Author: Theresa Sweeney

NMPF’s Galen Discusses Lab-Produced Fake “Milk”

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Chris Galen, NMPF’s senior vice president of membership services and strategic initiatives, discusses NMPF’s recent effort to end dairy product mislabeling by manufacturers of synthetic, cell-based “dairy” ingredients that are in violation of federal dairy Standards of Identity to prevent a repeat of the plant-based labeling fiasco that’s created confusion among consumers and regulatory headaches at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

NMPF, which has repeatedly called on FDA to enforce its identity standards for milk as plant-based fakes have proliferated, has been warning the agency that lab-based milk imposters would be next on the horizon without agency action. Even as the agency is wrestling with draft guidance that finally acknowledges consumers’ core concern over plant-based beverages – their false positioning as dairy equivalents in the face of glaring nutritional inferiority – lab-based imitators are following the plant-based playbook and plastering “milk” and other standardized dairy terms on products that in composition bear little resemblance to true dairy.

Consumers concerned with labeling integrity may visit NMPF’s Call to Action on plant-based labeling here.

Dairy Gains Strength Through its Advocates

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Dairy farmers don’t advance better policy unless dairy farmers get involved. And don’t take my word for it: Listen to NMPF’s Young Cooperators, who met with members of Congress last month at their annual Capitol Hill fly-in.

“Forging connections with our elected officials is so important for dairy farmers,” wrote Isabel Mullin, an Agri-Mark farmer near Kittery, ME, in feedback after the event. “The communication informs them about the real-life impact of policy proposals and it informs us about potential changes coming for our farms.”

“As the general public becomes further and further removed from agriculture, it is even more important to share our experiences and build relationships with our elected officials,” said Katelyn Packard, who dairies outside Manchester, MI. “They represent our community and make decisions that affect us each day.”

Isabel and Katelyn are right. As dairy farmers grow fewer in number and demands on congressional attention rise, a personal voice is critical to breaking through the noise and misinformation that dominates federal policymaking. Important decisions for the future of dairy are coming over the next few months, ranging from a new farm bill and Federal Milk Marketing Order discussions to efforts to get whole milk back in schools and bring greater transparency to the labeling of plant-based beverages that use dairy terms.

All these challenges will make grass-roots engagement from dairy farmers and their affiliated organizations, as well the broader dairy industry and allies among the public, that much more important. That’s why our preparations for an FMMO order hearing are being led by our member cooperatives, who with us are coordinating farmer testimony during the upcoming weekslong USDA hearing. That’s why we’ve created a Dairy Voice Network of farmers trained to deal with media interviews and speak out for the industry. It’s why we help our cooperatives prepare farmers for congressional hearings on the farm bill and other topics.

Dairy farmers need a seat at the table; we work both to get them there and help them be effective in that position.

Also critical to our efforts are our Calls to Action – a way for dairy farmers and their friends to get involved that’s as simple as sending an e-mail. Our Advocacy page, found at https://www.nmpf.org/take-action/ offers updates on critical initiatives affecting farmers and provides tools for dairy advocates to make themselves heard via letters to relevant lawmakers and policy officials.

Currently, the page offers opportunities to help on the FDA’s draft guidance on plant-based beverages; the SAVE Act, a critical piece of legislation defending U.S. cheesemakers from European Union attempts to restrict what names are used for cheeses; and the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which would put whole and 2% milk back on school lunch menus. Calls to support dairy farmers in the farm bill and through Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization will be coming soon.

We’d urge everyone who cares about dairy’s future to visit the page and sign up for our Advocacy Alerts, where advocates are notified of important policy developments and asked to act upon them. As an organization, the National Milk Producers Federation has always worked with a strength that’s greater than its numbers – and that strength comes from the unity of our community. With important initiatives imminent, now is a great time to reinforce this strength. We’re hoping you can help.

 

Jim Mulhern

President & CEO, NMPF

 

NMPF Letter Warns FDA: Don’t Repeat Plant-Based Mistakes with Lab-Produced Fake ‘Milk’

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must end dairy product mislabeling by manufacturers of synthetic, cell-based “dairy” ingredients that are in violation of federal dairy Standards of Identity to prevent a repeat of the plant-based labeling fiasco that’s created confusion among consumers and regulatory headaches at the agency, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said in a letter to the agency.

