Dairy Plant Records
Under current rules, a dairy plant operator must keep certain records and make those records available for inspection and copying by DATCP. This rule expands and clarifies current record keeping requirements. This rule:
Authorizes a dairy plant operator to keep cleaning and sanitizing records for C-I-P (“cleaned in place") systems in electronic form, with or without a hard copy. Electronic records must be accessible by a DATCP inspector.
Requires a dairy plant operator to keep records related to vitamin fortification of fluid milk products, including inventory records and vitamin assay records.
Grade A Audit Surveys
Under the PMO, current state statutes and current DATCP rules, the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) must audit grade A dairy plants and dairy farms for compliance with PMO requirements. DHFS also audits DATCP's compliance program for compliance with the PMO. This rule updates current audit standards to meet current PMO requirements. DATCP will ask the Attorney General and the Revisor of Statutes for permission to incorporate the updated PMO standards by reference in this rule.
Drafting and Organizational Changes
This rule makes a number of drafting and organizational changes to clarify and update current rules.
ATCP 77 (Emergency Rule and Proposed Rule) Analysis Prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Statutes interpreted: ss.
93.12, Stats.
Background
The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) certifies laboratories that test milk, food and drinking water for compliance with public health standards. Laboratory certification helps ensure that public health lab tests are accurate and reliable. DATCP has adopted laboratory certification rules under ch.
ATCP 77, Wis. Adm. Code.
Under current rules, DATCP certifies laboratories and approves analysts who conduct confirmatory drug residue tests on milk samples. But DATCP does not currently approve analysts who conduct “visual read" drug residue screening tests. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recently required states to approve laboratory analysts who conduct “visual read" screening tests. Analysts must be approved by March 1, 2002, or dairy plants may no longer be able to ship milk in interstate commerce.
This emergency rule implements the new FDA mandate. Under this emergency rule, DATCP will immediately begin to evaluate and approve analysts performing “visual read" screening tests, so that approvals will be in place by the March 1, 2002 deadline. DATCP will charge fees to cover the cost of the new program.
The emergency rule will expire after 150 days, unless extended. In order to continue the new program, DATCP also proposes to adopt the emergency rule as a “permanent" rule. This will ensure continued compliance with grade A interstate milk shipment requirements.
Rule Contents
Under this rule, analysts conducting drug residue screening tests on milk must be approved by DATCP. DATCP will evaluate and approve laboratory analysts who conduct “visual read" tests. DATCP will evaluate analysts who work for certified laboratories. Analysts at an approved laboratory will be authorized to conduct “visual read" tests for which the laboratory is also approved. Analysts will be approved to conduct those tests at that laboratory, but will not be approved to conduct the same tests at a different laboratory.
An approved laboratory may not employ unapproved analysts to conduct “visual read" tests. Before DATCP approves an analyst to perform a “visual read" test, DATCP will observe and evaluate the analyst's competency to perform that test. An approval expires on December 31 of each year unless, by that date, the laboratory documents to DATCP that the analyst has completed an annual proficiency test and has correctly identified both positive and negative samples.
Under this rule, a laboratory conducting “visual read" drug residue screening tests must pay the following fees:
•
$500 for initial approval of up to 3 analysts, and $25 for approval of each additional analyst during the same initial laboratory visit.
•
$150 for any subsequent visit to approve analysts, regardless of the number of analysts approved on that visit.
•
$100 for the annual renewal of analyst approvals. A $100 annual renewal covers all analysts currently approved to perform milk drug residue screening tests at that laboratory.
No site visit is required for an annual renewal. An annual renewal does not cover new analysts, nor does it cover analysts performing tests that they have not yet been approved to perform.
Fiscal Estimate
(see p. 19, 11-15-01 Wis. Adm. Register)
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(see p. 19, 11-15-01 Wis. Adm. Register)
Notice of Hearings
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
[
CR 01-125]
(reprinted from 11-15-01 Wis. Adm. Register)
The State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold public hearings on a proposed rule to revise ch.
ATCP 60, relating to dairy farm standards. The department will hold four hearings at the time and places shown below. The department invites the public to attend the hearings and comment on the proposed rules. Following the public hearing, the hearing record will remain open until December 15, 2001, for additional written comments.
