A bill in the Missouri House of Representatives seeks to consolidate the State Milk Board (SMB) with the new Missouri Agriculture Board, which represents a broad range of disparate commodities. In a letter sent this week, IDFA and NMPF urged the chair of the House Special Committee on Government Oversight to oppose the bill as written and to amend it to exclude the State Milk Board from any consolidation efforts.

“While we appreciate the effort to streamline state government entities and eliminate unnecessary or redundant regulations or institutions, we urge you to allow the SMB to continue as an independent board due to its unique regulator function and critical food safety mission,” IDFA and NMPF said. “The SMB’s responsibilities to consumer health are too important and require extensive technical knowledge, which would make it extremely challenging to include in a general consolidated advisory board.”

Pasteurized Milk Ordinance

The board was created in 1972 to oversee the implementation of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO), which sets dairy product safety standards and requirements that are enforced by state agencies with federal oversight from the Food and Drug Administration. The work of the Missouri State Milk Board is carried out by highly trained staff members who are responsible for inspections of Grade A milk and dairy products plants, product sampling surveillance and ratings oversight required by FDA. 

“Without proper oversight to assure safe and high-quality dairy products by the SMB, consumer health and the state of the dairy industry are at risk,” IDFA and NMPF said, calling for the chairman to oppose the bill.

Read the letter to Chairman Rick Brattin here.

For more details, contact Cary Frye, IDFA senior vice president of regulatory affairs, at cfrye@idfa.org, or John Allan, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards, at jallan@idfa.org.