Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance

The Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, published by the Food and Drug Administration, outlines minimum standards and requirements for Grade A milk production and processing. Grade A standards are recommended by the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS), which is composed of voting representatives from state and local regulatory agencies, and nonvoting representatives of the dairy industry and FDA. As a general rule, FDA accepts the Conference recommendations and incorporates them into the revised PMO. The state regulator (which is usually either the State Department of Agriculture or the State Health Department) adopts the PMO standards as a minimum, and in many cases requires more stringent standards.