Section 26-2-455 - Examination of raw milk by department; adulterated milk(a) Raw milk for human consumption shall be examined by the department as often as necessary to determine that it is not adulterated or misbranded. The department may, upon written notice to the owner or person in charge, place a hold order on any raw milk for human consumption that it determines, or has probable cause to believe, to be unwholesome or otherwise adulterated or misbranded. Under a hold order, raw milk for human consumption shall be permitted to be suitably stored. It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or alter a hold order, notice, or tag placed on raw milk for human consumption by the department, and neither such milk nor the containers thereof shall be relabeled, repacked, reprocessed, altered, disposed of, or destroyed without permission of the department except on order by a court of competent jurisdiction.(b) When the freezing point of milk is greater than -0.525 degrees Celsius, the farm shall be notified that apparently the raw milk contains added water. If a second violation of this freezing point standard occurs within two years, an observed milking or operation of processing shall be conducted and samples analyzed. The freezing point obtained from raw milk collected during the observation shall be used to determine a definite freezing point from the individual farm. A violation of the determined freezing point for a specific operation by over 3 percent within two years of setting the standard shall call for a two-day permit suspension or equivalent.(c) When raw milk for human consumption is found to be adulterated by the presence of drugs, pesticides, herbicides, or other poisonous substances, it shall be impounded and additional samples analyzed. Raw milk for human consumption found to be adulterated shall be disposed of until analysis shows the product not to be adulterated. If testing reveals raw milk for human consumption positive for drug residues, the raw milk shall be disposed of in a manner that removes it from the human and animal food chain. The department shall immediately suspend the producer's Grade "A" raw milk for human consumption permit, or equally effective measures shall be taken, to prevent the sale of raw milk for human consumption containing drug residues, and a penalty shall be imposed. Future sales are prohibited until subsequent testing reveals the milk is free of drug residue. The Grade "A" producer's permit may be reinstated to allow the sale of raw milk for human consumption when a representative sample taken from the producer's raw milk is no longer positive for drug residue. Whenever a drug residue test is positive, a recall shall be initiated and an investigation shall be made to determine the cause. The farm inspection must be completed by the department to determine the cause of the residue and actions taken to prevent future violations, including on-farm changes in procedures necessary to prevent future occurrences as recommended by the department.Added by 2022 Ga. Laws 879,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2023.