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Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Jay Carmony

WSDA seeks feedback on proposed changes to milk guidance documents

WSDA seeks feedback on the adoption of proposed changes to the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) and associated National Conference of Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) documents. These changes will provide clarity, modernization, and ensure stronger public health controls in processing, handling, and transporting milk.

Changes to the PMO and NCIMS documents

Proposed changes to the PMO and NCIMS documents are grouped into clarification and modernizations, procedural changes, and public health procedure expansions.
  • Clarification and modernization changes center around updating forms and documents for grammar, uniformity, and clarity of language.
  • Procedural changes include updates such as moving information between sections of the documents to improve efficiency and clarity.
  • Selection of changes to public health procedures:
    • Increase the types of milk products discussed in the documents, including the addition of shelf-stable products and cup-set yogurts.
    • Ensure practices used in ultraviolet water treatment systems more closely aligned with current scientific standards.
    • Strengthen public health by ensuring information is in the correct section of the PMO and easily accessible by regulatory personnel.
    • NCIMS also removed language that would prevent new and innovative pasteurization techniques from being employed at this time.

What is NCIMS?

NCIMS has served as a model cooperative program between the U.S. Public Health Service/Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the states, and the dairy industry since 1950. This program jointly makes changes to regulatory documents.
 
The NCIMS conference deliberates proposals to amend the conference documents submitted by various individuals from state or local regulatory agencies, FDA, USDA, producers, processors, and consumers, who all have an interest in ensuring that the dairy products we consume are safe.
 
Conference documents, including the PMO, are a result of the conference itself, as well as approval by FDA after the conclusion of each conference.

How to provide feedback

To provide comments, please email envjustice@agr.wa.gov. All comments received will be used to inform the agency’s Environmental Justice Assessment for these changes. The Environmental Justice Assessment for these changes is scheduled to conclude on June 17, 2025, five business days following the publication of this notice.

Learn more

Visit our website to get more information about PMO, NCIMS, and WSDA’s food safety efforts in the dairy industry.