“Bored Cow’s product takes water and adds what we believe to be one unidentified, lab-engineered ‘whey protein’ along with a highly processed concoction of food additives, preservatives, oil, sugar and several added vitamins, and claims to have created ‘animal-free dairy milk.’ It is baseless, preposterous and absurd to call the resulting product ‘milk,’” NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said in the letter. “In the interest of public health, the misleading labeling charade must end before it gets out of hand. FDA must act, and must do so now.”

NMPF, which has repeatedly called on FDA to enforce its identity standards for milk as plant-based fakes have proliferated, has been warning the agency that lab-based milk imposters would be next on the horizon without agency action. Even as the agency is wrestling with draft guidance that finally acknowledges consumers’ core concern over plant-based beverages – their false positioning as dairy equivalents in the face of glaring nutritional inferiority – lab-based imitators are following the plant-based playbook and plastering “milk” and other standardized dairy terms on products that in composition bear little resemblance to true dairy.

“As we have seen in the decades-long folly of plant-based beverage labeling, an ounce of prevention is worth oceans of cure,” Mulhern wrote. “We ask the agency to exercise its well-established authority to prevent this company and others that seek to follow from leading consumers down what will become a superhighway of misinformation, absent your willingness to enforce the law.”

Consumers concerned with labeling integrity may visit NMPF’s Call to Action on plant-based labeling here. For an in-depth discussion on lab-based “dairy” and its pitfalls, listen to this podcast here. A copy of NMPF’s full letter regarding Bored Cow, a brand offered by New York City-based Tomorrow Farms, is here.

Cheese-Name Fight Vital for Industry

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

What’s in a name? Quite a lot. In dairy, a name defines a taste and experience. And that’s why European Union attempts to monopolize commonly understood cheese names poses a problem for consumers and cheese companies, as John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association in Madison explains in the latest Dairy Defined Podcast.

“Our dairy farmers here in Wisconsin and other states, we can’t go to Europe and sell a Parmesan cheese. We can’t go to Europe and sell a cheese called feta,” he said. “It’s infuriating because those names are used worldwide and the cheeses are produced worldwide. But the EU has put up walls.”

Umhoefer, joined by NMPF Senior Vice President for Trade Policy Shawna Morris, also discusses recent legal victories and a congressional effort to help U.S. producers stifle EU attempts to use cheese names as a trade barrier. The full podcast is here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file below. Please attribute information to NMPF.

Good News for Consumers on Inflation

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

When dairy prices rise, people notice.

That’s what happens when your product is so ubiquitous that grocery stores price it below-cost to bring in consumers who make up for the loss by buying higher-margin items. That’s what happens when your products are so essential that there’s no way around spending a premium if that’s what it takes to bake a perfect cake. And that’s what happens when people rely on you for affordable, efficient nutrition.

But in recent months, even as last year’s general run-up in inflation has eased, some of that easing has been even more pronounced in dairy products. Butter prices, which in December were 31 percent higher than a year earlier, are now only up 5 percent year-over-year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index numbers – much more in line with overall inflation. Cheese was up 13.5 percent last August – but by April it has fallen to 6.1 percent, less than overall food inflation of 7.5 percent.

And fluid milk, which last August was witnessing year-over-year inflation of 17 percent, in April was up a meager 1.6 percent over the year before, a number that, given all that’s occurred, seems positively … normal.

Which shouldn’t be surprising in the end. While dairy, like many perishable products, is prone to more dramatic price swings than many other goods, over the long haul it remains extremely affordable, and has only become more so over time. Check out the divergence seen from 2008, when long-term overall inflation, food inflation and dairy inflation were relatively equal, through today, as dairy prices have risen less, during most of that period, relative to those other categories.

The best bargain in nutrition is only getting better. And while short-term blips get headlines, as the spikes recede, all that remains is dairy’s well-deserved reputation for quality and affordability. Something to keep in mind as the summer months heat up – dairy will cool you down, from your body to your pocketbook.

