Background
The National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments is a voluntary organization
directed and controlled by member States to promote the availability of a safe high quality milk supply. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the NCIMS through
their collaborative efforts have developed a cooperative, federal-state program (the
Grade “A” Interstate Milk Shippers Program) to ensure the sanitary quality of Grade “A”
milk and milk products shipped in interstate commerce.
During the 1991 meeting of the NCIMS, the Conference authorized a national program
to compile the results of milk drug residue testing by industry and State Regulatory
Agencies.
Subsequently, a competitively selected contract was awarded to GLH, Inc. as an
independent third party to develop the NMDRD under contract to the FDA. The
database design was developed in consultation with a project advisory group with
members from the FDA and a NCIMS committee representing dairy producers, dairy
processors, USDA, State Regulatory Agencies, and academia. The database was
established to promote maximum voluntary participation by the dairy industry in
reporting their testing results, without compromising any confidential data. Mandatory
reporting is required for the State regulatory agencies through the NCIMS Procedures.
The information submitted to the database is not specific to individual firms, or states,
but instead consists of numbers of milk drug residue tests organized by categories
including the analytical methods used, the kind and extent of the animal drug residues
identified, and the amount of contaminated milk that was removed from the human food
supply. It is important to recognize that the samples and tests reported do not
necessarily represent one hundred percent (100%) of the milk supply from every State.
The NMDRD includes all cow’s milk, Grade “A” and non-Grade “A”, commonly known
as manufacturing grade. Grade "A" milk represents approximately 99% of the milk
supply in the United States and is regulated through the NCIMS by the Regulatory
Agencies. Data reported to the NMDRD are for educational purposes and are not
intended or suitable for regulatory follow-up.
History of NMDRD Through the Years
- 1991 - NCIMS Conference authorized a national program to compile the results
of milk drug residue testing by industry and State Regulatory Agencies.
- Subsequently, a competitively selected contract was awarded to GLH, Inc.
- Dr. Ginger Levin was a co-founder of GLH, Inc. She was the designer of the
NMDRD structure and reporting process. She was also a consultant, a project
manager educator and author of several books. Dr. Levin functioned as the President of GLH, Inc., and NMDRD Program Director. The original Technical Director
for GLH, Inc. was Al Place, retired Director of Milk Control and Dairy Services
with the NY Dept. of Agriculture & Markets. Kris
Enzor who also was employed by GLH, Inc. since before the inception of the NMDRD served as the Software Design
Engineer and provided Software Support. In later years she was assisted by Ed Oliver. The database design was developed in consultation with a project advisory group, which included GLH, Inc.
- 2015 – Upon Dr. Levin’s retirement, Greg Haugan, Sr., PhD, a co-founder of GLH, Inc., who had been serving as the Vice President and Treasurer of GLH, Inc. took over as the President.
- Technical Directors through the years (1991 – 2024): Al Place (1991 - 2000), Joe
Smucker (2000 - 2003), Dennis Tidwell (2003 - 2019), Paul Hoge (2019 - 2023),
Laurie Kurtz (2023 - Current).
- Database Administrator through the years (1991 – 2024): John Linehan (1991 –
1998), Cynthia Petersen, retired from NY Dept. of Agriculture & Markets, Div. of
Milk Control and Dairy Services. (1998 – Current)
- Software Design Engineer and Software Support through the years (1991 –
2024): Kris Enzor (1991 – 2023), Ed Oliver (1993 – 2023), Greg Lyon (2023 –
current)
- 2023 – GLH, Inc, did not choose to bid on a new contract with FDA due to Greg Haugan’s
retirement.
- June 6, 2023 - FDA announced that the Joint Institute for Food Safety and
Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) was selected as the new NMDRD contractor. GLH,
Inc. transferred all current data, website and historical data from GLH, to JIFSAN.
- Paul Hoge, Kris Enzor and Ed Oliver from GLH, Inc. also retired. Cynthia Petersen, GLH, Inc. Database Administrator was hired by JIFSAN to be retained
as the NMDRD Database Administrator. Laurie Kurtz who retired from the State
of Mayland Dairy Program and FDA, CFSAN was hired by JIFSAN as the new
NMDRD Technical Director. Greg Lyon employed by JIFSAN was assigned as
the NMDRD Software Administrator.
2015 NCIMS Hall of Fame
At the 35th National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments our own Al Place was presented the Hall of Fame Award.
NCIMS Third Party Database Presentations
Thank you GLH, Inc.
We would like to thank GLH, Inc. for their 32 years of dedication and outstanding work
on the NMDRD. They supported NCIMS and FDA through every step of the design,
management and operation of the NMDRD since the national database was approved
by the NCIMS delegates in 1991. Any changes or additional reports requested by
NCIMS or FDA were always met with enthusiasm and professionalism. Thank you GLH, Inc.!
