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AgVetLink June 2005

Colostrum Code of Practice Update

The Dairy & Plants Group of NZFSA is in the final stages of approving the Fonterra Code of Practice for the Supply of Colostrum as an alternative to applying the milk (and therefore colostrum) withholding times specified for colostrum in NZFSA Standards D105:Milking Animal Health and D115:Raw Milk Acceptance under the Dairy Industry Act, which became the Animal Products (Dairy Processing) Specification on 1 June 2005.

Conditions that are intended to ensure not only that all product produced in accordance with the Code will meet applicable residue thresholds but also to enable ongoing validation of the risk management steps incorporated in the Code will be placed on the approval.   NZFSA has reserved its right to withdraw approval of the Code at any time should it become evident that the Code is unable to deliver the level of risk management required.

There has been some concern expressed during the development of the Code that any reliance upon the extension of a product approved pre-natal treatment interval (PNTI) as a residue risk management strategy is inappropriate.  In recognition of these concerns, the following condition of approval will be enforced:

     ‘The PSP/RMP Operator(s) must provide to NZFSA, in an electronic form acceptable to NZFSA, results from all Inhibitory Substance and residue testing associated with the collection and processing of colostrum. This is to include results for all individual raw colostrum consignments, in-process tests and final product tests. This data will be used to establish whether extending the PNTI by 20 days will deliver the stated outcome of colostrums that conforms to residue requirements’.