The Dairy Practices Council had a successful annual conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Nov. 6-8, 2013. There were approximately 118 people in attendance. Prior to the conference, on November 5, a workshop titled “Food Safety Workshop for Artisan Cheesemakers and Small-Scale Dairy Processors” was held.
The workshop was attended by 48 people and included cheese suppliers to Whole Foods Market, regulatory personnel from across the U.S. and Canada, several personnel from educational institutions, including Penn State, and industry personnel involved with the farmstead cheese-making industry.
Attendees were also able to attend a tour of the Dairy Farmers of America plant in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, which produces 9.5-ounce and 13.7-ounce glass bottles of Starbucks Frappuccino and 11-ounce glass bottles of Starbucks Iced Coffee for the NACP (North America Coffee Partnership). The tour was attended by 54 people.
Opening the conference was John Frey, director of the Center for Dairy Excellence, who welcomed the attendees to Pennsylvania.
General session presenters included a panel discussion by Dennis Gaalswyk from the FDA and Allen Sayler from the Center for Food Safety and Regulatory Solutions, who gave both a regulatory and industry view of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Gaalswyk also provided an update from the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments.
Joe Zulovich from the University of Missouri spoke about animal welfare standards and water usage on the dairy farm. Steve Holmes from Charm Sciences gave a presentation about aflatoxins, and Karl Dymond from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture spoke about odors on the farm.
Cindy Weimer from the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association spoke about the partnership between Domino’s Pizza and the dairy checkoff program, with Domino’s supplying lunch that day.
The next Dairy Practices Council Conference will be held November 5-7, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri. PD
—Information provided by Jeff Bloom, Dairy Practices Council Executive Vice President
