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Governance
National Committees are the backbone of IDF. They are represented in the General Assembly, which is the supreme authority. The Board of Directors contributes to the development and to the achievement of IDF objectives. The Science and Programme Coordination Committee ensures the coordination and supervision of the scientific, technical and policy considerations of dairy issues. They are elected by the General Assembly.
The primary purpose of IDF Standing Committees is to consider and recommend actions and propose policies in the functional areas under their jurisdictions, subject to final approval by the IDF Board and SPCC. Office, current affairs and the general coordination of activities, are the responsibility of the Director General.
Task forces are time-bound and outcome-focused groups that are convened to support IDF’s mission, strategic objectives or program activities.
The daily management including the organization and administration of the IDF Head Office, current affairs and the general coordination of activities, are the responsibility of the Director General.
Overview of structure
National Committees
IDF membership consists of two types of membership: Full Membership and Associated Membership. Each National Committee represents one-member country and there is only one National Committee per member country. Membership is represented by the National Committee Secretaries. The Chair of the National Committee and each National Committee Secretary comprise the National Secretaries’ Committee.
General Assembly
The General Assembly is composed of all Members. Each Member is represented at the General Assembly by its Delegate. Each Full Member country has one voting delegate, whereas Associate Member delegates are observers without voting rights. General Assembly responsibilities include endorsement of the policies and priorities elaborated by the Board of Directors and by the Science and Programme Coordination Committee on the recommendations of the Board. These include strategy, finances, elections, amendments to the IDF Constitution and the IDF Rules of Order, attribution of IDF World Dairy Summits, restructure of Federation procedures as per Belgian law, among others.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is the governing body that manages the strategy of IDF, endorsed by the General Assembly to meet the needs of the constantly changing and dynamic dairy sector. The Board of Directors provide detail on general IDF operational policies and strategies, and the vision and the mission of the Federation. The Board supervises the execution of the decisions of the General Assembly, and makes recommendations on IDF policies and priorities to the General Assembly. The Board consists of nine representatives including the President, the Chair of the Science and Programme Coordination Committee, four Delegates of the General Assembly, two dairy sector representatives (one for farming and the other for processing) and the Chair of the National Secretaries Committee.
Science & Programme Coordination Committee
The Science and Programme Coordination Committee (SPCC) elaborate and apply the scientific and technical strategy of the IDF Programme of Work as approved by the National Committees. It consists of fourteen members including the SPCC Chair, members representing each of the working areas of the Federation (Animal Health and Welfare, Dairy Policies and Economics, Environment, Farm Management, Food Standards, Hygiene and Safety, Marketing, Methods of Analysis and Sampling, Nutrition and Technology), three members representing each the dairy farmers, dairy processors; and academia.
Mr. Gilles Froment
Gilles joined the IDF Board in 2020 as a representative elected by the General Assembly. He is Vice-President Government and Industry Relations for Lactalis Canada. Former chair of the Standing Committee for Dairy Policies and Economics for 6 years. Mr. Froment was elected IDF President in October 2024.
Dr. Jamie Jonker
Elected as Chair of the SPCC in 2020, and former Chair of the: IDF Standing Committee on Farm Management and Expert Group on Animal Feeding, Dr Jamie Jonker is also a member of the IDF Standing Committees on Animal Health and Welfare, Residues and Chemical Contaminants, Environment and Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance. Currently Vice President, Sustainability and Scientific Affairs, of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), Dr Jonker has general responsibilities in sustainability and scientific affairs, including animal health and welfare, animal biotechnology, dairy farm bio-security, dairy farm air and water quality, dairy farm sustainability, and technical service issues.
Ms. Sharon Mitchell
Sharon Mitchell was elected as Chair of the IDF National Committees in October 2023, and is their representative on the IDF Board. Appointed National Secretary of the IDF National Committee of New Zealand in 2015, Mrs Mitchell has been involved in the work of IDF since 2003. Sharon is employed by Fonterra and is currently Programme Leader Global Sector Programmes.
Mr. Laurent Damiens
Laurent Damiens has been involved in IDF since 2008, as an expert in the Standing Committee on Marketing (SCM). Since then, he has been an active member, acted as chair and deputy chair of this Standing Committee and has been leading the IDF Task Force on Plant Based products. The addition of the “Global marketing trends” chapter in the IDF World Dairy Situation report is the concretization of a work he initiated. Being an expert in his field, he attended several IDF World Dairy Summit as speaker at the Marketing conferences.
