Promoting the improvement of dairy quality and safety

Objectives

• Support and interact with existing government regulators responsible for maintaining standards as referred to under 2(b) above;
• Support and interact with existing risk identification structures/initiatives;
• Maintain integrity, independent from commercial interests that may negatively impact on the business risk model of the company;
• Monitoring of milk and other dairy products offered to the consumer, for compliance with legal standards;
• Primary support to the existing government, dairy industry structures that maintain standards;
• Liaison and co-operation with other organisations with similar objectives;
• Support to existing government and food industry risk identification structures.

Strategies

The above-mentioned objectives of the organisation are supported by several strategies which amongst others includes:

• The establishment and maintenance of successful national milk and other dairy product monitoring program;
• The establishment and maintenance of fully equipped industry laboratory for providing the industry with reference materials and testing of milk and other dairy products against product composition, food safety and metrology standards;
• The establishment and maintenance of a remedial action program for regular contraveners of legal standards;
• Identification of non-conformances in the industry in respect of milk and other dairy products;
• The establishment and maintenance of an effective communication program with stakeholders concerned;
• The establishment and maintenance of a good working relationship with all stakeholders concerned.

Processes

The processes to achieve the aforementioned objectives and strategies of the organisation are defined and implemented as goals funded on a statutory and non-statutory basis. The Projects for 2021 are listed below. Consideration should be given to the fact that current DSA Projects are well established which allows for demand-driven expansion and further development.

DSA and Transformation in the Dairy Industry

The primary objective of the Dairy Standard Agency is to promote the improvement of dairy quality (compositional standards), food safety and metrology standards on a national level, in the interest of the industry and the consumer. The DSA activities that relate to transformation are in align with the objectives of the organisation. These activities (within the scope of the approved statutory and non-statutory projects) are generic which directly and indirectly contribute to the empowerment of the previously disadvantaged. These activities include the presentation of workshops and information sessions to government officials and student environmental health practitioners during which transfer of dairy technological information and regulatory matters are done. Workshops and sessions at tertiary institutions are conducted predominantly (more than 90%) to previously disadvantaged students and individuals.

The DSA acknowledges the commercialisation of black dairy farmers and at secondary (processing/manufacturing) level, as stakeholders in the SA dairy industry as well as the need for the development and implementation of appropriate supportive services necessary to create a sustainable environment for food safety and quality raw milk production and further processing.

To this effect, the DSA actively work in close collaboration with the Transformation Project as well as other projects of Milk SA, where appropriate to support the overall strategies and objectives of Milk SA.