Earned recognition for dairy farmers, says NFU

A reduction in the number of official hygiene inspections on dairy farms is a positive move the NFU said today.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is making the changes for dairy farms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to make the system more proportionate to the food safety risks.

Dairy farms supplying milk for pasteurisation will receive a routine official inspection every two years while members of the Red Tractor Dairy Farm scheme will receive an official inspection every 10 years.

NFU dairy board member Russell Bowman also sits on the Red Tractor Assurance Dairy Board. ’The NFU has long called for the lower risk status of dairy farms in assurance schemes to be recognised by reducing the frequency of official inspections’, said Mr Bowman. ’We are pleased the FSA has offered a sensible proposal to reduce that burden. This will make a huge difference to dairy farmers, who have long complained about the duplication, bureaucracy, cost and time associated with inspections.

’Dairy Farmers take their responsibilities to produce safe milk in hygienic conditions very seriously and this move to a more risk-based approach recognises the high standards already being achieved on British dairy farms.’

Mike Madders, Chairman of the Red Tractor Dairy Farm Scheme, said: ’For assured dairy producers, the reduced inspection burden is an appropriate acknowledgement of the good hygiene standards that are being maintained by our members every day.

’For the scheme itself, this recognition reinforces the integrity of the scheme standards and how they’re delivered, and thus supports the credibility of Red Tractor as a mark of safe, quality milk and dairy products that the public can trust.’