Promoting the improvement of dairy quality and safety

To successfully continue in 2021, activities within Projects of the DSA are prioritised on a first and second level basis. This prioritisation process coincides with the DSA Audit and Risk Committee role in terms of risk analysis which is reviewed on an annual basis. DSA statutory and non-statutory activities are included in the level of priorities in view of the company’s balanced approach to achieve its main objectives.

First level priorities:

• elaboration of the DSA as an organisation with integrity, which includes the continuous development and maintenance of appropriate and efficient management and administrative system (See Annexure C: Annual inventory of communication products and secondary communication initiatives within Milk SA projects);
• maintenance and elaboration of functional work relationships with the various institutions responsible for enforcement of legal and voluntary standards. This is of great importance considering the multi-dimensional nature of the tasks that need to be executed by the DSA;
• maintenance and elaboration of functional work relationships with other organisations and stakeholders in the dairy industry (See Annexure C: Annual inventory of communication products and secondary communication initiatives within Milk SA projects);
• monitoring of milk and other dairy products in collaboration with Health Authorities.
  Other dairy products include UHT milk, condensed and evaporated milk, cream, cheese; butter and fermented products namely cultured milk and yoghurt types;
• personal contact with processors whose monitoring results indicate non-compliance with legal standards;
• support to officials of the various government departments involved to ensure better utilisation of the DSA monitoring program for remedial action purposes;
• monitoring of milk and other dairy products on behalf of the retail industry;
• monitoring activities as a result of complaints and by means of investigations (as initiated by DSA) in terms of compositional, metrology and food safety standards of milk and dairy products as provided for in terms of the relevant Acts.
• facilitating co-ordination and co-operation between the various government institutions namely the Health Authorities, Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications and the South African Revenue Services;
• identification of potential new product composition and food safety risks and appropriate actions to ensure legal compliance;
• institutional involvement in projects of Milk SA including project management of the Milk SA Regulations and Standards Project;
• institutional involvement and responsibilities towards organisations other than Milk SA, namely SAMPRO, MPO, CGCSA, SASDT and SANCU; 
• transformation in the dairy industry in lign with the objectives of the DSA especially by rendering assistance to black dairy farmers and processors in terms of compliance with legal standards (facilities, hygiene, food safety, metrology and product composition); 
• Operating in-house chemical and microbiological laboratory named DSA Lab Services to support the standardisation of standards project of the dairy industry as well as to conduct all in-house testing relating to the project work of DSA. 
• special investigations relating to dairy product compliance that falls outside the scope of routine monitoring activities and requires further short and medium-term project planning