The Food and Drug Administration recently released the electronic version of the 2015 Grade “A” Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO), which contains the changes made last April during the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) conference.

FDA also issued two additional updated NCIMS documents, the “2015 Revision of the Procedures Governing the Cooperative State-Public Health Service/Food and Drug Administration Program of the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments” and the “2015 Revision of the Methods of Making Sanitation Ratings of Milk Shippers and the Certifications/Listings of Single-Service Containers and/or Closures for Milk and/or Milk Products Manufacturers.”

IDFA and Milk Industry Foundation members successfully advocated for updates that enhance food safety, encourage trade and increase processor flexibility. FDA will require implementation of these changes by October 2016, unless other dates are specifically noted.

Two successful outcomes are particularly important to IDFA members. IDFA advocated effectively for reasonable regulations in the PMO that will allow it to align with pending requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The industry also will have sufficient time to develop sampling criteria and rapid test methods to expand the requirements for testing raw milk for additional drug residues.

FDA is expected to release a detail memorandum soon that will outline the implementation of FSMA for Grade “A” PMO plants based on actions taken at NCIMS. IDFA will share the memo as soon as it’s available. 

Download the documents here.

The PMO incorporates provisions governing the processing, packaging and sale of Grade “A” milk and milk products, including yogurt, fermented milk products, whey, whey products and condensed and dry milk products. The NCIMS, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding with FDA, recommends changes and modifications to the PMO at its biennial conferences.

The 2015 NCIMS Conference was held last April in Portland, Ore. The next meeting will be held in 2017.

Members with questions may contact Cary Frye, IDFA vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs, at cfrye@idfa.org, or John Allan, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards, at jallan@idfa.org.