Originally published: February 26, 2021 | Last updated: March 19, 2021
CVMA has submitted comments to the Colorado Department of Agriculture in support of a proposed dairy tuberculosis accreditation rule change.
The rulemaking changes would remove the requirement that Colorado dairies be accredited tuberculosis-free and to allow for voluntary accreditation.
CVMA’s support for the change is based on the following:
- The Colorado Dairy TB Accreditation testing program is a disease surveillance tool that has been used to timely diagnose and locate TB in Colorado.
- Colorado has had a TB free accreditation for decades.
- Most cases of TB are discovered at slaughter, and very few by testing dairies.
- The cost and inconvenience to both the dairy and regulators is substantial, and does not yield significant benefit.
- Colorado is the only state that currently operates this program.
- With the safety net of pasteurization, the public is not put at risk from milk consumption of a potential TB cow.
A copy of the proposed rule with the revisions is available here.
If the changes are approved by the commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, they would be adopted April 14, 2021 and would become effective June 15, 2021.
