February 14, 2019

Mexico's government published the final version of the new compositional technical regulation for milk powder as a raw material for further processing, NOM-222-SCFI-SAGARPA-2018, in the Diario Oficial on January 31, 2019. Implementation of this regulation is scheduled for 365 days from the date of publication.

An unofficial English translation of the final regulation is available here. A summary of the regulation follows:

• Protein standardization according to Codex defined
• Milk powder will now be designated as extra grade or standard grade, though the parameters do not fully align with the USDA Grade Standards. Both moisture and scorched particles are different. See table 2.
• The label must contain the name and legal address of the manufacturer or party responsible for the product
• A test report for each lot will be required with each shipment and must include all parameters in tables 1 and 2 except casein percentage (though the Mexican government reserves the right to test product for compliance with the casein level)
• Approved test methods for the text report include Mexican methods and the following: 
  • ISO: fat, moisture, solubility index, titratable acidity and protein
  • AOAC: protein, fat and moisture
  • ADPI: scorched particle, solubility index, titratable acidity

See part 2 of the technical regulation for the approved test method numbers.

• The laboratory running the tests for the test report must be registered with Mexico's Ministry of Economy. The laboratory registration procedure is not yet announced
• The laboratory running the tests for the test report must be approved by ISO, the competent authority of the country of origin, or other entities of accreditation abroad

USDEC will be holding 2 conference calls to address member questions on this final milk powder technical regulation:

• Tuesday, February 19, 3 - 3:30 pm ET/12 - 12:30 pm PT
• Tuesday, February 26, 1 - 1:30 pm ET/ 10 - 10:30 am PT

Contact Sandra Benson at sbenson@usdec.org to register for one of these sessions or with any questions on the text of the regulation.