Dairy Groups Urge Senators To Mark Up Food Safety Legislation

Asks to include raw milk facilities in food safety regulations

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have asked senators planning to mark up key food safety legislation to include raw milk facilities in food safety regulations.

These facilities also remain exempt from existing regulations enforced by all the US states, which are know as the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO), that set the standard for maintaining the safety of the nation's milk and milk product supply.

IDFA and NMPF support the proposed 'FDA Food Safety Modernization Act' and urge the senators to expand the regulations to include facilities producing raw milk products for direct human consumption. In addition, the dairy groups would like the bill to recognize that state inspections of dairy facilities under the PMO already meets necessary food safety requirements and no duplicate functions are warranted.

Facilities following the PMO already pay fees for state licensing and inspections, IDFA and NMPF recommend that these state fees be credited against any new FDA registration fees if such fees are added to the food safety bill.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, DC, represents the dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations such as the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA).

The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, Virginia, develops and carries out policies that advance the well being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF's 30 cooperatives produce the majority of the US milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 40,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.