Montana is No. 1 in something; yeah! But we shouldn't cheer. A Missoulian article (Feb. 1), page A7, reviews a pending Montana bill about the dating of milk. Admittedly not a very exciting topic, unless you consider that the current Montana rule was recently selected as a national poster child for how state laws force extravagant waste of food.
The current Montana rule requires milk to be labeled with a "sell by" date that is 12 days after pasteurization. This is the shortest such sale date in the country; most states have no "sell by" date at all. After reaching the "sell by" date Montana retailers must throw out unsold milk; it can't even be donated, even though studies have shown that milk is good much, much longer. And Montana consumers, not understanding this "dating game," may also throw out good milk. Not only is good milk wasted, but reports have shown that milk costs more in Montana. So the 12-day rule, promulgated by the Board of Livestock, causes good milk to be thrown out and consumers to pay more for milk. Great to be No. 1!
A 2015 legislative proposal to dump the 12-day rule was voted down in a House committee. Now, the 2017 proposal mentioned in the Missoulian article proposes a smaller step of keeping the 12-day "sell by" date but adding a "best by" or "use by" date indicating the number of days after pasteurization that the milk should be fresh and safe for consumers. Thanks to Rep. Greg Hertz, Polson, for his continuing efforts to help out the average Montanan. Unfortunately, keeping the 12-day rule will likely keep Montana the No. 1 national example for food waste.
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Montana No. 1 for wasting milk - The Missoulian
