Except as provided in §1000.42, all skim milk and butterfat required to be reported pursuant to §——.30 of each Federal milk order shall be classified as follows:

(a) Class I milk shall be all skim milk and butterfat:

(1) Disposed of in the form of fluid milk products, except as otherwise provided in this section;

(2) In packaged fluid milk products in inventory at the end of the month; and

(3) In shrinkage assigned pursuant to §1000.43(b).

(b) Class II milk shall be all skim milk and butterfat:

(1) In fluid milk products in containers larger than 1 gallon and fluid cream products disposed of or diverted to a commercial food processing establishment if the market administrator is permitted to audit the records of the commercial food processing establishment for the purpose of verification. Otherwise, such uses shall be Class I;

(2) Used to produce:

(i) Cottage cheese, lowfat cottage cheese, dry curd cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, pot cheese, Creole cheese, and any similar soft, high-moisture cheese resembling cottage cheese in form or use;

(ii) Milkshake and ice milk mixes (or bases), frozen desserts, and frozen dessert mixes distributed in half-gallon containers or larger and intended to be used in soft or semi-solid form;

(iii) Aerated cream, frozen cream, sour cream, sour half-and-half, sour cream mixtures containing non-milk items; yogurt, including yogurt containing beverages with 20 percent or more yogurt by weight and kefir, and any other semi-solid product resembling a Class II product;

(iv) Custards, puddings, pancake mixes, coatings, batter, and similar products;

(v) Buttermilk biscuit mixes and other buttermilk for baking that contain food starch in excess of 2% of the total solids, provided that the product is labeled to indicate the food starch content;

(vi) Products especially prepared for infant feeding or dietary use (meal replacements) that are packaged in hermetically sealed containers and products that meet the compositional standards of §1000.15(a) but contain no fluid milk products included in §1000.15(a).

(vii) Candy, soup, bakery products and other prepared foods which are processed for general distribution to the public, and intermediate products, including sweetened condensed milk, to be used in processing such prepared food products;

(viii) A fluid cream product or any product containing artificial fat or fat substitutes that resembles a fluid cream product, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of this section; and

(ix) Any product not otherwise specified in this section; and

(3) In shrinkage assigned pursuant to §1000.43(b).

(c) Class III milk shall be all skim milk and butterfat:

(1) Used to produce:

(i) Cream cheese and other spreadable cheeses, and hard cheese of types that may be shredded, grated, or crumbled;

(ii) Plastic cream, anhydrous milkfat, and butteroil; and

(2) In shrinkage assigned pursuant to §1000.43(b).

(d) Class IV milk shall be all skim milk and butterfat:

(1) Used to produce:

(i) Butter; and

(ii) Evaporated or sweetened condensed milk in a consumer-type package; and

(iii) Any milk product in dried form;

(2) In inventory at the end of the month of fluid milk products and fluid cream products in bulk form;

(3) In the skim milk equivalent of nonfat milk solids used to modify a fluid milk product that has not been accounted for in Class I; and

(4) In shrinkage assigned pursuant to §1000.43(b).

(e) Other uses. Other uses include skim milk and butterfat used in any product described in this section that is dumped, used for animal feed, destroyed, or lost by a handler in a vehicular accident, flood, fire, or similar occurrence beyond the handler's control. Such uses of skim milk and butterfat shall be assigned to the lowest priced class for the month to the extent that the quantities destroyed or lost can be verified from records satisfactory to the market administrator.

[64 FR 47899, Sept. 1, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 82833, Dec. 28, 2000; 68 FR 7064, Feb. 12, 2003; 69 FR 21952, Apr. 23, 2004; 75 FR 51931, Aug. 24, 2010]