The safety of the milk and milk products enjoyed by NH citizens begins at the farm level.  Milk producers take care to ensure their products are of good quality when they leave the farms.  It is the role of the Dairy Sanitation Inspection & Licensing Program to monitor the production of raw milk.  All dairy farms that sell milk to processing plants are required to hold permits issued by DHHS.  The Dairy Sanitation Inspection & Licensing Program inspects these dairy farms at least once every six months to make sure the conditions on the farms meet NH standards.  Samples of milk and water are collected and tested to check quality.

Milk pasteurization plants provide a critical step to ensure the safety of the milk and milk products available to NH citizens.  These milk plants may produce fluid milk, yogurt, cheese or ice cream.  All milk plants located within NH are licensed by DHHS.  The Dairy Sanitation Inspection & Licensing Program also conducts complicated tests on all milk pasteurizers at least once every 3 months to ensure the milk and milk products are processed and handled properly.  Samples of pasteurized milk and milk products are collected and tested monthly to check for quality and proper pasteurization.  Both milk plant inspection and farm inspection are standardized under a national cooperative program that includes all fifty states, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the dairy industry.