97.176 Butter; grading; label.

(1) It is unlawful to sell, offer or expose for sale, or have in possession with intent to sell, any butter at retail unless it has been graded. Butter shall be graded as follows:

(a) Grade, Wisconsin, AA — 93 score;

(b) Grade, Wisconsin, A — 92 score;

(c) Grade, Wisconsin, B — 91-90 score;

(d) Grade, Wisconsin, undergrade — all butter below Wisconsin B.

(2) United States AA, A, and B grades shall be accepted in lieu of the corresponding Wisconsin AA, A, and B grades, but all United States grades below B shall, for the purpose of this section, correspond to Wisconsin undergrade.

(3) As used in this section, score or grade means the grading of butter by its examination for flavor and aroma, body and texture, color, salt, package and by the use of other tests or procedures approved by the department for ascertaining the quality of butter in whole or in part.

(4) Details for methods and procedures to be used for ascertaining quality, for labeling, and for arbitrating disputes with respect to grades, shall be developed by the department as a result of public hearings to be held at a convenient location in the state.

(5) Butter from outside of the state sold within the state shall be provided with a label which indicates that it complies with the state grade standards as provided in this section and which indicates the grade in a manner equivalent to the requirements for butter manufactured and sold within the state.

(6) Butter that carries the state grade labels shall be graded by butter graders licensed under s. 97.175.

(7) No person, for himself or herself, or as an agent, shall advertise the sale of any butter at a stated price, unless the grade of the butter is set forth in such advertisement in not less than 10-point type.

History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1650m (4); 1983 a. 131 s. 2; Stats. 1983 s. 97.176; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 492.

Wisconsin's butter-grading law does not violate the due process clause, the equal protection clause, or the dormant commerce clause. This section is rationally related to the state's legitimate interest in consumer protection and does not discriminate against out-of-state businesses. Minerva Dairy, Inc. v. Harsdorf, 905 F.3d 1047 (2018).