Implementation of the Raw Milk Control Program: 1,053 Food Business Operators from 23 Regions Have Already Joined the Dairy Module
Key results and achievements of the Raw Milk Control Program (hereinafter – the RMCP) in 2024 were discussed by members of the Working Group on the implementation of the Roadmap for the RMCP, based on the Dairy Module.
The event was attended by 487 specialists from the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP) from all regions of Ukraine, along with representatives of the Swiss-Ukrainian Programme “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP).
“Six years ago, the idea was born to create a comprehensive Program to ensure the safety and quality of Ukrainian milk. Today, it is being implemented in 23 regions, with 1,053 food business operators involved. The dairy industry is the only one in Ukraine where the ‘farm to fork’ principle is almost fully implemented, serving as a model of harmonious and complete food production,” stated Oleg Osiian, First Deputy Head of the SSUFSCP.
The RMCP was launched on February 15, 2019. Its goal is to further integrate Ukraine’s dairy sector into the EU market by ensuring traceability of the quality and safety of dairy products in Ukraine.
The Swiss-Ukrainian Programme “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland), continues to provide consistent support in rolling out the RMCP.
“Switzerland has been supporting SSUFSCP in raw milk control for several years. Under the QFTP, our shared goal is to scale the RMCP to the national level, covering every dairy farm in Ukraine. This becomes particularly important in the context of Ukraine’s European integration. As a candidate country for EU membership, Ukraine must ensure that its raw milk control system fully complies with EU requirements,”said Igor Kravchenko, QFTP Local Programme Manager.
He emphasized that the development and implementation of the Roadmap is not only a technical step but also a vivid example of strengthening institutional capacity within SSUFSCP, its Main Administrations in the regions, and effective cooperation with the private sector and civil society.
In 2024, the number of registered milk production holdings increased by 1.2 times compared to 2023. Looking at long-term growth, since the launch of the pilot project in 2019, the total number of registered establishments has grown an impressive 70-fold. This dynamic reflects the RMCP development and increasing demand and engagement from food business operators.
In 2024, Kyiv and Kharkiv regions resumed implementation of the RMCP after the full-scale invasion. For the first time since the launch of the RMCP, raw milk sampling and testing also began in Zaporizhzhia region.
In total, the number of tests conducted under the RMCP in 2024 reached 33,374 — a 51% increase compared to 2023. Raw milk samples were tested by 42 authorized laboratories at the regional (19) and interdistrict (23) levels in 20 regions of Ukraine.
Average levels of Total Bacterial Count (TBC) and Somatic Cell Count (SCC) remained below the national acceptable limits of criteria set for raw cow’s milk in accordance with Order No. 118/2019 of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. The proportion of test results exceeding allowable TBC levels was 1.4%, and for SCC — 1.3%.
When comparing average indicators with EU standards, 90% of all SCC results in 2024 fully complied with EU limits (less than 400,000 cells/ml). For TBC, only 50% of results met the EU’s limits (100,000 CFU/ml).
Participants also discussed progress in implementing the 2024–2026 Roadmap for the RMCP and the next steps: upgrading and modernizing the Dairy Module, developing EU-harmonized regulations for the dairy sector, adopting standard operating procedures for RMCP implementation, and conducting awareness-raising activities for all stakeholders.
The full 2024 report on the implementation of the RMCP, based on the SSUFSCP’s information and communication system (“Dairy Module”), is available at the following link.
