FDA Resumes Sampling of Imported Raw Milk Cheese
The Food and Drug Administration has resumed its pilot program on microbiological sampling of raw milk cheese, according to the Cheese Importers Association of America (here). The agency will reportedly take 40 samples each week through its New York office,…
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then pause the program in mid-February for the Passover and Easter holidays. After the holidays sampling will resume, with FDA purportedly planning to take another 50 samples by September. To speed the process, cheese importers should make sure the foreign manufacturer includes the correct FDA product code on each invoice on a line-level basis, said CIAA. The Process Indicator Codes (PICs) are reviewed carefully by the FDA entry reviewers, said the trade group. The PIC (P) should be used for cultured cured (raw milk) cheese and PIC (O) should be used for pasteurized milk cheese, it said.