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The International Dairy Federation (IDF) issued its annual report for 2024/25 late last year. The federation has four focus areas – sustainability, nutrition, food safety, and standards – that span ten work areas, 17 standing committees and six task forces. South Africa is one of more than 40 member countries serving in the IDF and is represented by the SA National Committee of the IDF (SANCIDF), a project of Milk SA. South Africa is also one of six countries (the others being Argentina, Australia, China, Senegal, and Spain) serving as national committee secretaries.
In addition, Melt Loubser, who is the managing director and co-founder of Fair Cape Group, serves as an IDF board member. He chairs the South African Milk Processors Organisation (Sampro) and serves on the Milk SA board.
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The following is a summary of some of the insightful documents and studies generated and approved by the IDF, and noted in its IDF Annual Report 2024-25. The complete report can be downloaded from the Milk SA website by clicking here or download it from the IDF’s website by clicking here.
The Paris Dairy Declaration on Sustainability
A landmark achievement during the reporting period was the launch of the Paris Dairy Declaration on Sustainability on 18 October 2024, unveiled at the IDF World Dairy Summit in Paris. Building on the earlier Dairy Declaration of Rotterdam, this declaration commits the global dairy community to a holistic, science-based approach to sustainability. This approach integrates social, economic, nutritional, and environmental dimensions.
Signatories – including the IDF president and FAO representatives – pledged to publicly showcase tangible, quantified commitments, support public-private partnerships, and address what the declaration refers to as the ‘triple challenge’. The latter refers to ensuring food security, supporting one billion dairy-connected livelihoods, and transforming dairy systems to be more environmentally responsible.
Environmental sustainability
A major area of technical progress in 2024-25 was the advancement of environmental sustainability tools, particularly around life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprinting. Since January 2025, stakeholders can verify their existing LCA methodologies against IDF Bulletin N°520/2022 using IDF LCA Verification Framework v1.0, which supports compliance up to the farm gate.
The framework – developed by more than 50 experts across 17 countries – enables carbon footprint specialists worldwide to conduct assessments with greater consistency and scientific credibility. The IDF also led the development of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) LEAP Guidelines on Ecosystem Services Assessment in Livestock Systems. These tools collectively empower the dairy sector to be transparent in how it measures, compares, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions .
Nutrition, health, and the dairy matrix
The IDF continued its scientific advocacy for dairy’s central role in healthy diets, with particular emphasis on the concept of the ‘dairy matrix’. The latter entails recognition that dairy’s nutritional and health benefits go beyond the sum of its individual nutrients. A peer-reviewed paper, “The dairy matrix: its importance, definition, and current application in the context of nutrition and health”, was published in the journal Nutrients, supported by fact sheets on milk, cheese, and yoghurt matrices.
In addition, the IDF’s 2024 school milk survey found that over 210 million children in 104 countries benefit from milk and milk products through school feeding programmes, underscoring dairy’s critical role in combating malnutrition and supporting child development. The IDF launched a task force on the place of dairy in the protein transition. Its goal is to promote dairy’s value across sustainability dimensions in the ongoing global discussion about dietary protein sources.
Food safety, standards, and protecting dairy terms
In its 2024/25 report, the IDF noted significant progress in food safety and regulatory standards. A landmark development was the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s adoption in November 2024 of a project to align the food additive provisions of 34 Codex dairy standards with the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), thereby making the GSFA the sole reference for food additives in milk and milk products. This achievement simplifies international trade and ensures consistent food safety and quality.
In parallel, the IDF continued its advocacy for the Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms (GSUDT) and, in 2025, released a position paper addressing the application of dairy terms in the context of cellular agriculture products. IDF also published a new bulletin on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in dairy production, developed with contributions from WOAH, FAO, and ILRI, aligned with the 2024 UN Political Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Dairy farming: Animal welfare and heat stress
Supporting sustainable and socially responsible dairy farming remains a central strategic priority. In response to this issue, the IDF published Bulletin N°534/2025on Managing Heat Stress in Dairy Cattle. It contains the latest scientific knowledge on mitigation strategies, including cooling methods, genetic selection, and feeding adjustments. The report notes that effective heat stress management not only improves farm profitability but also reduces the sector’s environmental footprint.
The organisation also continued to develop guidance on calf care, with fact sheets covering pair housing, dam-calf contact, and milk-feeding practices. Ultimately, good early-life care leads to healthier, more productive cows and reduces antibiotic dependency.
Socio-economic sustainability
The IDF has been publishing its flagship World Dairy Situation Report annually since 1989. The 2024 edition featured an in-depth focus on the French dairy sector, and was complemented by the fifth IDF Global Marketing Trends Bulletin(Bulletin N°535/2025), which examined dairy consumption patterns across 17 countries from 2018 to 2023. The 2025 World Dairy Situation Report was released in October last year. These publications offer benchmarking data and market intelligence for dairy professionals worldwide.
The organisation also continued its work through the Task Force on Women in Dairy, working to create a more equitable sector with better opportunities and recognition for women across the dairy value chain. The third issue of IDF Women in Dairy Report 2025 is available free of charge.
For more information on its various publications and projects, visit www.fil-idf.org