Ms. Marit Haugen
Marit Haugen joined the board in 2023. She boasts a diverse career in agriculture and organizational management. She is a small-scale milk producer, running a dairy farm with her husband. With organizational experience from her work at the Norwegian Farmers' Union, Marit's expertise extends to municipal management, communication advising, and involvement in agricultural policy at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. A graduate of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, she holds a master's degree in economics. Currently, Marit serves as the Chairman of the Board at TINE SA, a cooperative owned by 8,000 Norwegian milk producers.
Mr. Melt Loubser
Melt Loubser, B.Sc-degree [Civil Engineering] – 4 Years, University of Stellenbosch, Managing Director and shareholder of Companies. He shares more than 35 years of engineering related, agriculture and business experience. He started his career as a Civil Engineer, and applied his knowledge and gained useful experience being in charge of big civil engineering projects. He was a founder member of the Fair Cape Group of Companies in January 1995, and has been the Managing Director since that time Since inception, Melt and the Fair Cape Team jointly turned it into a well respected and leading South African Dairy organisation. Numerous new products were launched to satisfy stakeholder needs. By putting together a highly competent management team, the team assisted Melt in aligning the Fair Cape Group with world class principles and driving a philosophy of BTWC [“Better than World-Class”]. Despite his huge responsibilities at Fair Cape, Mr Melt Loubser has devoted his time and energy, not only towards serving the dairy industry of South Africa, but also internationally. He was a member of the National Milk Distributors’ Association (NMDA) up to 2003 when it dissolved and he is also a member of the South African Milk Processors Organization which succeeded NMDA and SAMO. Mr Loubser became Chairman of SAMPRO in 2009 and holds the position up until now. He serves on the Board of Directors of Milk SA since its inception in December 2002, of which he serves as vice-chairman on a rotational basis; serves as President of the SANCIDF since 2010 on a rotational basis and is still serving on a number of Advisory committees of the Milk SA Board of Directors. As President of SANCIDF, Melt was instrumental to one of the most successful and memorable World Dairy Summits held in Cape Town, 2012. Mr Loubser was in 2013 crowned, The Dairy Mail News Maker of the year. Current positions held on forums: Managing Director (CEO): Fair Cape Dairies (Pty) Ltd Chairman: South African Milk Processors’ Organisation (SAMPRO) Director: Milk SA President: South African National Committee of the International Dairy Federation (SANCIDF) Chairman: Killarney Gardens Property Owners Association (KGPOA) His extensive experience in leadership roles in the South African Dairy industry has led to an in depth understanding of the vital importance of dealing with common challenges of any industry, as a collective, and as a prerequisite for growth and prosperity. Milk SA is fully alligned with the scientific approach of IDF on common matters including amongst others Consumer education, research and development, markets and economies, Dairy standards and regulations, quality and nutrition, training and development, custom duties and market access. He is a keen fisherman and enjoys the outdoors.
Ms. Tjitske Regina Bolt
Tjitske is a hands-on, purpose-driven professional with nearly 25 years of international work experience in public and private sector. Her analytical, empathetic and diplomatic skills enable her to get to the heart of matters quickly and to easily connect to others with the aim of finding lasting solutions to intricate problems. Tjitske is an energetic, open and honest, optimistic and resilient person. Tjitske was born and raised in Friesland, the Netherlands’ province well known for its dairy farming. She lives near The Hague with her husband and two children.
Dr Meenesh Shah
Dr Meenesh Shah joined the board in 2023. He is the Chairman & Managing Director of National Dairy Development Board of India. He has an illustrious and multifaceted career of more than 38 years in Dairy sector championing the cause of small and marginal dairy farmers and women empowerment. He has been a great proponent of innovations and has been instrumental in conceptualising, planning and implementation of several scientific interventions in the dairy and allied sectors for bringing about efficiencies, effectiveness and sustainability across the value chain.
Dr Zhanyou YUN
Zhanyou joined the IDF Board in 2023 as a processing sector representative. He is the Vice President of Yili, a member of Standing Committee on Dairy Science and Technology (SCDST), and a distinguished expert of the Chinese National Committee of IDF (CNCIDF). He is active in international dairy forums.
