California’s Abundant Agricultural Commodities Stay Gold

California dairy farms range in size from large facilities milking thousands of cows to small farmstead operations milking a few dozen goats, sheep, or even water buffalo, Dr. Beam points out. “This diversity of approaches to producing, manufacturing, and distributing dairy products requires CDFA to maintain a large breadth of expertise within our food safety inspection staff of some 50 individuals,” he says. “The ability to uniformly apply laws governing the safe production and processing of milk products, while supporting the innovation and growth of a large and diverse dairy industry that serves both local and global customers, remains an important strength of CDFA.”

While the most important mission of CDFA’s regulatory milk safety program is the protection of public health through inspection and enforcement, CDFA is also committed to supporting the dairy industry’s food safety practices in an environmentally sustainable manner, Dr. Beam continues.

“For example, CDFA fully appreciates the challenges facing all sectors of the dairy industry as a result of the severe and ongoing drought in California,” he says. “Innovative and novel approaches to water conservation at dairy farms and milk processing plants that continue to ensure the safe and sanitary production of milk products remain of keen interest to the Department, and openness to discussions and collaboration with the industry in this important area is an additional strength of CDFA’s dairy food safety program.”

According to Dr. Beam, CDFA serves as the only regulatory agency in the state with comprehensive and specialized expertise in milk production, handling, processing, and distribution from farm to table.

To accomplish its food safety mission, Dr. Beam explains, CDFA inspects dairy farms, bulk milk tanker trucks, tanker wash facilities, and milk processing plants; conducts testing of pasteurization systems; administers technical license examinations for dairy industry personnel; samples and tests milk and milk products; responds to consumer complaints; investigates illegal importation or unlicensed manufacturing of dairy products; and assists allied agencies with food-borne illness investigations.

The department also conducts ratings of dairy farms, milk processing plants, and manufacturers of single-service dairy containers, as well as evaluations of milk testing laboratories for compliance with the FDA’s Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) in accordance with the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments, Dr. Beam adds. “These activities are vital to California’s ongoing shipment of milk products in interstate commerce, as well as to foreign markets,” he says.

“The Department values science-based approaches to ensuring food safety and working with industry within a regulatory framework to protect public health while supporting the need for innovation, competition within a global marketplace, local access to foods, and the environmentally sustainable production and processing of dairy products.” Dr. Beam boasts.

There is growing academic and industry interest in filtering, fractionating, and recombining milk components as part of new and innovative product development and marketing, he mentions. “Such innovation utilizes the most advanced milk processing technologies including ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ion exchange systems that require CDFA to maintain a food safety program with a high level of technical expertise,” Dr. Beam says.

“Ongoing training of field staff in cooperation with FDA, and maintaining a qualified cadre of scientific personnel helps to ensure that CDFA can evaluate the safety of novel and innovative dairy processing methods and review proposed systems for reclaiming and recycling water, or other conservation practices, in milk products plants,” he points out. “A broad understanding of both modern and more traditional manufacturing methods by CDFA personnel will also remain critical to small business development in the dairy industry and the ongoing protection of consumers.”

CDFA will also remain engaged with FDA on implementation of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the congressional mandate that FDA supports and partners with states in an integrated national food safety system, Dr. Beam projects.