(a) Any person, firm or corporation engaged in receiving, handling, processing or packaging milk or milk products shall test each tank truck load of milk or milk products for the presence of drug residues or other inhibitory substances upon receipt of such milk or milk product at the receiving plant prior to processing. In the case of interplant shipments of bulk milk or milk products, each bulk tank load, or portion thereof, shall be tested prior to processing for the presence of drug residues or other inhibitory substances. The Commissioner of Agriculture may require a milk producer holding a permit issued under section 22-172 or a retail raw milk producer holding a permit issued under section 22-173a who violates section 22-129 to test milk produced by him for the presence of drug residues or inhibitory substances prior to shipment. For purposes of this section and sections 22-203b to 22-203d, inclusive, “drug” means (1) articles recognized in the Official United States Pharmacopoeia, Official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, or Official National Formulary, or any supplement to any of them; (2) articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in man or other animals; (3) articles, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals; or (4) articles intended for use as a component of any articles specified in subdivision (1), (2) or (3), but does not include devices or their components, parts or accessories.

(b) Any test administered pursuant to this section shall be approved by the Commissioner of Agriculture and shall be capable of determining compliance with standards for drug residue tolerance levels recommended by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Any test approved by the commissioner shall be rapid and economically feasible and shall be performed at a facility or location and in a manner acceptable to the commissioner. The results of any test required shall be recorded by the person administering such test and kept on file at the location where the test was conducted or at the processing plant for not less than two years.

(c) Each retail raw milk producer and intrastate dealer with ten or fewer milking age animals shall maintain records, which shall be available for inspection by the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, for each individual animal treated with a drug. Such records shall include the name of the drug or drugs, withdrawal time required for each drug, treatment dates, and, after completion of such treatment, the date such animal's milk is offered for sale. Retail raw milk producers and intrastate dealers with more than ten milking age animals shall comply with this section.

(P.A. 85-345, S. 1, 5; P.A. 92-255, S. 1, 8; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e); P.A. 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 05-175, S. 13; P.A. 06-19, S. 5.)

History: P.A. 92-255 amended Subsec. (a) to replace references to “antibiotic residues” with “drug residues”, to define “drug” and to make additional provisions for testing of milk and amended Subsec. (b) to make further specification re testing requirements and to extend the time required for retaining records re testing from 60 days to one year; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Agriculture with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-175 required testing for those engaged in receiving, handling, processing or packaging milk or milk products, deleted provision re persons, firms and corporations holding a permit issued under Sec. 22-173 and added provision re retail raw milk producer holding permit issued under Sec. 22-173a in Subsec. (a), deleted “a screening test or other test” and former provision re undue delay of pick up, transportation or unloading of milk, required test to be performed at facility or location and in manner acceptable to commissioner and required test results to be kept on file where test was conducted for not less than two years in Subsec. (b) and added record keeping provision as new Subsec. (c); P.A. 06-19 amended Subsec. (c) to add “intrastate dealer with ten or fewer milking age animals” and require retail raw milk producers and intrastate dealers with more than ten such animals to comply with section, effective May 2, 2006.