Minnesota Session Laws - 1990, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1990 

                        CHAPTER 407-H.F.No. 2305 
           An act relating to agriculture; providing requirements 
          for light butter, reduced fat cheese, light cheese, 
          frozen yogurt, frozen low-fat yogurt, frozen nonfat 
          yogurt, reduced-fat ice cream, low-fat ice cream, and 
          nonfat ice cream; amending Minnesota Statutes 1988, 
          sections 32.471, subdivision 1; 32.481; and 32.55, 
          subdivision 2, and by adding subdivisions; proposing 
          coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 32. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 32.471, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [PROHIBITION.] No A person shall may not 
manufacture for sale, or sell, or have in possession with intent 
to sell, any:  
    (1) dairy or creamery butter which that contains less than 
80 percent butterfat by weight, or which has been manufactured 
from milk or cream which that has not been pasteurized in 
accordance with the provisions of sections 32.391 and 
32.392; provided that nothing in this section shall be construed 
as prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or distribution of 
butterfat spreads with a lower butterfat content so long as such 
spreads are packaged and contain all dairy products and labeled 
so as to disclose the butterfat and other ingredient content and 
distinguish them from butter, in accordance with rules of the 
commissioner or 
    (2) light butter that does not meet the requirements of 
section 2.  
    Sec. 2.  [32.474] [LIGHT BUTTER.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] "Light butter" means a food 
produced to resemble butter that contains 52 percent butterfat, 
with one-third fewer calories, made from milk or cream, or both, 
that has been pasteurized in accordance with sections 32.391 and 
32.392, that may contain one or more of the optional dairy 
ingredients described in subdivision 3, and that may contain 
other optional ingredients described in subdivision 4. 
     Subd. 2.  [VITAMIN A ADDED.] Light butter must have vitamin 
A added, if necessary, to provide 15,000 international units per 
pound within limits of good manufacturing practices. 
    Subd. 3.  [DAIRY INGREDIENTS.] Light butter may contain the 
following dairy ingredients:  part skim milk, skim milk, 
buttermilk, whey, and whey-derived ingredients. 
     Subd. 4.  [OTHER INGREDIENTS.] Light butter may contain the 
following optional ingredients:  water, salt or salt 
substitutes, bacterial cultures, nutritive sweeteners, 
emulsifiers and stabilizers, safe and suitable color additives, 
natural flavors, and safe and suitable ingredients that improve 
texture, prevent syneresis, or extend the shelf life of the 
product. 
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 32.481, is 
amended to read:  
    32.481 [CHEESE.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] The term "Cheese" as used in 
sections 32.481 to 32.485, shall include includes all varieties 
of cheese, cheese spreads, cheese foods, cheese compounds, or 
processed cheese, made or manufactured in whole or in part from 
cow's, goat's, or sheep's milk.  
    Subd. 2.  [REDUCED FAT CHEESE; LIGHT CHEESE.] (a) "Reduced 
fat cheese" or "light cheese" is a product prepared from milk 
and other ingredients by the processing procedures set by rule 
or by an alternate procedure that produces a finished cheese 
having the same or substantially the same flavor, body, and 
texture characteristics as the referenced standardized variety 
on the labels of the reduced fat cheese.  
    (b) Reduced fat cheese must contain at least one-third less 
than the minimum milkfat content required of the referenced 
standardized variety.  The moisture content of the reduced fat 
cheese must not exceed 125 percent of the maximum allowable 
moisture of the referenced standardized variety.  The principal 
display panel must bear the name "reduced fat ...... cheese" or 
"light ...... cheese," the blank to be filled with the varietal 
name of the referenced standardized cheese all in the same size 
type.  The principal display panel must also contain a statement 
declaring the amount of fat reduction as a percentage or 
fraction of the referenced standardized variety in a type size 
not less than one-half that of the name of the reduced fat 
cheese.  All other label information must be as stated in 
section 32.483 or as required by Code of Federal Regulations, 
title 21, and as adopted by rule.  
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 32.55, 
subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 2.  [FROZEN FOOD.] "Frozen foods" means ice cream, 
frozen custard, French ice cream, French custard ice cream, ice 
milk, fruit sherbets, water ices, frozen malted milk, frozen 
milk shakes, frozen malts, frozen yogurt, frozen low-fat yogurt, 
frozen nonfat yogurt, reduced-fat ice cream, low-fat ice cream, 
nonfat ice cream, or any frozen food for which the commissioner 
has established a standard of identity, but shall not include 
frozen vegetables, fruits, meats, poultry, or bakery products.  
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 32.55, is amended 
by adding a subdivision to read:  
    Subd. 14.  [FROZEN YOGURT; FROZEN LOW-FAT YOGURT; FROZEN 
NONFAT YOGURT.] "Frozen yogurt," "frozen low-fat yogurt," or 
"frozen nonfat yogurt" means a frozen dairy food made from a mix 
containing safe and suitable ingredients including, but not 
limited to, milk products.  All or a part of the milk products 
must be cultured with a characterizing live bacterial culture 
that contains the lactic acid producing bacteria Lactobacillus 
bulgaricus and Streptococus thermopilus and may contain other 
lactic acid producing bacteria.  
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 32.55, is amended 
by adding a subdivision to read:  
    Subd. 15.  [REDUCED-FAT ICE CREAM.] "Reduced-fat ice cream" 
means a frozen food that is made from the same ingredients and 
in the same manner as for ice cream except that:  
    (1) milkfat content is more than two percent but not more 
than seven percent; 
    (2) total milk solids content per gallon before the 
addition of bulky flavors is not less than .46 pounds and not 
less than 1.3 pounds of food solids per gallon; and 
    (3) the weight per gallon is not less than 4.0 pounds.  
    Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 32.55, is amended 
by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 16.  [LOW-FAT ICE CREAM.] "Low-fat ice cream" means a 
frozen food that is made from the same ingredients and in the 
same manner as ice cream except that:  
    (1) milkfat content is more than 0.5 percent but not more 
than 2.0 percent; 
    (2) total milk solids content per gallon before the 
addition of bulky flavors is not less than .49 pounds and not 
less than 1.3 pounds of total food solids per gallon; and 
    (3) the weight per gallon is not less than 4.0 pounds.  
    Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 32.55, is amended 
by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 17.  [NONFAT ICE CREAM.] "Nonfat ice cream" means a 
frozen food that is made from the same ingredients and in the 
same manner as for ice cream except that:  
    (1) milkfat content is less than 0.5 percent; 
    (2) total milk solids content per gallon before the 
addition of bulky flavors is not less than .45 pounds and not 
less than 1.3 pounds of total food solids per gallon; and 
    (3) the weight per gallon is not less than 4.0 pounds.  
    Sec. 9.  [32.555] [COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL REGULATIONS.] 
    (a) Frozen yogurt, frozen low-fat yogurt, and frozen nonfat 
yogurt must comply with Code of Federal Regulations, title 21, 
and sections 32.55 to 32.90.  
    (b) Reduced-fat ice cream, low-fat ice cream, and nonfat 
ice cream must comply with the frozen dessert provisions in Code 
of Federal Regulations, title 21, part 135.  
    Sec. 10.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Section 8 and section 9 as it applies to nonfat ice cream 
are effective January 1, 1991. 
    Presented to the governor April 3, 1990 
    Signed by the governor April 6, 1990, 11:02 a.m.