Virginia Law

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

"Administrator" means the administrator of the State Milk Commission.

"Affiliate" means any person having control over a distributor.

"Aggregated base" means the total base of a cooperative association's members.

"Approving authority" means the commissioners of the State Milk Commission.

"Assigned daily base" means the lesser of:

1. The monthly pounds of base assigned to a licensed processing general distributor divided by the number of days in the month, or

2. The monthly pounds of Class I allocated to the assigned producer's base deliveries plus 8.0% divided by the number of days in the month.

"Base" means a specified amount of milk which a dairy farmer shall supply periodically and which a distributor shall purchase. Base may be expressed in terms of whole milk or the components of whole milk.

"Base adjusting period" means that time period, specified by regulation, which is used to compare a licensed producer's average monthly production of marketable milk during that period to his established base.

"Base deliveries" means the amount of milk delivered by an individual or a group of base holding dairy farmers which is equal to the bases assigned or the actual deliveries, whichever is less.

"Base establishing period" means the number of months, specified by regulation, used to determine the productive capacity of a new producer for the purpose of allocating base.

"Books and records" means all data, however recorded, pertaining to the business of the person in question.

"Class I" means fluid milk products sold for consumption in approving authority controlled markets or to licensed distributors which sell these products in such markets. Class I products include whole milk, low-fat milk, nonfat milk, flavored milk and buttermilk.

"Class I-A" means products which meet the requirements for Class I fluid milk products but are sold outside of approving authority controlled markets.

"Class II" means products which are not typically fluid milk products or, if in fluid form, have a butterfat content higher than Class I products. Sales of fluid milk products used in commercial cooking and baking processes are classified as Class II products.

"Commission" means the State Milk Commission of Virginia.

"Consumer" means any person other than a milk distributor who purchases milk.

"Cooperative association" means any association of producers, incorporated under state law and qualifying for exemption under the provisions of the "Capper-Volstead Act" (7 USC § 291 et seq.), which the approving authority determines to have full authority for the marketing of milk and dairy products of its members.

"Daily base" means an amount determined by dividing a producer's established base by the number of days in the applicable month.

"Delivery period" means the calendar month.

"Distributor" means any person selling, marketing, or distributing milk or milk products other than at retail in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"Distributor milk" means any skim milk or butterfat contained in milk received from other licensed distributors, except producer general distributors.

"Filled milk" means any combination of nonmilk fat with skim milk so that the product resembles a fluid milk product.

"Fluid milk product" means all processed, pasteurized, and packaged milk, skim milk (including concentrated and reconstituted skim milk), butterfat, milk drinks (plain or flavored), cream, and any mixture of skim milk and cream (except ice milk mix, ice cream mix, frozen dessert mix, and eggnog) in fluid form for sale or consumption with a butterfat content less than 6.0%. It is labeled as milk according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Milk Marketing Order System standards.

"Licensee" means a licensed milk distributor or milk producer.

"Market" means a geographic region considered as a place for sales designated by the approving authority.

"Milk" means the clean lacteal secretion obtained from healthy cows, including milk that is cooled, pasteurized, standardized or otherwise processed with the intention of selling it as fluid milk product.

"Milk commission base" means the number of pounds established by the approving authority in relation to the total average monthly pounds of Class I sales.

"Other source milk" means all skim milk and butterfat contained in or represented by:

1. Receipts (including any Class II products produced in the distributor's own plant in a prior month) which are reprocessed, converted, or combined with a fluid milk product during the month.

2. Receipts from producer general distributors.

3. Receipts from any source other than licensed producers or other licensed distributors.

"Processing general distributor" means a person engaged in the business of receiving, pasteurizing, processing, packaging and distributing fluid milk. All processing general distributors shall maintain permits required by appropriate health authorities.

"Producer" means any person who produces milk for sale as fluid milk product and has been licensed by the approving authority.

"Producer general distributor" means a distributor who pasteurizes, processes, packages and distributes only milk produced by himself and has Class I sales at less than 5.0% of the market or markets in which he operates. All producer general distributors shall maintain permits required by appropriate health authorities.

"Producer milk" means any skim milk or butterfat contained in raw milk received directly from producers or for the account of producers.

"Producing unit" means a Grade "A" dairy farm.

"Sanitary regulations" means all laws and ordinances relating to the production, handling, transportation, distribution and sale of milk.

"Subsidiary" means any person controlled by a distributor, an affiliate, or a group of distributors.

"UHT" means a product hermetically sealed in a container and so thermally processed as to render the product free of viable microorganisms, including spores, of public health significance. UHT products as defined in this chapter shall meet the definition for aseptic processing and packaging and do not require refrigeration. Aseptic processing and packaging means the filling of a commercially sterilized cooled product into presterilized containers followed by aseptic hermetical sealing with a presterilized closure in an atmosphere free from microorganisms.

"Ultrapasteurized" means, when used to describe any milk or milk product, milk or milk products thermally processed at a temperature of 280°F (138°C) or hotter for at least two seconds, either before or after packaging, so as to produce a product that has an extended shelf life under normal refrigerated storage.