabeled as milk that is consistent with this section by any 11 of the group of states composed of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The remainder of this section is effective when it becomes law. "(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the Department's authority to enforce its laws and regulations."