The National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments is holding its biennial meeting on April 19-24, 2013 at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis, Indiana. This Conference was established to ensure the safety of the milk supply in the United States and to provide for uniform regulation and enforcement of milk regulations across the United States. It is imperative that all of the state agencies that conduct milk regulatory and sanitation rating programs are able to participate in and learn from the presentation of public health and safety information. The state delegates must be able to attend in order to effectively deliberate the proposals that are made to improve the documents which govern the conference and which are ultimately provided to the states as the basis for their respective Grade """"""""A"""""""" programs. This grant will provide for funding to ensure that all state delegates who need fiscal assistance are able to attend.
The National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) is a non-profit professional organization composed of state, local and federal regulatory officials responsible for milk sanitation rating and enforcement of Grade A milk sanitation laws, dairy industry personnel and academic researchers and advisors. The Conference meets biennially in odd-numbered years, the next meeting being April 19 - 24, at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis, Indiana. The primary business of the Conference is to deliberate proposals submitted by individuals from various regulatory agencies and from industry, who have an interest in ensuring that the dairy products available for sale and consumed throughout the United States are safe. The mission of the NCIMS is To Assure the Safest Possible Milk Supply for All the People. An Executive Board comprised of sixteen individuals from state and local milk regulatory agencies and dairy-related industries, one representative from the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Food and Drug Administration, one representative from the Unites States Department of Agriculture govern the NCIMS. Day-to-day operations are conducted by an Executive Secretary. At the Conference, delegates from each of the fifty states and those United States Trust Territories that participate in the Interstate Milk Shippers program send a delegate to make final decisions on the various proposals that are submitted. These decisions impact all regulations pertaining to interstate shipments of milk and milk products;impact the milk regulatory programs in each of the states and ultimately impact the safety of milk and milk products produced and distributed under these regulatory requirements. Therefore, it is very important that all states be represented. Due to financial constraints, some states have not been able to delegate to the Conference in previous years. The grant will allow NCIMS to assist those states in sending a delegate to the 2013 Conference. Funds from the grant will be used to pay travel expenses, lodging, and per diem, for the 2013 Conference for some states who might not be able to attend and participate in the conference. NCIMS does not have sufficient funds to assist these states without monies from the grant.
