USDA, FDA Sign Memorandum on Dairy Exports

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration signed a memorandum of understanding that they say will lead to better agency coordination for U.S. dairy exports. The memorandum, released Oct. 1, will better align the FDA with the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and Foreign Agricultural Service to help U.S. exporters address questions from trading partners, the two agencies said.

The memorandum calls for “timely” agency responses to foreign governments and defines responsibilities for each agency. The FDA, for example, will serve as the “lead agency” for communicating with foreign governments on the safety of U.S. milk exports, while the USDA’s AMS will serve as the lead agency for providing “export-related” services to U.S. milk exporters, including the issuance of dairy sanitary certificates.

The two agencies also agreed to develop “model attestations for dairy sanitary certificates” to address “emerging trends” in milk exports and investigate the “feasibility” of an electronic platform for sharing information on U.S. dairy facilities in “good regulatory standing” with the USDA. The memorandum also said that technical staff from both agencies will meet regularly to address “new and emerging issues” and review the “functioning, utility, and necessity” of the memorandum.

The U.S. is seeing a “rising trend” in trading partners “requesting additional information and assurances from dairy exporters,” Frank Yiannas, FDA deputy commissioner for Food Policy and Response, said in an Oct. 1 press release. He said the memorandum represents a “concerted, modern approach” to dairy exports. It will also help U.S. dairy exporters stay competitive, said Ted McKinney, USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. “I’m confident that it will help facilitate trade and help expand exports of wholesome, high-quality, U.S. dairy products.”

The memorandum was praised by dairy trade groups. The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council said they “deeply appreciate” the government's effort to draft the memorandum, saying it will lead to more dairy exports. “This new partnership ensures that the staff at USDA and FDA are working together in the most efficient way possible to lower barriers for our farmer’s dairy exports,” NMPF President Jim Mulhern said in a press release.

The International Dairy Foods Association called the memorandum a “tremendous accomplishment.” IDFA President Michael Dykes said it will help U.S. officials, who are “barraged with an influx of requests from foreign governments that make it increasingly difficult for all U.S. parties. This MOU keeps our dairy industry and U.S. government a step ahead, positioning U.S. dairy for growth by streamlining roles and resources already in place.”