RALEIGH - The N.C. Board of Agriculture will meet at 12:30 p.m. Monday, April 23, in the Hall of Fame room at the Agriculture Building, 2 W. Edenton St.

The board will vote on a proposed rule governing the sale of unpasteurized milk for pet food. Under the rule, anyone who sells unpasteurized milk for pet food would be required to add a food coloring to the milk that would give it a charcoal gray color. In addition, the product label would have to carry the statement, "Not for Human Consumption."

Selling unpasteurized milk for human consumption is illegal in North Carolina. Selling it for pet food is not. Food protection officials with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services say the rule would help keep unpasteurized milk identified as pet food out of the human food chain.

The board also will consider a request from the N.C. Cattlemen's Association to conduct a referendum among cattle producers for a $1-per-head assessment on cattle marketed in North Carolina. The association would use the money to promote the N.C. cattle industry.

Prior to the meeting, board members will participate in ethics training from 9 a.m. to noon at the N.C. Museum of History. State law requires that members of certain state boards and commissions undergo ethics training.

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