Montana Livestock Official Pleased With Ruling On Milk Dates

HELENA – A Montana livestock official said Monday he’s pleased that a judge upheld the state’s system of dating retail milk, and that the “sell-by” date of 12 days after pasteurization puts more power and knowledge in the hands of consumers.

Yet the company that sued can continue to stamp its own expiration date on milk sold in Montana if Friday’s court decision is appealed to the Montana Supreme Court, said Christian Mackay, executive officer for the state Board of Livestock.

Core-Mark International, a food distributor based in California, challenged Montana’s sell-by date in court last year, saying individual milk processors should be able to stamp their own expiration date on their milk.

The expiration date is a more accurate deadline for when the milk goes bad, as opposed to Montana’s rule, which tells consumers only when the milk has been pasteurized, they said.

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