Raw milk sales will become legal in Louisiana on August 1, 2024. Producers of raw milk will register for the state’s commercial feed license permit and sell their raw milk as “pet food.”
Raw milk sales coming to Louisiana
Sales of raw milk under the commercial feed license were technically not illegal in the past, leading to a gridlock, but now the State of Louisiana’s statutory definitions will make it clear that this is allowed.
HB467 also covers required product labeling, testing, documentation, and outbreak containment authority with oversight of the Senate and House committees on agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, and rural development. Read the official text on the LA Leg website.
Here are some excerpts of Louisiana’s raw milk bill:
To amend and reenact R.S. 3:1391(23) through (26) and to enact R.S. 3:1391(27), 1394(A)(14), 1398.1, and 1399(D), relative to the sale of raw milk; to provide for commercial feeds; to provide for definitions; to provide for labeling and inspection; to provide for testing and records; to authorize the commissioner of agriculture to suspend the sale, distribution, or movement on raw milk under certain circumstances; and to provide for related matters.
HB467 provides for milk to be sold as animal feed, under the feed permitting system, with labeling requirements.
§1394. Labeling requirements A. Before any feed is made available for sale, the registrant shall file with the commission the following information for each brand of feed to be made available for sale in the state:
(14) If the feed is raw milk:
(a) The express words “WARNING: NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION – THIS PRODUCT HAS NOT BEEN PASTEURIZED AND MAY CONTAIN HARMFUL BACTERIA”.
(warning label sizing is prescribed)
(b) When pet food or specialty pet food consists of raw milk, the words, “Raw (blank) Milk” shall appear conspicuously on the principal display panel. “Blank” is to be completed by using the species of animal from which the raw milk is collected.
Monthly testing is required and documentation is to be kept and available for disclosure. This is the standard in my state of Washington, my farmer goes beyond this by sending his milk to a third party tester once per week.
§1398.1. Testing and records of raw milk
A. Raw milk testing for salmonella shall be done once per month by an accredited laboratory. A producer of raw milk shall provide test results to the commission or a customer, upon request.
B. Test results shall be kept by the farmer or producer of raw milk for at least two years from testing.
The raw milk bill also gives the Louisiana Ag Commissioner authority to suspend sales in the event of an outbreak.
While some farmers have voiced distrust, as the Ag Commissioner has opposed raw milk legalization for the past decade, this is standard practice in states where raw milk sales are thriving. Senate and House agriculture committees will be responsible for oversight and can reverse suspensions if deemed unnecessary.
§1399. Detained commercial feeds; withdrawal from distribution; condemnation and confiscation; stop order
D. The commissioner may temporarily suspend the sale, distribution, or movement of any raw milk from a producer when the raw milk causes an outbreak of a contagious or infectious disease that poses an immediate threat to animal or public health. For the purposes of this Part, the Senate and House committees on agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, and rural development may conduct oversight review to override the commissioner’s temporary suspension.
View house and senate chamber archive footage in the original article.
