Legal Definition of Skimmed Milk

Randy Sowers and his wife, Karen, are dairy farmers in northern Maryland. They bought their farm in 1981 when they leased 152 acres of land and received a loan to buy 100 cows. The farm now covers more than 2,000 acres, employs more than 75 people and delivers to more than 10,000 families in a handful of states. It`s also home to their dairy — South Mountain Creamery — where they make milk, yogurt and cheese, among other things. 1 Dairies to which these vitamins were not added were prohibited from labelling their skimmed milk as skimmed milk. Instead, they had to call it “imitation skim milk” or “imitation milk product,” when in reality, their skim milk was not an imitation of anything. Subd. 1a. Milk.

“Milk” is defined as the secretion of fresh, clean whole milk, virtually free of colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows. When milk is prepared for circulation as final beverage packaging, it must contain at least 8,7 % milk solids and at least 3,25 % milk fat. The name milk, unqualified, means cow`s milk. The generally accepted definition of skim milk is only milk with skim cream. Pure, pasteurized, additive-free skim milk can be consumed and sold legally. But the FDA requires that all-natural skim milk be called “imitation milk” or “imitation milk product.” The reason for this is that the FDA shockingly defines “skim milk” with three ingredients. The first ingredient is pure skim milk. The other two ingredients are artificial vitamin supplements that do not occur naturally in skim milk. Entrepreneurs who insist on selling skim milk without additives as “skim milk” face fines and even jail time. The government does not have the power to change the dictionary, but that is exactly what the United States is doing. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has attempted to discourage U.S. farms from selling healthy, all-American skim milk.

Baylen Linniken, a Reason employee and food policy expert, has extensively covered legal disputes between dairies and regulators and even served as an expert witness in the aforementioned Florida case. As pointed out, the International Dairy Association has advocated the application of the Skim Milk Labelling Regulations in this dispute. This gives the whole fight a similar feel to the dairy industry`s various attempts to prevent companies that produce soy milk, almond milk and similar products from labeling their products as “milk.” Such efforts have little to do with consumer protection. Instead, the dairy industry is trying to hinder its competitors through government regulation. An explanation is, of course, justified. According to any conventional definition, skim milk is milk from which fat or cream is eliminated – skimmed. But the government defines “skim milk” differently. According to FDA guidelines, to be called “skim milk,” dairies had to add vitamins A and D to milk before they could legally distribute it. Skim milk is just milk with skim cream. It is richer in water-soluble nutrients, such as calcium, than whole milk, but it is lower in fat-soluble nutrients – such as vitamins A and D – found in cream. Randy and Karen Sowers are the founders of South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, Maryland. South Mountain Creamery is the named plaintiff in the lawsuit.

They are only seeking the right to honestly label their product as “skim milk.” They are not seeking financial damages. If they prevail, the precedent will protect not only South Mountain Creamery, but countless other farmers who simply want to tell the truth about their natural products. Skim milk (British English) or skim milk (American English) is made when all the milk fat is removed from the whole milk. [1] It tends to contain about 0.1% fat. [2] (h) Incorporation by reference. The standards required in this section are incorporated by reference into this section with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR Part 51. To apply an output other than that specified in this section, the FDA must publish a document on the Federal Register, and the material must be made available to the public. All approved documents may be inspected by Food and Drug Administration records management staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852, 240-402-7500, and is available from the sources identified in this subsection (h).

It is also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Information on the availability of this equipment at NARA can be obtained by e-mail fedreg.legal@nara.gov or www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html. Randy Sowers learned this the hard way. He is a lifelong dairy farmer and founder of South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, Maryland. Randy is a firm believer in selling all-natural products, and that belief extends to his skim milk: Randy wants to sell 100% pure skim milk with no added ingredients. The only ingredient in its skim milk would be skim milk. But when Randy contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to sell his delicious product across state borders, he learned that FDA regulations prohibit him from honestly labeling pure skim milk as “skim milk.” Subd. 1b.

Skimmed milk. “Skim milk” is milk from which milk fat has been removed such that its milk fat content is less than 0.25 per cent. Skim milk in final beverage packaging form must contain at least nine per cent milk solids, for a total of at least 9.25 per cent milk solids. Skimmed milk can be homogenized. (1) the process of heating all particles of milk, liquid dairy products, goat`s or sheep`s milk in well-operated equipment approved by the Commissioner to a temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit and maintaining the temperature for at least 30 minutes; U.S. dairy farmers also use a color-coding system to identify types of milk, usually with the bottle cap or colorful accents on the package. Whole milk is called red almost everywhere, while 2% is most often colored royal blue. The 1% and Skim colors vary by region or dairy, with common colors for these lines being purple, green, yellow, pink or light blue. The First Amendment protects the right of business owners to tell the truth, and that includes the right to use broad and well-understood terms to describe products. This protection applies to skimmed milk as to any other product. When the Florida Department of Agriculture attempted to stop a Florida dairy from honestly labeling its pure skim milk as skim milk under state law, the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the law as a violation of the dairy`s rights.

The constitution does not give the government the power to change the dictionary, and the general understanding of the term “skim milk” has not changed in hundreds of years. 2(a) Skimmed cheese for production is the foodstuff produced from skimmed milk and other ingredients referred to in this Section by the process described in point (b) of this Section or by another process producing a finished cheese with the same physical and chemical characteristics as cheese obtained by the process described in point (b) of this Section. It does not contain more than 50 percent moisture as determined by the procedure prescribed in § 133.5 (a). It is covered with paraffin of blue color or another firmly adhesive coating of blue color. “The government does not have the power to change the dictionary,” Justin Pearson, lead counsel for the I.J., said in a statement. South Mountain Creamery`s product was authentic, not an imitation. It was a blatant violation of [dairy owner Randy Sower`s] First Amendment rights to force him to use a label that was not truthful. Now, this FDA notice should allow Randy and other dairy farmers across the country to sell pure skim milk across the country without fear of prosecution. (b) Nothing in this definition shall be construed as precluding any other procedure that has been equally effective and approved by the Commissioner. Subscribe to America`s largest dictionary and get thousands of other definitions and an advanced search – ad-free! (3) The method of heating all milk particles, liquid milk products, goat`s milk or sheep`s milk in well-operated equipment approved by the Temperature and Operating Commissioner for such periods as the Commissioner may prescribe by a rule enacted in accordance with an Act containing standards stricter than those prescribed by this subdivision.