The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took another step at this April’s National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) to eliminate the rules within the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) that unnecessarily regulate Automatic Milking installations differently from traditional systems.
“We started this endeavor with the PMO in 2017,” said AEM Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs Nick Tindall. “We’ve chipped away at it and can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
This year, AEM’s Dairy Equipment Engineering Committee (DEEC) crafted a proposed amendment to strike a ventilation requirement that only applied to AMIs. AEM worked proactively to educate FDA and state dairy inspectors on how adoption of the amendment would not negatively impact food safety, while reducing the burden on dairy farmers and equipment manufacturers alike.
AEM’s amendment was adopted by a unanimous vote of the governing body.
This success builds upon significant progress achieved at the 2019 NCIMS, which, due to COVID-19, was the last opportunity to effect change.
“It’s a great example of what makes AEM so effective,” said Austin Gellings, AEM’s Director of Ag Sector, “We are the only organization that could leverage the necessary expertise from across the industry to present a united front.”
DEEC already has their eye toward the 2025 NCIMS to remove the final pieces of the PMO that place additional hardships on AMIs.
Contact Nick Tindall or Austin Gellings for more information.
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