Security Task Force Created for Dairy

October 10, 2001

The International Dairy Foods Association has created a bio-security task force as part of ongoing efforts to ensure the quality and safety of domestic dairy products . Dairy processor members of the Milk Industry Foundation, National Cheese Institute and International Ice Cream Association are being invited to join.

Gordon Brown, senior vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs, and Allen Sayler, director, regulatory affairs and international standards will lead the task force which will work on specific industry-wide recommendations for further securing the U.S. dairy processing system, including the biosecurity of milk tankers, plants and manufacturing operations and distribution systems.

The task force will work closely with government agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which has requested dairy industry input for a new guidance paper on this subject.

For the past six months, IDFA and its members have been active with government plans for managing a potential outbreak of food and mouth disease. That experience will give the new task force some insight into the domestic management of foreign animal diseases, which can be applied more broadly to a wide variety of food security issues.