You may obtain a free copy of these rules by contacting the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Food Safety, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison WI 53708, or by calling (608) 224-4700. Copies will also be available at the hearings.
Hearing impaired persons may request an interpreter for these hearing. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter by November 23, 2001, by writing to Debbie Mazanec, Division of Food Safety, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911, telephone (608) 224-4712. Alternatively, you may contact the Department TDD at (608) 224-5058. Handicap access is available at the hearings.
Hearings are scheduled at:
Thursday, November 29, 2000, 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
DATCP Eau Claire Regional Office
3610 Oakwood Hills Parkway
Eau Claire, WI 54701-7754
Handicapped accessible
Tuesday, December 4, 2001, 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Appleton Public Library
Lower Level Meeting Room
925 So. Oneida Street
Appleton, WI 54911
Handicapped accessible
Wednesday, December 5, 2001, 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Green County Agriculture Bldg.
2841 6th Street
Monroe WI 53566
Handicapped accessible
Thursday, December 6, 2001, 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
U. W. Pyle Center
702 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53706
Handicapped accessible
The hearing in Madison on Thursday, December 6, 2001, will have videoconference connections with three additional locations. The public may participate in the hearing by testifying or registering an appearance at any of the four sites, and see as well as listen to testimony from other persons at all of the sites. Videoconference connections will be available from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the following locations:
• LaCrosse State Office Building, Room B-29
3550 Morman Coulee Road
LaCrosse WI 54601
Handicapped accessible
• Wisconsin Rapids State Office Building
2610 Industrial Street, Conference Room #4
Wisconsin Rapids WI 54495
Handicapped accessible
• University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Instructional Services Bldg. Room #1034
Green Bay, WI 54311
Handicapped accessible
Analysis prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Overview
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (“DATCP") regulates dairy farms to protect consumers and facilitate interstate shipment of Wisconsin dairy products. This rule updates current dairy farm rules under ch.
ATCP 60, Wis. Adm. Code. Among other things, this rule:
• Requires out-of-state dairy plant operators to test milk procured in this state from Wisconsin producers, and report test results.
• Authorizes milk producers to ship milk to 2 or more dairy plant operators. Each operator must comply with testing, reporting and other requirements related to milk shipped to that operator. One of the operators must take responsibility for producer licensing functions. That operator must pay the producer's license, grade A permit and re-inspection fees, and must perform initial dairy farm inspections and biennial water supply tests required for licensing purposes. Operators must report producer transfers.
• Authorizes milk producers (such as grazers) to discontinue milk shipments temporarily, without jeopardizing their license or permit status.
• Extends current rules to cover farms producing milk from sheep (current rules apply to cows and goats).
• Modifies current hot water capacity requirements for dairy farms.
• Authorizes the use of re-circulated water in plate coolers, subject to conditions specified in this rule.
• Authorizes milk producers to milk directly to bulk transport containers, subject to standards specified in this rule.
• Clarifies milk testing and reporting requirements.
• Requires dairy plant operators to respond immediately if the bacteria count in a producer's milk is more than 750,000 bacteria per ml. (the current “immediate response" level is 1,000,000 per ml.).
•Authorizes electronic reporting of milk test records. Dairy plant operators are encouraged, but not required, to implement electronic reporting by July 1, 2002.
•Requires a dairy plant operator to recover, from producers who contaminate milk with drug residues, the full amount of the operator's loss related to that milk. Under current rules, an operator must test bulk loads of milk, reject contaminated loads, and recover at least part of the loss from offending producers. This rule requires the operator to recover the full value of each rejected load (not just part), plus disposal costs.
•Tightens the current test standard for beta lactam drug residues in milk, and modifies current standards for Neomycin, Chlortetracycline and Oxytetracycline, per federal standards.
•Requires milk laboratories and laboratory analysts to be certified by DATCP, not the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS). The Legislature recently transferred dairy, food and water lab certification responsibilities from DHFS to DATCP.
• Codifies DATCP's current program of performance- based dairy farm inspection. Under this program, DATCP inspects different farms with different frequency, depending on their performance.
•Updates current sanitation requirements for dairy farms.
• Updates current DATCP administrative procedures.
