Laboratory testing in a dairy plant is primarily divided into ingredients, in-process product, finished product, environmental testing and equipment start-up. All of these categories can be evaluated for quality and safety targets.

Everyone in dairy companies, including corporate management, has increased their focus on food safety over the past two years.

Most dairy industry meetings over the past year have devoted at least one session or agenda item to safety. DMI’s Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy established a Food Safety Committee almost two years ago to evaluate existing food safety tools and develop new ones. One of the main reasons for this focus was the passage in 2010 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

What key factors does the U.S. dairy industry depend on to deliver safe dairy products? There could be many answers, but the predominant factor is an educated, motivated and well-trained workforce.

In my April 2010 column, “Who is the Weakest Link in the Food Chain?,” I made the point that suppliers could unintentionally defeat all the food safety and quality programs put in place by dairy plants.

At a meeting of the Dairy Practices Council in Columbus, Ohio, Matt McKnight, vice president, market access and regulatory affairs of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, made a strong point about the opportunities for the U.S. dairy industry to expand the 5% to 10% (depending on the year) dairy export volume to the world.

Hydrolized vegetable protein, spices, instantized milk powders, peanuts and peanut products. Who would have guessed that the most significant food safety problem for the U.S. food industry would be ingredients?It