Section 31. Authority to cancel, suspend, revoke, or deny a permit

A. The State Regulatory Authority may cancel, suspend, or revoke the grade A permit of any person, or may deny to any person a grade A permit if:

1. The grade A permit holder fails to engage daily in the business for which the grade A permit is issued;

2. The grade A permit holder does not daily produce, provide, manufacture, sell, offer for sale, or store in the Commonwealth, or bring, send, or receive into the Commonwealth milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product;

3. The grade A permit holder fails to provide at no cost to the State Regulatory Authority samples of milk, milk product, condensed milk product, and dry milk product in the person's possession for testing by the State Regulatory Authority;

4. The grade A permit holder fails to provide on a daily basis milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product in the person's possession for sampling and testing by the State Regulatory Authority;

5. The grade A permit holder fails to comply with any requirement of this chapter, or of §§ 3.2-5200 through 3.2-5211 or 3.2-5218 through 3.2-5233 of the Code of Virginia;

6. A public health hazard exists that affects the grade A permit holder's milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product;

7. The grade A permit holder or any agent of the grade A permit holder has obstructed or interfered with the State Regulatory Authority in the performance of its duties;

8. The person supplies false or misleading information to the State Regulatory Authority (i) in the person's application for a grade A permit; (ii) concerning the identity of the person who will control the facility that is the subject of the grade A permit; (iii) concerning the amount of milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product that the person produces, provides, manufactures, sells, offers for sale, or stores in the Commonwealth, or brings, sends, or receives into the Commonwealth and the distribution of the person's milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product; (iv) concerning any investigation conducted by the State Regulatory Authority; or (v) concerning the location of any part of the person's operation that is subject to a grade A permit;

9. The grade A permit holder engages in fraudulent activity regarding (i) the amount of milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product the person offers to sell or sells; or (ii) the collection of samples of the person's milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product used to determine compliance with any provision of this chapter or as a basis for payment for milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product;

10. Three of the most recent five bacteria counts, somatic cell counts, or cooling temperature determinations conducted on the grade A permit holder's raw milk exceed the standards specified in this chapter;

11. Three of the most recent five bacteria counts, coliform determinations, or cooling temperature determinations conducted on the grade A permit holder's milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product exceed the standards specified in this chapter;

12. The most recent aflatoxin or drug residue test on the grade A permit holder's milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product violates the standards specified in this chapter;

13. The most recent phosphatase test on the grade A permit holder's milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product violates the standard specified in this chapter;

14. The most recent chemical residue test or pesticide residue test on the grade A permit holder's milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product exceeds the actionable level, tolerance level, or safe level for any chemical residue or pesticide residue specified in 40 CFR Part 180 and 21 CFR Parts 70, 71, 73, 74, 80, 82, 130, 131, 133, 170, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 189, 556, 570, 573, 589. In the event that no actionable level, tolerance level, or safe level for a chemical residue or pesticides residue has been established in 40 CFR Part 180 and 21 CFR Parts 70, 71, 73, 74, 80, 82, 130, 131, 133, 170, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 189, 556, 570, 573, 589, the tolerance level shall be deemed to be zero;

15. The grade A permit holder fails to correct any (i) violation of this chapter documented as a result of an inspection or (ii) deficiency or nonconformity documented as a result of a HACCP audit that the State Regulatory Authority has cited in a written notice of intent to suspend the person's grade A permit, as a violation of this chapter;

16. The grade A permit holder's raw milk for pasteurization is warmer than 50°F two hours after the completion of the first milking or the grade A permit holder's raw milk for pasteurization is warmer than 50°F during or after any subsequent milking;

17. The grade A permit holder's equipment is covered or partially covered by an accumulation of milk solids, milk fat, or other residue so that the milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product is adulterated;

18. The grade A permit holder sells or offers for sale milk, milk product, condensed milk product, or dry milk product that violates any requirement of this chapter;

19. The grade A permit holder's permit is suspended three times within a 12-month period;

20. The authority in another state responsible for issuing grade A permits has denied, suspended, or revoked the permit of the person in that state for any act or omission that would violate this chapter or the statutes under which this chapter was adopted, had the act or omission occurred in the Commonwealth; or

21. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has previously revoked the person's grade A permit.

B. The State Regulatory Authority may summarily suspend a grade A permit for violation of any of the following subdivisions of subsection A of this section: 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, or 18.

C. The State Regulatory Authority may suspend from sale any condensed milk, condensed milk product, dry milk, dry milk product, milk, or milk product in violation of the requirements of this chapter processed by any grade A dairy plant permit holder in lieu of suspending the grade A dairy plant permit holder's permit.

D. If the State Regulatory Authority suspends a permit holder's permit more than three times within any 12-month period, the permit holder's permit shall not be reinstated for a period of three days on the fourth suspension within any 12-month period and six days on the fifth suspension within any 12-month period with three days being added to the required suspension period for each additional suspension thereafter within any 12-month period.

E. If the State Regulatory Authority issues two written notices of intent to suspend a person's permit for failure to correct the same deficiency within any 12-month period, the State Regulatory Authority may issue and enforce a written notice of intent to summarily suspend the person's permit at any time within six months after the date the written notice of intent to summarily suspend is issued, to summarily suspend the person's permit if the same violation exists on any inspection during the six-month period specified in the written notice of intent to summarily suspend.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 23, Issue 20, eff. May 23, 2007; amended, Virginia Register Volume 25, Issue 11, eff. March 4, 2009; Volume 31, Issue 12, eff. January 21, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 3.2-5206 of the Code of Virginia.