The National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS, USA) is a non-profit organization whose goal is to "Assure the Safest Possible Milk Supply for All the People." It is composed of representatives from state and local regulatory agencies from three different geographical regions, FDA, USDA, industry, laboratories and academia.

Diagnostics manufacturers who want to participate in the US Dairy testing market must obtain approval by the National Conference of Interstate Milk Shippers (NCIMS), which is a three-step process: Laboratory Committee approval, Council approval, and Delegate approval. Proposals for new methods are presented every two years and are rejected or approved by this process. To become certified in the use of approved NCIMS methods, laboratories across the US must demonstrate proficiency within the US FDA Dairy Performance Sample Program.

During Q3-2014, the US bioMérieux FOOD Team began a collaborative study in conjunction with QuoDATA (Dresden, Germany) and US FDA personnel responsible for overseeing the Dairy Sample Performance Program. With participation from NCIMS-approved laboratories, performance samples were tested with TEMPO^® AC (for aerobic mesophilic total flora) and TEMPO^® CC (for coliforms) tests against culture methods on films and standard plate methods. QuoData provided extensive data analysis on the performance of AC and CC methods versus the NCIMS reference methods.

The final data package was submitted to the US FDA and all members of the NCIMS Laboratory Committee in advance of the 2015 conference held in April and bioMérieux obtained NCIMS approval for TEMPO^® AC and TEMPO^® CC methods.