§ 59.22. Milk dating.

 (a)  Label requirement. The cap or nonglass container of pasteurized milk held in retail food stores, restaurants, schools or similar food establishments for resale shall be conspicuously and legibly marked in a contrasting color with the designation of the ‘‘sell-by’’ date—the month and day of the month after which the product may not be sold or offered for sale. The designation may be numerical—such as ‘‘8-15’’—or with the use of an abbreviation for the month, such as ‘‘AUG 15 or AU 15.’’ The words ‘‘Sell by’’ or ‘‘Not to be sold after’’ shall precede the designation of the date, or the statement ‘‘Not to be sold after the date stamped above’’ shall appear legibly on the container. This designation of the date may not exceed 17 days beginning after midnight on the day on which the milk was pasteurized.

 (b)  Prominence of sell-by date on label. The sell-by date shall be separate and distinct from any other number, letter or intervening material on the cap or nonglass container.

 (c)  Prohibition. Pasteurized milk may not be sold or offered for sale if either of the following occurs:

   (1)  The milk is sold or offered for sale after the sell-by date designated on the container.

   (2)  Without regard to the sell-by date designated on the container, the milk exceeds the bacterial limits for pasteurized milk described in §  59.52 (relating to table).

 (d)  Exemption. The following pasteurized dairy products are exempt from the requirements of this section:

   (1)  Ultra-pasteurized dairy products.

   (2)  Cultured dairy products.

   (3)  Aseptically processed dairy products.

   (4)  Dairy products that have undergone higher heat shorter time pasteurization.

   (5)  Milk sold or offered for retail sale on the same premises at which it was processed.

 (e)  Monitoring by the Department.

   (1)  The Department will periodically sample containers of pasteurized milk in the possession of the processor or distributor. This sampling may occur at any time before the pasteurized milk is delivered to the store or the customer. The Department will sample at least one milk product from each processor each calendar year.

   (2)  The samples described in paragraph (1) shall be analyzed by a Pennsylvania-approved dairy laboratory, applying a methodology set forth in the most current edition of Dairy Practices Council Guideline No. 10, entitled ‘‘Guidelines for Maintaining and Testing Fluid Milk Shelf Life,’’ to determine whether the bacterial test results exceed the bacterial limits for pasteurized milk described in §  59.52 prior to the expiration of the sell-by date designated on the retail container.

   (3)  When two or more samples demonstrate a processor cannot produce pasteurized milk that remains consistently within the bacterial limits referenced in paragraph (2) during a 17-day sell-by period, the Department will require a processor to use a sell-by date of something less than the 17-day period described in subsection (a). The Department will calculate this revised sell-by date so that bacterial growth in the milk will not exceed the referenced bacterial limits within that sell-by period if the milk is maintained in accordance with the temperature standards for pasteurized milk in §  59.52.

   (4)  A processor may submit samples to the Department for analysis to obtain approval to resume a 17-day sell-by period for the product sampled. The Department will approve resumption of a 17-day sell-by period when analysis of a sample demonstrates that bacterial growth in the milk will not exceed the referenced bacterial limits within that sell-by period if the milk is maintained in accordance with the temperature standards for pasteurized milk in §  59.52.

   The provisions of this §  59.22 amended under the act of July 2, 1935 (P. L. 589, No. 210) (31 P. S. § §  645—660g).

   The provisions of this §  59.22 amended September 4, 1987, effective September 5, 1988, 17 Pa.B. 3599; amended August 9, 1991, effective August 10, 1991, 21 Pa.B. 3508; amended July 5, 1996, effective July 6, 1996, 26 Pa.B. 3129; amended September 5, 2003, effective September 6, 2003, 33 Pa.B. 4445. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (217606) to (217607).

   This section cited in 7 Pa. Code §  46.385 (relating to potentially hazardous food: hot and cold holding); 7 Pa. Code §  59.21 (relating to general labeling requirements); and 7 Pa. Code §  59.32 (relating to sampling and examination).