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FDA Delays Testing Compliance Program for Milk Residues

February 4, 2011

Last December, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine informed the dairy industry that it would begin a new milk residue testing compliance program for producers who had a dairy cull cow tissue residue violation during the previous three years. Initially scheduled to begin in January, the FDA compliance project has been placed on hold, while FDA seeks additional stakeholder input. Industry, NCIMS, and State regulators have raised significant concerns about the scope, logistics, and marketplace disruption potential of the FDA compliance project as originally formulated.

The FDA intends to move forward with a compliance project; however, the approach will be different from the one previously announced because FDA now understands the many concerns expressed by stakeholders. FDA has committed to address industry concerns, and is continuing dialogue with stakeholders. NMPF believes that any FDA compliance project must be scaled appropriately to minimize marketplace disruption. FDA continues to affirm the safety of milk, stating, “FDA has not previously held the view, nor does it now hold a view, that the nation’s milk supply is unsafe due to animal drug residues.”

Please contact Jamie JonkerBeth Briczinski, or Betsy Flores for additional information.