The production and processing of milk and milk products in NH is regulated by the Dairy Sanitation Inspection & Licensing Program within the Food Protection Program.

Milk and milk products include:  fluid milk, cultured fluid milk, cream, yogurt, sour cream, eggnog, ice cream and cheese.

Products made from milk or cream, such as butter, puddings, candies, etc., are not milk products and are regulated by Food Sanitation Inspection & Licensing program within the Food Protection Program.

The milking operation receives a milk producer permit if the milk is to be processed at the farm or sold to a milk processor.  This permit is issued once and is good until 6 months after operations have ceased or it is revoked.  All milk processed at a licensed facility must come from a permitted source.   

A milk producer who sells more than an average of 20 quarts of milk a day is classified as a producer/distributor.  A producer/distributor must have a milk sanitation license.  If less than an average of 20 quarts of milk are sold per day, and not to a licensed milk plant, no license or permit is necessary.  This applies to fluid milk sales only.

No milk or milk products, as defined by NH Administrative Rules, shall be sold, offered for sale or served unless pasteurized.  Only the following milk products shall be acceptable for sale or use:

• Pasteurized fluid milk and fluid milk products; and
• Dry milk and dry milk products made from pasteurized milk and milk products.

This does not prohibit the direct sale of raw milk or cream from the producer, store or milk pasteurization plant to the final consumer, milk or cream from a producer to stores, nor the serving of raw milk at bona fide boarding houses where the milk is produced on the premises, provided that in the dining room of such boarding houses a sign is prominently displayed stating that such raw milk is served therein.

Raw milk and cream may be sold directly to the consumer from the farm but not through stores licensed by the Food Protection Program.

NH Administrative Rules were amended during the 2001 legislative session to match the language in the US Code of Federal Regulations.  The federal cheese laws allow for the sale within NH of cheese made from raw milk, when such cheese has been aged a minimum of 60 days at a temperature above 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and is clearly labeled as unpasteurized.

The NH Administrative Rules change applies only to cheeses that can be aged.  Fresh cheeses, yogurt and other dairy products must be made with pasteurized milk.  NH has no provisions for the use of heat-treated milk in making products that will not be aged.

Butter manufacturing regulated under the food sanitation rules requires that milk or milk products used as ingredients be pasteurized.

On the dairy farm the milking parlor or barn and the milk room must meet the requirements of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance.  Milk processing facilities must also meet meet the requirements of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance.  

The simplest pasteurizer available is the vat pasteurizer.  Milk is held in the vat at a minimum temperature of 145 degrees for at least 30 minutes.  Vat pasteurizers work by having very hot water in a jacket surrounding the milk which in turn heats the milk.  Most small vats have built in elements that heat the water in the jacket.  Larger vat pasteurizers may require external hot water sources, generally a boiler to produce hot enough water.

The other common pasteurizer is the high temperature short time (HTST) which pumps the milk through a plate heat exchanger with hot water on the other side, a holding tube, past thermometers and then through a cooling unit after the milk has been pasteurized.  Milk is heated to 161 degrees for at least 15 seconds. 

A bulk tank is not necessary but it is recommended.  Milk must be cooled down to 45 degrees or less within 2 hours of the completion of milking and stored at 45 degrees or less.  Improper cooling of milk will show in elevated bacteria counts and decreased shelf life.

Inspections or site visits can be conducted at any time prior to licensing.  Early scheduling of inspections is recommended.  After a facility is permitted or licensed inspections of milking facilities are conducted at least once every 6 months with follow-up if any critical violations are found or if the inspection score is less than 90. 

Inspections of milk processing facilities are conducted at least once every 3 months with follow-up if any critical violations are found.  Critical violations include:

• Pasteurizers are checked every 3 months to make sure they are working properly.  For a vat pasteurizer this involves checking the thermometers, checking that the leak detect valve is working properly, and checking to make sure the timing device is accurate.

• If pasteurized milk is to be sold across state lines the facility must be inspected by a federally certified state inspector and by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• Raw and pasteurized milk samples are collected for testing at least 4 times  every 6 months. 
• Raw milk is tested for bacteria (standard plate count), somatic cell count, antibiotic residues and temperature. 
• Pasteurized milk samples are tested for bacteria (standard plate count), coliform bacteria, butterfat, phosphates (an enzyme that if present indicates improper pasteurization), antibiotic residues and temperature. 
• Cheese samples are tested on a random basis.  Cheeses made from either raw or pasteurized milk are tested for coliform bacteria, fecal coliform and Staphylococcus aureus.   
• Water supplies for milk producing operations are tested every 3 years.  Water supplies for milk processing operations are tested every 6 months.  Water is tested for coliform bacteria.
• Prior to processing, all milk must be tested for antibiotics using an approved test.  All pasteurized milk that is sold across state lines must be tested for antibiotic residues before it is processed.

• Raw milk intended for processing - 100,000/ml.
• Raw milk intended for retail sale - 50,000/ml.

Somatic cell count:

• Cows Milk - 750,000/ml
• Goats Milk - 1,000,000/ml for milk intended for consumption as fluid milk. 
• Coliform in pasteurized milk or cheese - 10/ml
• Antibiotic residues - none present
• Phosphates - none present
• Water - no coliform present

• Milk producer permit:  There is no fee for this permit.
• Milk sanitation license:  There is a sliding scale fee for this license depending on how much milk is processed or distributed.  The fees are:
  1. $200 if over 25,000 pounds of milk and/or milk products that are sold/distributed per day.
  2. $150 if over 10,000 pounds of milk and/or milk products that are sold/distributed per day but less than 25,000.
  3. $100 if over 200 pounds of milk and/or milk products that are sold/distributed per day but less than 10,000.
  4. $50 if 200 pounds or less of milk and/or milk products that are sold/distributed per day.
• Inspections:  There is no fee for inspections.
• Sample testing:  Raw and pasteurized milk samples:  $25/per sample.
• Cheese samples:  There is no fee for these samples.
• Water:  $10/sample if tested through the Department of Environmental Services (DES) lab.  $21/sample If tested through the Public Health Lab.