Rhode Island General Laws Title 21. Food and Drugs § 21-2-5. Analysis of raw milk by private milk laboratories

(a) Each milk plant engaged in processing milk shall, at least once in each calendar month, either through its own agents or through its milk haulers, collect, preserve, and submit to a private milk laboratory for analysis a sample or samples of the milk of each producer supplying milk to the milk plant. The laboratory shall determine the bacterial counts of the sample, both as raw milk and after pasteurization in the laboratory, the determination to be made by the standard plate count method, as well as a determination for any harmful substances that the director may by regulation require, and shall keep a record of these findings for a period of not less than one year following the findings which shall be open to inspection by the director or any milk inspector. The laboratory shall make a report to the milk plant submitting the sample with respect to each determination.

(b) The director may by regulation require any milk plant to submit samples of milk after pasteurization in the plant to a private laboratory for analysis for the purpose of ascertaining bacterial counts or the presence of harmful substances or organisms as the director may require, and the laboratory shall make its reports on its analysis available to the director in the same manner as with respect to samples of raw milk submitted by producers.

(c) Regulations promulgated by the director pursuant to this section requiring sampling by a private milk laboratory shall not impose an unreasonable burden on milk plants. The director may in his or her discretion engage private laboratories to perform any additional tests that he or she may require in the event the expense of the tests constitutes an unreasonable burden on milk plants. The director may by regulation require producers of raw milk cheese to submit samples of unpasteurized milk for said analysis.