May CWT-Assisted Dairy Export Sales Totaled 5 Million Pounds

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

CWT member cooperatives secured 41 contracts in May, adding 4.1 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 99,000 pounds of butter, 88,000 pounds of whole milk powder and 717,000 pounds of cream cheese to CWT-assisted sales in 2023.

In milk equivalent, this is equal to 46.3 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. These products will go to customers in Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Oceania, South America and Middle East-North Africa, and will be shipped from May through November 2023.

CWT-assisted 2023 dairy product sales contracts year-to-date total 19.7 million pounds of American-type cheese, 594,000 pounds of butter, 24.6 million pounds of whole milk powder, 4.1 million pounds of cream cheese and 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat. This brings the total milk equivalent for the year to 407.6 million pounds on a milkfat basis.

Exporting dairy products is critical to the viability of dairy farmers and their cooperatives across the country. Whether or not a cooperative is actively engaged in exporting cheese, butter, anhydrous milkfat, cream cheese, or whole milk powder, moving products into world markets is essential. CWT provides a means to move domestic dairy products to overseas markets by helping to overcome U.S. dairy’s trade disadvantages.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

Recording Available for Eurofins Webinar on new rBST Testing Method

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF hosted a webinar May 25 on a new rBST testing method featuring Eurofins’ Senior Applications Scientist, Sarah King, and Vice President of Business Development, Dino Holmquist. Sarah and Dino provided an overview of how the method works and answered questions about the test’s capabilities.

The testing method, developed by Eurofins, detects a peptide of the recombinant protein. The peptide is detected utilizing liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). This state-of-the-art technology allows for sensitive and accurate detection of rBST at concentrations lower than 0.001%. Many dairy companies state on their labels that the product is “rBST-free” without any scientific data to support this claim. This new testing offers an interesting opportunity while raising many questions about how it can be implemented and what the implications may be. The recording can be watched here with the passcode #hBv7QJ2.

NMPF Protecting Dairy in School Nutrition Programs

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF submitted comments on May 10 advocating for continuing to serve low-fat flavored milk in addition to fat-free varieties for all grade levels and highlighting the role milk, cheese and yogurt play in making school meals the healthiest meals children consume.

The comments were in response to a proposed rule USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published Feb. 7 to update school meal standards, intended to take effect beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. This proposed rule is the latest step FNS has taken to update school meal standards dating to passage of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act in 2010.

The proposed rule continues to allow low-fat flavored milk in school meals, but potentially in a more limited fashion. FNS puts forward two different options for flavored milk in its proposed rule, requesting input on both options. The first would allow low-fat and fat-free flavored milk for either grades 6-12 or 9-12 only. The second would maintain current standards, allowing low-fat and fat-free flavored milk for all grade levels. The proposal also puts forward added sugar and sodium limits that will be phased into school meals in future school years, both of which could limit varieties of school milk, yogurt, and cheese that can be served in school meal programs.

Since 2010, multiple USDA rulemakings have intended to make school meals healthier, with NMPF working hard to ensure that changes don’t inadvertently reduce kids’ actual diet quality and nutrient intake. This includes NMPF’s leading role in getting USDA to reinstate the low-fat flavored milk option in school meal programs after its removal by a 2012 rule. NMPF’s work here includes working closely with Chairman GT Thompson, R-PA, and Representative Joe Courtney, D-CT, over multiple congresses on their School Milk Nutrition Act, which would guarantee that schools have the choice to serve any milk variety consistent with federal dietary guidelines.

To further support school meals, NMPF and IDFA submitted joint comments May 8 on the proposed rule, “Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provisions – Increasing Options for Schools” supporting lowering the percentage of enrolled students certified for free school meals without submitting a household application from 40% to 25%. As noted in the preamble to the rule proposing the change, a study showed that schools that implemented the community eligibility provision (CEP) attained participation rates about 7 percent higher for lunch and 12 percent higher for breakfast, compared to similar schools that did not choose the provision.

