Dairy industry slams govt over ‘inconsistent’ FMD regulations

Clover SA has warned that the inconsistent, non-standardised foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) eradication measures for dairy products applied by the state are putting the country’s dairy industry under serious threat.

This is despite dairy products meeting and sometimes exceeding internationally recognised safety standards.

The dairy industry maintains that export permits and veterinary attestations are being applied inconsistently across provinces, while South Africa is deferring to importing countries that require local approval first, creating a regulatory deadlock. This impasse is effectively closing export markets and placing significant strain on the broader dairy value chain.

Johann Vorster, CEO of Clover, said FMD is a national disaster which requires strong eradication measures. However, these were being wrongly conflated with dairy processing standards. “This is shutting down exports of products that are scientifically safe for human consumption,” he said.

Restrictions damaging dairy industry

“However, current measures in place mean that vaccinated milk is being incorrectly treated and classified as infected milk, despite the fact that vaccination is a recognised disease‑control tool and not an indicator of infection. This dramatically expands restrictions without any scientific justification whatsoever,” he added.

Vorster indicated that the products are scientifically safe for human consumption. He said the state has got it wrong and hasn’t done its homework.

“We have raised the alarm clearly that South Africa’s current approach goes beyond global standards and is imposing unsustainable costs. If unresolved, exports will become unviable, with serious consequences.

“Producers and processors are incurring unsustainable additional costs due to forced separation of facilities, transport inefficiencies, and product losses. If unresolved, the continued application of these measures will render exports unviable, leading to reduced milk collection from producers, job losses across the value chain, loss of export revenue, and increased risks to national food security,” he said.

Together with the dairy industry, Clover is calling on authorities to urgently adopt a clear national minimum standard aligned with World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) guidelines, distinguish properly between infected, vaccinated, and FMD‑free milk, and remove unnecessary restrictions on UHT products.

“Without immediate regulatory alignment and clarity, South Africa risks causing irreversible economic damage to its dairy industry, while gaining no additional disease‑control benefit beyond internationally accepted standards,” said Vorster.

Dairy products safe to consume

Meanwhile, Milk South Africa stated that although the foot-and-mouth disease virus can severely affect the health of dairy cattle and other cloven- hoofed animals, and may even cause the death of such animals, humans are not susceptible to the virus.

“Therefore, the consumption of dairy products such as pasteurised milk, long-life milk, yoghurt, maas, cheese and butter poses no risk of humans being adversely affected by the virus,” chief executive officer of Milk SA, Nico Fouché, said.

Following the arrival of a million vaccines over the weekend, the national department of agriculture stated that vaccinating the national herd of over 14 million cattle is the department’s 10-year eradication strategy. It aims to secure “FMD-free status with vaccination”.

“Achieving this status is vital for reopening lucrative global export markets and ensuring the long-term biosecurity of our farming sector,” the department said.