As a global supplier of dairy products and ingredients, the U.S. dairy industry is committed to always knowing where in the United States these products were made, the source of the milk used to make them, and where they are in the supply chain. That knowledge comes from a set of highly tested and proven technologies and processes now being adopted by U.S. dairy companies nationwide. The U.S. dairy enhanced traceability standards were developed through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and vetted with U.S. processors. As of April 2016, 80 percent of U.S. dairy companies have committed to adopting these voluntary standards which include three primary pillars:

• Modeling physical plants to know where new lots enter and where products transform;
• Creating a lot identifying mark that is recognized and used by customers;
• Record-keeping that assists in expedient and effective recall capability.

What does the U.S. dairy industry's adoption of traceability standards mean for customers? Simply put, in the unlikely event product is contaminated in the plant or compromised en route, U.S. suppliers can quickly identify the effected product (typically in less than two hours) and retrieve it. Furthermore, the technology and rigorous processes required to achieve this higher standard of traceability also improves overall product quality and safety. Learn more about U.S. Dairy's enhanced traceability.