Providing healthy meals to all students helps address longstanding inequities based on race, income and other factors that contribute to disparities of nutritional intakes and health outcomes.

NMPF Sends Joint Letter to HHS, USDA Secretaries Urging Inclusion of Dairy Fats Science

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) sent a joint letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on May 9 calling for the inclusion of the growing body of science studying dairy fats in the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) review.

Several scientific research studies, including multiple meta-analyses, demonstrate that dairy foods, regardless of fat level, appear to have neutral or beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, stroke and other conditions.

The committee, which held its second public meeting on May 10, will use three approaches to examine the evidence used to answer the scientific questions: systematic reviews, food pattern modeling and data analysis. NMPF and IDFA state in the letter, “NMPF and IDFA hope this committee won’t default to the overly broad recommendation to avoid saturated fats regardless of food source. This would fail to answer the 2025 proposed scientific question and, equally important, it would fail to address the 2020 DGAC report’s directive. We strongly urge the committee to develop protocols that will enable it to answer the question about specific food sources of saturated fat, including consideration of the recent science on dairy fats.”

NMPF Urges Trade-Compliant Approach to New USDA Country of Origin Labeling Rule

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF encouraged the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service office to ensure that a newly proposed Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule does not result in Mexican and Canadian retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. dairy industry in comments filed May 11 on the proposal.

The proposed rule would allow the voluntary use of “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA,” only if the meat, poultry and egg products are derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States. Prior U.S. mandatory country of origin rules on beef and pork were found to violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, resulting in WTO-authorized tariff retaliation rights that included U.S. dairy exports to Mexico and Canada. While USDA’s proposed rule would be voluntary, NMPF made clear it must be written in a way that ensures compliance with WTO and U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement commitments.

NMPF warned that should the rule undermine imports to the United States, both Mexico and Canada could impose retaliatory tariffs that would significantly harm American dairy farmers and producers.

NMPF-Led Common Names Legislation Introduced in Congress

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF, working in collaboration with the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), spurred the May 17 introduction of the bipartisan Safeguarding American Value-Added Exports (SAVE) Act, a milestone in the organizations’ efforts to preserve common cheese names in export markets around the world.

Outlined and supported by NMPF, CCFN and USDEC, the SAVE Act would amend the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 in two keys ways by:

  • Explicitly defining “common names” as a term ordinarily used for marketing a food product, as determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA);
  • Defining foreign restrictions of those common names as an unfair trade practice; and
  • Directing USDA to “coordinate with the U.S. Trade Representative to proactively defend the right to use common names for agricultural commodities or food products in their markets” through various negotiating tools.

The legislation calls for USDA and USTR to use bilateral, plurilateral, or multilateral agreements, memoranda of understanding, and other instruments to ensure that American dairy and other agricultural producers will be able to use the common names in food and beverage exports.

Led in the Senate by Sens. John Thune, R-SD, Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, Roger Marshall, R-KS, and Tina Smith, D-MN, and in the House by Reps. Dusty Johnson, R-SD, Jim Costa, D-CA, Michelle Fischbach, R-MN, and Jimmy Panetta, D-CA,, NMPF plans to work with the bill’s leads to ensure the legislative text is captured in the Farm Bill. That would mark the first farm bill effort on common names.

Given the outsized impact that illegitimate geographical indications have on American cheesemakers, the SAVE Act signifies a much-needed development that would benefit the U.S. dairy industry should it become law. NMPF will continue to work with its allied organizations and supporting members to ensure passage of this important new tool.

DMC Margin Drops Below $6 in April

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The April Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) margin dropped by $0.25/cwt from a month earlier to $5.84/cwt, the first time the margin fell below $6 since August 2021. The April all-milk price was $20.70/cwt, down $0.40/cwt from March, while the DMC feed price was down for the month by $0.15/cwt, due entirely to a lower soybean meal price. The April payment for maximum Tier 1 coverage at the $9.50/cwt level will be $3.42/cwt. T

Available forecasts continue to indicate that monthly DMC margins will stubbornly remain around $6 into the summer and then slowly rise during the second half of the year, not topping $9.50/cwt until November.