The Dairy Products (Hygiene) (Scotland) Regulations 1995

Regulations 9(1)(b), (8) and (10), 13(1)(b)(iv)(v) and (vi) and (3)(b), (c) and (d)

SCHEDULE 3 REQUIREMENTS FOR RAW MILK

PART I

Animal health standards

1.  Raw milk shall come from animals on a licensed production holding and such animals shall undergo regular veterinary inspections to ensure that the requirements of this paragraph are being complied with and shall—

(a) not show any symptoms of infectious diseases communicable to human beings through milk;

(b) not give the milk any abnormal organoleptic characteristics;

(c) have a general state of health which is not impaired by any visible disorder and which are not suffering from any infection of the genital tract with discharge, enteritis with diarrhoea and fever, or a recognisable inflammation of the udder;

(d) not show any udder wound likely to affect their milk;

(e) not have had substances within the meaning of Council Directive 81/602/EEC concerning the prohibition of certain substances having a hormonal action, and of any substances having a thyrostatic action(1), as amended(2), and Council Directive 88/146/EEC prohibiting the use in livestock farming of certain substances having a hormonal action(3), administered illegally; and

(f) not have been treated with substances dangerous or likely to be dangerous to human health that are transmissible to milk, unless any withdrawal period which may apply to it has been observed.

2.  In addition to the requirements specified in paragraph 1 above—

(a) raw cows' milk and raw buffaloes' milk shall come from animals belonging to a herd which is officially tuberculosis-free and either brucellosis-free or officially brucellosis-free;

(b) raw cows' milk shall come from animals yielding at least two litres of milk per day;

(c) raw ewes' milk and raw goats' milk shall come from animals belonging to a production holding which is either brucellosis-free or officially brucellosis-free (Brucella melitensis) within the meaning of Article 2(4) and (5) of Council Directive 91/68/EEC(4).

3.  When different animal species are kept together on a production holding, each species shall satisfy the health conditions which would be required if it were alone.

PART II

Raw milk standards

1.  Raw milk at the time of its collection from a licensed production holding for its acceptance at a treatment or processing establishment shall not contain—

(a) any added water,

(b) antibiotic residues in excess of the levels authorised in Annexes I and III of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2377/90 on Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin(5), as amended(6) nor contain any combination of such substances in excess of a value to be fixed in accordance with that Council Regulation; or

(c) residues of substances having a pharmacological or hormonal action, or pesticides, detergents or other substances which are harmful or which might alter the organoleptic characteristics of dairy products or make their consumption dangerous or harmful to human health insofar as those residues exceed permitted tolerance limits.

2.  In addition to the requirements specified in paragraph 1 above—

(a) raw cows' milk intended for the production of heat-treated drinking milk, fermented milk, junket, jellied milk, flavoured milk or cream shall meet the following standards:—

Plate count at 30°C (per ml)	≤ 100,000
Somatic cell count (per ml)	≤ 400,000

(b) raw cows' milk intended for the manufacture of any dairy products other than those referred to in sub-paragraph (a) above shall meet the following standards:—

	From 1.1.94	From 1.1.98
Plate count at 30°C (per ml)	≤ 400,000	≤ 100,000
Somatic cell count (per ml)	≤ 500,000	≤ 400,000

(c) raw cows' milk intended for the manufacture of any milk-based product (made with raw milk) which has not undergone any heat-treatment during its manufacture shall meet the following standards:—

Plate count at 30°C (per ml)	≤ 100,000
Somatic cell count (per ml)	≤ 400,000
Staphylococcus aureus (per ml)	n = 5, c = 2, m = 500, M = 2000

(d) raw goats', ewes' or buffaloes' milk intended for the production of heat-treated drinking milk or for the manufacture of heat-treated milk-based products shall meet the following standard:—

	From 1.1.95	From 1.12.99
Plate count at 30°C (per ml)	≤ 3,000,000	≤ 1,500,000

(e) raw goats', ewes' or buffaloes' milk intended for the manufacture of any milk-based product which has not undergone any heat-treatment during its manufacture shall meet the following standards:—

	From 1.1.95	From 1.12.99
Plate count at 30°C (per ml)	≤ 1,000,000	≤ 500,000
Staphylococcus aureus (per ml)	n = 5, c = 2, m = 500, M = 2000

3.  For the purposes of the tables set out in paragraph 2 above, the symbols referred to shall have the following meanings:—

• n = number of sample units comprising the sample;

• c = number of sample units where the bacteria count may be between ‘m’ and ‘M’, the sample being considered acceptable if the bacterial count of the other sample units is ‘m’ or less;

• m = threshold value for the number of bacteria, the result is considered satisfactory if the number of bacteria in all sample units does not exceed ‘m’;

• M = maximum value for the number of bacteria, the result is considered unsatisfactory if the number of bacteria in one or more sample units is ‘M’ or more.

4.  The occupier shall ensure that—

(a) compliance with the standards for raw cows' milk referred to in paragraph 2(a)(b) and (c) above in relation to somatic cell count is checked by random sampling, either

(i) on a representative sample of the raw milk collected from each production holding; or

(ii) until 1st July 1997, on acceptance of the raw milk at the treatment establishment or processing establishment;

(b) compliance with the standards referred to in paragraph 2 above in relation to plate count and Staphylococcus aureus is checked by random sampling of a representative sample of the raw milk collected from each production holding;

(c) the plate count at 30°C is calculated on the basis of a geometric average over a period of two months, with at least two samples a month; and

(d) the somatic cell count is calculated on the basis of a geometric average over a period of three months, with at least one sample a month.

PART III CHECKS FOR ADDED WATER IN RAW MILK

1.  Raw milk shall be subjected to regular checks and sampling to ascertain if water is being added to such milk.

2.  Such checks shall include regular checks on the freezing point of raw milk supplied by each production holding and shall be carried out in accordance with the following procedure:—

(a) raw milk supplied by each production holding shall be subjected regularly to random sampling;

(b) where the raw milk of a single production holding is delivered directly to a processing establishment or a treatment establishment, the samples for checking shall be taken—

(i) when the raw milk is collected from the production holding for transport to such establishment, provided that adequate precautions are taken to prevent any fraud during such transport of the raw milk; or

(ii) before unloading the raw milk at the processing establishment or treatment establishment, when the delivery there is made by the occupier of the production holding;

(c) where raw milk delivered to a processing establishment or treatment establishment consists of a mixture of raw milk obtained from more than one production holding, the samples for checking shall be taken—

(i) in accordance with sub-paragraph (b) above, or

(ii) when the raw milk enters the dairy establishment, provided that spot checks are also carried out at the production holdings from which the raw milk was obtained; and

if the results of any of the checks on a sample of such mixture of raw milk lead to a suspicion that water has been added to such milk, samples for checking shall be taken from all the production holdings from which the raw milk was obtained.

(1)

OJ No. L222, 7.8.81, p.32.

(2)

 Council Directive 81/602 was supplemented by Council Directive 85/358/EEC (OJ No. L191, 23.7.85, p.46).

(3)

 OJ No. L70, 16.3.88, p.16.

(4)

 OJ No. L46, 19.2.91, p.19.

(5)

OJ No. L224, 18.8.90, p.1.

(6)

Relevant amending instruments are Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2701/94 (OJ No. L287, 8.11.94, p.7) which contains consolidated texts of Annexes I, II, III and IV to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2377/90 and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2703/94 (OJ No. L287, 8.11.94, p.19).