IDFA is continuing to facilitate an open dialogue with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials who will soon introduce a pilot program to streamline inspections for plants that make both Grade “A” and non-Grade “A” dairy products. IDFA and others in the dairy industry support FDA’s plan to best use government resources and conduct these inspections during one visit, while maintaining high standards of food safety. Most recently, IDFA and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) offered to host FDA officials in a face-to-face meeting with stakeholders to discuss ways to develop a successful program.
“To secure the broad input that is so critical to achieving success, our organizations would be willing to organize and host a meeting of stakeholder groups with FDA,” the groups said in a letter sent last week to agency officials. “NMPF and IDFA believe this stakeholder engagement would be extremely valuable to FDA, and this type of collaboration is essential to assuring a successful outcome.”
Grade “A” and non-Grade “A” are categories of dairy foods that are currently inspected separately by different FDA staff. In the letter, IDFA and NMPF commended FDA for seeking ways to conduct the inspections during one visit and asked FDA to provide more details on the program’s logistics, scope and metrics for success.
The meeting invitation is the next step for IDFA in its ongoing efforts to share member expertise and insights with food safety regulators developing this pilot program. In April, IDFA facilitated a tour of Dean Foods Company’s Mayfield Dairy plant in Athens, Tenn., for state and federal regulators. The visit provided a firsthand look at dairy processing at a facility that makes both Grade “A” and non-Grade “A” dairy products.
At IDFA’s Regulatory RoundUP earlier this month, Stephen Ostroff, M.D., FDA deputy commissioner of food and veterinary medicine, commended IDFA for hosting the visit. He said the pilot program could start in late 2018 or early next year.
For more information, contact John Allan, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards, at jallan@idfa.org.