Relation of Code Dates to Retail Milk Supply

Milk from major dairies in Connecticut was examined three times over a 2-year period for flavor and bacterial counts immediately after bottling and after storage at 40 and 45°F to the end of the code period. The first two test periods were when processors established their own code periods which ranged from 7 to 14 d, but most were 9 to 12 d. The third test period was after a uniform code period of 10 d became effective, and some processors petitioned for an increase to 12 d. There was no marked improvement over the 2-year test period in keeping quality for milk stored at 40 (4.4°C) or 45°F (7.2°C) to the code date (last day of sale). In each test, all samples met bacterial standards after bottling but most did not meet the standard after refrigerated storage to the end of the code period. The amount of milk available to consumers meeting keeping quality and bacterial standards was calculated. In each test, after storage at 40°F over 90% of milk available for sale met keeping quality standards, but only 28 to 42% met bacterial standards. After storage at 45°F, 55 to 87% of milk available for sale met the keeping quality standard but less than 10% met the bacterial standard. Conclusions were that increasing the length of the code period would not be advantageous to consumers.