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MMPA says milk quality & safety are essential

The head of Michigan Milk Producers Association says USDA staff reductions won’t stop food safety efforts throughout the supply chain.

Joe Diglio tells Brownfield, “While there might be maybe some less oversight within the government ranks, I don’t believe that the practices being followed today from the farm community all the way through the supply chain to the end consumer will be less than what they had been, traditionally.”

MMPA herds recently received nearly 40 percent of the National Mastitis Council’s National Dairy Quality Awards.

Diglio points to the Grade “A” Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, which has been keeping milk safe for a century, and the work of the states.

“Let’s not lose sight of the fact that each state has regulatory agencies that do come into facilities to look at them, to make sure that facilities are kept up to standards that don’t diminish the quality standards that we have in this industry,” he says.

The National Milk Producers Federation, International Dairy Foods Association, American Dairy Coalition, and numerous other government agencies and private dairy businesses have been speaking out on the safety of milk following a pause in an FDA proficiency testing program.