NATIONAL CONFERENCE
                         ON INTERSTATE MILK SHIPMENTS

                                       
      
     

 

Under the NCIMS, State Regulatory Agencies have the legal authority to regulate Grade "A" milk and milk products, from both domestic and firms located outside the United States. The laws and regulations of some States; however, as well as available State resources, have limited the States in their efforts to provide comprehensive enforcement and compliance of all applicable NCIMS requirements concerning imported Grade "A" milk and milk products.

Because a number of dairy firms located outside the United States have expressed an interest in exporting Grade "A" milk and milk products to NCIMS member States and in an effort to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of available resources, the NCIMS proposed and implemented an International Certification Pilot Program (ICPP). The ICPP subsequently expanded the opportunity for dairy facilities located outside the United States to participate in the NCIMS Program by increasing available resources while maintaining compliance with the NCIMS Grade "A" Milk Safety Program and ensuring the same level of milk safety provided under the NCIMS program. The ICPP affords firms located outside the United States an additional "Option" (to the ones addressed in M-I-00-4) thus addressing the issue of imported Grade "A" milk and milk products by establishing a regulatory and rating program designed to follow and apply all of the applicable NCIMS Grade "A" Milk Safety Program requirements. The ICPP provides a mechanism for listing the dairy located outside the United States, associated dairy farm bulk tank unit(s) (BTU) and laboratory facilities in the IMS List.

Specifically the ICPP ensures:

Personnel from third party certification (TPC) firms are required to comply with all applicable requirements included in the PMO and NCIMS related documents. These TPC personnel will assess: Grade "A" farms, bulk milk hauler/samplers, milk tank trucks, milk tank truck cleaning facilities, transfer stations, receiving stations, milk plants, conduct dairy plant and industry plant sampler inspections/evaluations, etc. They will collect all required regulatory milk, single-service containers/closures, and water samples. Upon FDA certification, TPC personnel will conduct Milk Sanitation Compliance and Enforcement Ratings, Laboratory Evaluations, and NCIMS voluntary HACCP program audits, if applicable, for transfer stations, receiving stations, and milk plants located outside the geographic boundaries of NCIMS member States for the purpose of listing facilities in the IMS List.

The following TPC firms have been selected to participate in the voluntary ICPP:

Milk Regulatory Consultants, LLC
R. Lynn Young, Owner
56820 Highway A
Russellville, Missouri 65074 - USA
Tel.: 573-338-1785
e-mail: rlynnyoung@cs.com

Harold Wainess & Associates, Inc.
Kenneth Anderson, President
2045 N.Dunhill Court N.
Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004 - USA
Tel.: 847-259-6400
Fax: 847-259-6460
e-mail: ken.anderson@haroldwainess.com

 

Dairy companies located outside the United States may contact these firms directly to inquire about certification opportunities offered under the Voluntary ICCP.
Additional information concerning this voluntary ICPP program is also available from:

Claudia Coles, ICPPC Co-Chair
Washington State Department of Agriculture
360-902-1905
ccoles@agr.wa.gov

or

Tom Ford, ICPPC Co-Chair
Indiana Board of Animal Health
317-544-2352
tford@boah.in.gov

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ICCP Committee has developed several items of importance to the Pilot Program. They are:

ICPP Policies and Procedures, dated July 10, 2009

ICPPC Q&A for updated questions and answers pertaining to the International Certification Pilot Program