Public health protection in milk and milk products

Malta requested a transitional period of six years for the implementation of EU health rules for the production and placing on the market of raw milk, heat-treated milk and milk-based products, including for veterinary inspection and other control performances in the milk sector. The EU agreed to a six- year transition period, until the end of 2009, to allow the upgrading and restructuring of farms and to allow for the control of mastitis in the herds in order to meet the EU hygiene and quality requirements. The EU emphasised, however, the importance that dairy farms and milk processing establishments (as against farms) comply with EU rules to guarantee food safety. The EU also accepted that milk establishments in Malta can accept milk which does not comply with EU rules and that comes from farms which do not comply with EU rules for further processing.