64. The Committee recalled that this work had been undertaken at the request of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products and that the United States, with assistance from other Delegations, had been invited to prepare the present document[19]. The Committee noted that the proposals contained in the document were directed towards the prevention and monitoring of veterinary drug residues. Drug monitoring programmes should be undertaken at an early point in the milk collection system. Problems such as the dilution of affected milk from individual cows or herds with other milk could be addressed this way. It was also proposed that an integrated test system, drawing on the principles of the Hazard Analysis/Critical Control Point (HACCP) System, would be effective in combining screening and more investigatory tests at Critical Control Points.
65. It was suggested that more data were needed on the fate of residues during milk processing, for example during pasteurization, spray drying and cheese-making and on the distribution of residues between different milk components (milk fat, whey, protein) following the administration of veterinary drugs by different routes (e.g., intramuscular use compared to intramammary use). It also noted that although similar principles for the control of disinfectants or contaminants might be appropriate, the consideration of these issues was external to the Committee's Terms of Reference. The Committee noted that the Committee on Food Hygiene has decided to begin work on a Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products where such issues could be addressed.
66. The Committee requested the United States to revise the draft document in light of the above discussion and for the revised text to be distributed for government comments in advance of the Committee's next Session.
