RESUMEN
The present study was conducted to evaluate the level of food safety protection provided to consumers of Grade "A" milk and milk products in the United States by the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) Grade "A" Milk Safety Program through its implementation and enforcement of the U.S. Grade "A" Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO). The number of reported illnesses associated with Grade "A" milk and milk products in the United States was obtained from state and federal agencies and published articles. The consumption of Grade "A" milk and milk products in the United States was estimated from food consumption survey data for individuals. The level of food safety protection was measured quantitatively using the metric of annual illness attack rate. During a 15-year period (1999 through 2013), the estimated annual illness attack rate was 0.41 reported illnesses per 1 billion exposures (estimated using person-day intake data) or 0.52 reported illnesses per 1 billion lb (454 million kg) of Grade "A" milk and milk products consumed. Food safety protection provided to consumers of Grade "A" milk and milk products by the NCIMS through its implementation and enforcement of the PMO is important given the common consumption of Grade "A" milk and milk products in the United States.