Milk and dairy products form a vital part of the daily diet for many Californians. Ensuring these products are safe and wholesome is a top priority, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture plays a central role in upholding those standards every single day.
Recent news regarding federal proficiency testing programs may have raised questions, but it’s important to understand that California’s commitment to milk and dairy products remains as strong as ever.
CDFA, through its Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch (MDFS), is the primary guardian of milk safety in California. MDFS is responsible for ensuring all milk, milk products, and items resembling milk products are safe for consumption and meet the most stringent of microbial and compositional standards. Beyond testing, the branch ensures that all milk and dairy items are accurately labeled, providing consumers with the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.
This “cow to cup” approach means CDFA monitors every stage from licensing and inspecting dairy farms for hygienic milk collection to permitting and inspecting milk tanker trucks and drivers for safe transportation — and finally, licensing and inspecting processing plants that manufacture a wide variety of nutritious dairy products sold in California, across the nation, and around the world.
CDFA tests all Grade-A milk products in California at least four times every six months for microbiological standards, which is consistent with the federal Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO). Milk plants undergo inspections quarterly, and pasteurization equipment is checked every 90 days. These proactive practices allow for early detection of any concerns before they impact consumers.
Milk samples collected by CDFA continue to be tested at the accredited UC Davis/California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) Laboratory, so consumers can be assured that milk product sampling and testing in California has not been suspended.
Like all states, California has always directly handled milk product sampling and testing under the national Grade-A Milk Safety Program, a long-term partnership with the FDA outlined in the PMO and other National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) documents.
For more information, please visit the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (https://ncims.org/) and FDA’s (https://www.fda.gov/food/guidance-regulation-food-and-dietary-supplements/federal-state-local-tribal-and-territorial-cooperative-human-food-programs) websites.