Our Working Bodies
Role: To have dialogue and discussion on, and form consensus about new developments in the dairy sector field of animal health and animal welfare and their implications on prevention of diseases considering aspects relating to farm economics, food safety, human health, and dairy technology. To assess the effects of cattle diseases on animal welfare and dairy production for human consumption, as well as maintaining relations with intergovernmental and non- governmental bodies.
Role: To have effective communication of new and relevant science and technology to the dairy sector, and to update the dairy sector on the technological and scientific aspects of processing, packaging, storage, and distribution of dairy ingredients within the food and dairy industry, and to provide a platform for young dairy scientists to present their work.
Role: To increase awareness of milk and milk products through various marketing tools, and communication strategies aiming to disseminate effective and relevant knowledge, as well as dealing with crisis management affecting the dairy industry.
Role: To study developments that influence the dairy industry, and provide statistical data on the sector, and monitoring developments in international trade politics, supply management policies, to improve milk production and encourage consumption.
Role: To inform the global dairy sector on developments concerning the environment. The Standing Committee will also look at the GHG emissions quantification and mitigation, Ecosystem services, water quality, waste management and reduction, as well as reviewing and promoting the best available technologies and practice. To also provide leadership on environmental sustainability issues.
Role: To provide a voice for farmers, and to address issues of international importance in the dairy sector and identify possibilities for adding value to dairy production systems, particularly aspects in animal reproduction, aspects in milk production, interpretation of new and existing ISO standards, as well as influencing animal feeding and dairy production globally.
Role: To closely monitor the Codex committees’ activities including those involved in the adoption of new standards relevant to the dairy sector, as well as the use of terms and labelling in dairy products, and to ensure that regional standards do not negatively impact the International Codex standard within the dairy sector.
Role: To adequately monitor the Codex Committee on Food Additives in so far as it affects additives, processing aids, carriers, flavours and colours needed in dairy products, and provide data and technical advice, based on feedback from IDF members on behalf of the dairy sector.
Role: To advise the dairy sector about the implications, and the control and management of hygiene and microbiological contaminants, and to assist Codex in adopting technically correct and feasible hygiene standards, codes, and guidelines, appropriate for achieving safe and suitable milk and milk products.
Role: To advise the dairy sector about the implications, control or elimination, of residues and chemical contaminants, and to assist Codex in adopting technically correct and feasible standards, codes, and guidelines on residues and chemical contaminants appropriate for achieving safe and suitable milk and milk products.
Role: To prepare and promote standardized methods of analysis, guidelines and recommendations for the use of the dairy sector and others in the field of additives and contaminants in milk and dairy products. The work includes the standardization of methods by conducting collaborative studies and in-house studies on existing and new methods
Role: To prepare and promote standardized methods of analysis, guidelines and recommendations for the use of dairy sector and others, relating to the analysis of the content in minor and main components of milk and milk products (protein, fat, sugars …) by chemical and biochemical means, and to detect adulteration.
Role: To prepare and promote standardized methods of analysis, guidelines and recommendations for the use of dairy sector and others, relevant towards the detection and/or enumeration of beneficial microorganisms used in dairy foods (lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, starter cultures etc.)., the determination of strain identity, and identification of species.
Role: To prepare and promote standardized methods of analysis, guidelines and recommendations for the use of dairy sector and others related to the analysis of processing aids and indicators, including milk clotting enzymes, techniques for characterization of processing milk (heat treatment) or physical properties of milk and dairy products.
Role: To prepare and promote standardized methods of analysis, guidelines and recommendations for the use of the dairy sector and others in the field of detection and/or enumeration of foodborne pathogenic microorganisms and food spoilage microorganisms. When possible, contribute to the development of harmonized methods to integrate the dairy requirements (ISO TC 34/SC 9).
Role: To prepare and promote standardized methods of analysis, guidelines and recommendations for the use of dairy sector and others for automated methods of analysis and sampling, the statistical evaluation of analytical methods including guidance for the organization of interlaboratory studies and the statistical evaluation of the results obtained from these studies.
Role: To present and disseminate knowledge and discoveries in the field of nutritional science from the consumption of milk and milk products. To research the role of milk and milk products in the human diet, as well as maintaining relationships with international bodies such as FAO an WHO working in nutrition.
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