PEER responded to a legislative request to determine whether the Department of Health’s milk inspection procedures in District II (northeast Mississippi) are consistent and adequate. PEER determined that the Department of Health, despite a 1986 warning from the federal Food and Drug Administration, gives prior notice of state sanitation ratings and federal check ratings to dairies in District II. Due to a lack of formal field training for sanitarians, ambiguous inspection criteria, and a lack of a uniform, written appeal procedures, the Department of Health’s milk inspection operations do not facilitate consistent and uniform enforcement of regulations. PEER also determined that the department does not choose dairies randomly for inspection, as is required by federal regulation.
For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.