By: Steve Murphy
If you work in the dairy industry, in any facet, you should be aware of the Dairy Practices Council (DPC). The DPC is an organization made up of members from industry, regulatory and education with the primary objective of “developing and disseminating educational guidelines for the dairy industry, especially as related to proper and improved sanitation practices in the production and processing of high quality dairy products.” Currently, the DPC has over 90 guidelines published that range in topics from designing farm milking facilities to ensuring the safety and quality of the processed dairy products. These guidelines are developed and updated by members of specific DPC Task Forces (6) and are peer reviewed. The DPC guidelines, which are now available electronically, have become valuable tools in extension, other educational programs, and have also been used to help establish policies at company and regulatory levels.
The DPC currently has a membership that includes 34 state regulatory agencies, 2 FDA regions, 16 educational institutions, and 84 sustaining members as well as 131 individual members. While membership has expanded across the lands, the DPC has its roots in the northeast and continues to maintain a loyal membership from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and the New England States.
The 44th Annual Conference of the Dairy Practices Council (DPC) was held in Harrisburg, PA November 6-8, 2013. There were approximately 118 people in attendance. Speaker topics included Animal Welfare (Joe Zulovich, U. of Missouri); Farm Odor Management on the Farm (Karl Dymond, PA Dept. of Agriculture): Aflatoxins (Steve Holmes, Charm Sciences); SQF, Risk Assessment, & Equipment Calibration (Bob Strong, SAI Global); Regulatory and Industry Views of the Food Safety Modernization Act (Dennis Gaalswyck, FDA & Allen Sayler, CFSRS); Dairy Product Sensory Evaluation (Kerry Kaylegian, Penn State); Domino’s Pizza and the Dairy Check-Off Program (Cindy Weimer, Mid-Atlantic Dairy Assoc.) and others.
While the DPC annual meetings provide high caliber educational programs and great networking opportunities (e.g., hospitality suites), the heart of the meetings are the two afternoon Task Force sessions, where members work on developing new and the updating existing guidelines. Much progress had been made at this year’s annual meeting and this work generally continues throughout the year (as time permits) until a final document is reviewed and published. Expert input from educational extension and research personnel, industry practitioners and regulatory representatives has been a crucial to the success of the DPC process. While DPC is still going strong, additional Task Force members are needed to help ensure the process continues. DPC membership and Task Force work often results in lasting professional relationships (better that Facebook or Linkedin). Consider attending next year’s annual meeting, which will be held November 5-7, 2014 in Kansas City, MO.
For more information on the DPC, membership and its guidelines, click here. For a complete list the 2013 DPC Annual Meeting speakers and copies of their presentations, click here. Information provided by Jeff Bloom, DPC Executive VP and the DPC web site.
