BILLINGS — The Montana Department of Livestock has moved to suspend the operating license of Meadow Gold's Billings milk processing plant, citing repeated violations of federal dairy sanitation standards.
The department issued Meadow Gold, officially licensed as DFA Dairy Brands Fluid LLC doing business as Meadow Gold, a Notice of Proposed License Suspension and Opportunity for Hearing on July 31.
The action follows Q2 News' previous reporting that state inspectors found sanitation and contamination concerns at the Billings facility, including dirty equipment, mold, residue buildup and other conditions that inspectors said could contaminate milk products. No recall was issued.
According to the Department of Livestock, the proposed suspension is based on repeated violations of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, the national standard governing the production and processing of Grade A milk.
Under the ordinance, Meadow Gold had 48 hours after receiving the notice to either take corrective action or request a hearing. The department said certified mail records confirmed the company received the notice.
State officials said inspectors have identified multiple areas of noncompliance but have not determined with complete certainty what is causing reports of milk spoiling before its expiration date.
"While we have identified multiple issues of PMO noncompliance, the cause(s) of premature milk spoilage has not been identified with 100 percent certainty," the department said in a statement.
The department said Meadow Gold and its parent company, Dairy Farmers of America, have expressed a commitment to resolving the issues and are working to correct the identified violations.
Officials said there has been no production stoppage beyond what was required during inspections and corrective maintenance.
The department also said it is not aware of any credible reports of illness linked to the premature milk spoilage issue and emphasized there is no indication the problems originated with the dairies supplying milk to the plant.
