2017 Dairy safe news from the CeO

Welcome to the first edition of Dairy Safe News.

After an eventful 2016 for the dairy industry, we look forward to continuing to work with you in 2017 to achieve our shared aim of producing safe, high quality dairy foods for consumers here and overseas.

An important focus for DFSV is in providing the information and support you need to build technical knowledge and expertise and to meet the regulatory requirements of your licence. We do this through a range of activities that tackle common food safety issues in the production of dairy food.

These range from technical notes and guidelines published on our website; to interpretation and guidance on regulations and standards via our information hotline; undertaking farm risk assessments; and facilitating seminars, webinars and forums.

Dairy Safe News will be published quarterly to keep you up to date on what’s happening at DFSV and in the industry, new resources available, and upcoming events.

Jennifer McDonald, CEO

science underpins the safety of raw milk cheese

Artisan cheesemakers across Australia welcomed changes to the Food Standards Code in 2015 that allow dairy manufacturers to produce and sell selected cheeses made from unpasteurised (raw) milk.

However, the amended Standard (4.2.4) requires more stringent through-chain control over the production, transport and processing of raw milk to ensure there is no net increase in pathogens that may have been present in the raw milk, and that final product cannot support the growth of pathogenic bacteria and is therefore safe for consumers.

To be approved to produce a raw milk cheese, manufacturers need to demonstrate to regulators that the proposed process and product will comply with the new rules.

Identifying a need to better describe how to meet the qualifying criteria, DFSV, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the New South Wales Food Authority collaborated with Associate Professor Tom Ross and co-researchers at the University of Tasmania to develop a decision tool to guide both regulators and industry in determining the suitability of a proposed product.

A world first, the Raw Milk Cheese Decision Support Tool asks the user to input data on raw milk quality, proposed cheese properties, cheesemaking processes, storage and maturation, and performs calculations based on the parameters of the regulations and extensive new research to assess whether their raw milk cheese will meet the Standard and be safe for human consumption.

The Raw Milk Cheese Decision Support Tool was launched in Melbourne to enthusiastic members of the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association (ASCA).

This tool provides an opportunity for cheesemakers to access the best available science to help determine if their raw milk cheese satisfies both quality and safety objectives.

The tool software is now available to download from the University of Tasmania website at www.foodsafetycentre.com.au/RMCtool.php

Professor Tom Ross, DFSV CEO Jennifer McDonald and Chief Scientist, Deon Mahoney at the launch of the Raw Milk Cheese Decision tool.

Dairy food safety Victoria

Level 2, 969 Burke Road

Camberwell, Victoria 3124

Postal address

PO Box 8221

Camberwell North, Victoria 3124

Phone: + 61 3 9810 5900

fax: + 61 3 9882 6860

email: info@dairysafe.vic.gov.au

www.dairysafe.vic.gov.au

industry feedback drives continuous improvement

At DFSV we are committed to continuous improvement in delivery of our regulatory obligations.

Key to this is knowing how the industry thinks we’re doing and understanding what support our licensees need to fulfil their regulatory obligations.

In order to track DFSV’s performance against the expectations of industry, we commissioned a survey of our licensees to determine the level of licensee satisfaction with a range of regulatory and technical support services they receive from DFSV.

Results indicated a high level of confidence in DFSV, with 88% of manufacturers surveyed confident in DFSV as a regulator and 92% very confident that the actions of DFSV safeguard public health. Results also showed a high level of satisfaction with the technical information and support services provided.

It is important however to note that as manufacturers have more direct contact with DFSV through twice-yearly audits they are more familiar with DFSV and its role than other licence holders. We are now exploring opportunities to increase our engagement with our dairy farmer licensees.

Thanks to all who participated.

The survey will be undertaken annually to monitor performance against this benchmark and to identify opportunities for improvement. 2016 Survey results can be viewed on the DFSV website.

supporting industry capability

A continuing focus for DFSV is in supporting the dairy industry in Victoria to meet dairy food regulatory requirements by fostering industry capability and competence in food safety.

The introduction in June 2016 of a series of seminars for dairy manufacturers aims to further support industry capability. The seminars will tackle common food safety issues in the production of dairy foods, with presentations by guest speakers with expert knowledge related to specific food safety issues.

We kicked off the series with a seminar on Environmental monitoring – Managing pathogens in the dairy industry. The seminar addressed key aspects of designing and implementing monitoring programs. It was presented in two locations in Melbourne, attended by 160 dairy manufacturers, consultants and other interested parties and received very positive feedback.

This was followed more recently by a seminar on Allergen management in the dairy industry, explored the impact of undeclared allergens in our food supply and strategies for managing this issue in dairy processing facilities.

More than 80 people attended the November seminar to hear from four experts on the topics of food allergies and impacts, allergen management in processing, testing for allergens, risk assessment and labelling of allergens, and the regulatory obligations of manufacturers.

Videos of presentations from both events are available on the DFSV website.

Two rounds of DFSV’s learning network forums were also held across the state to facilitate discussion on current topics related to food safety.

We are now in the process of planning the 2017 series of seminars and forums for our manufacturing licensees. Check the DFSV website in the coming months for more detail and dates of these events.

illness linked to raw milk consumption

In 2014, serious illness in five children in Victoria was linked to the consumption of raw milk.

This resulted in DFSV changing licence conditions for producers in early 2015. The changes were introduced to prevent inadvertent or accidental consumption of bath milk, and required that such milk was treated in a manner that deterred human consumption and that the milk could not reasonably be mistaken as being for human consumption.

Recently the Victorian coroner released her findings from the extensive investigation of the 2014 incident where a child died.

The coroner found on the balance of probabilities that the child’s death was most likely linked to the consumption of raw milk.

The Coroner was satisfied that the regulation of the sale of unpasteurised milk has been adequately managed by DFSV.

A full transcript of the Coroner’s findings are available at www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au

new licensee register

In Victoria, under Section 30 of the Dairy Act 2000 (Vic) businesses must only accept, collect, take delivery of, sell or buy dairy food from a business licensed with Dairy Food Safety Victoria (DFSV), unless that business has an equivalent licence issued by another authority.

In order to assist businesses to comply we have established a searchable register of licensees on the DFSV website. Dairy manufacturer, carrier and distributor businesses currently licensed with DFSV are listed.

The register can be searched by licence number, licence holder name, premises address, region and local government area (LGA).

Latest publications

Dairy pathogen manual – provides guidance on the appropriate responses to the detection of pathogens in products and environments.

Microbiological testing criteria: minimum testing requirements for manufacturers of dairy food products – outlines the frequency and types of microbiological testing relevant to different categories of dairy products.

Technical information notes

Antibiotic screening

Sampling dairy products for microbiological analysis

Environmental monitoring in the dairy industry

Measuring pH

Water activity

Go to www.dairysafe.vic.gov.au/resources to download the documents.

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