Ice cream… in cones, in sandwiches, in hot fudge sundaes, and dressed up in red, white and blue for Independence Day. Those were just some of the July posts on the REAL® Seal Facebook page, which took advantage of July as National Ice Cream Month.

One post suggested espresso poured over ice cream as an afternoon pick-me-up, while another reminded visitors that nondairy ice cream is made with things like corn, brown rice syrup, soybean oil and dehydrated cane juice.

By the end of the month, the Facebook page had more than 81,000 followers, up seven percent from June. The most popular July post? Appropriately, an image of two young girls eating ice cream, with the comment, “You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream … and that’s almost the same thing” It had a whopping 2,794 fans.

Eduardo de Souza Ribeiro, a doctoral student in animal sciences at the University of Florida, received the National Milk Producers Federation Richard M. Hoyt Award for dairy-related research last month. Ribeiro was recognized during the awards ceremony at the annual meeting of the American Dairy Science Association in Kansas City. NMPF Vice President for Dairy Foods and Nutrition Beth Briczinski made the presentation.

A native of São Joaquim, Brazil, Ribeiro has done extensive research in reproductive physiology and management of dairy cows. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Florida in 2011 and is currently in the animal molecular and cellular biology program there. His research has resulted in 24 publications, of which he was the lead author on eight.

The Richard M. Hoyt Award is a joint project of NMPF and ADSA, with NMPF providing the scholarship money. The award recognizes research efforts with direct application to problems in the dairy industry. The winner must be enrolled in or have completed a program leading to an advance degree in dairy science, dairy production, diary processing or a similar curriculum.

Group Also Seeks No Change in Ice Cream Serving Size, Smaller Size for Yogurt

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Milk Producers Federation wants the Food and Drug Administration to fix a problem in the planned definition of added sugars on food labels, saying it appears to include dairy products used as food ingredients, even though the lactose – or “milk sugar” – in those products occurs naturally.

Commenting August 1st on the FDA’s proposed changes to the nutrition facts label, NMPF was basically supportive of FDA’s proposal to list added sugars, saying it will clarify the contribution of lactose to dairy products and allow consumers to pinpoint added sweeteners in foods.

But, under FDA’s proposed definition, NMPF said the lactose in a tablespoon of nonfat dry milk incorporated into another food would count as an “added sugar,” while the lactose in a glass of milk would not.

“Surely, that can’t be what FDA intends,” said Beth Briczinski, NMPF’s vice present for dairy foods and nutrition. “We assume this is simply an oversight, since nonfat dry milk is often an ingredient in dairy products like yogurt and ice cream, as well as other foods, including baked and processed foods that benefit from added milk solids.”

“Either way,” Briczinski added, “this needs to be corrected.”

NMPF offered three specific reasons to exclude lactose-containing dairy ingredients from the definition of added sugars:

• Unlike typical added sugars, dairy ingredients containing lactose are not used primarily to sweeten foods. In fact, compared with other sugars, lactose is not very sweet (it would take six times the amount of lactose to equal the sweetness level of table sugar). Instead, dairy ingredients like milk powder or whey powder are added to foods for other reasons, like texture and appearance.
• The federal definitions of many standard dairy products allow them to include lactose-containing dairy ingredients, like nonfat milk powder, while still allowing the product to be called “unsweetened.” Examples include unsweetened yogurt and no-sugar-added ice cream.
• Under FDA’s proposed definition, confusion would likely be created, since otherwise-identical dairy products would list or not list added sugars, depending on what ingredient was used. For example, a yogurt made with nonfat dry milk would be required to list added sugars, while the same yogurt made solely from skim milk would not list any added sugar.

NMPF also used its comments on the proposed revisions to the nutrition facts label to remind the FDA that it is allowing manufacturers of imitation dairy products, including soy “milk” and rice “yogurt,” to trick consumers into thinking their products are nutritionally equivalent to real-milk products.

“The name on a food conveys significant nutritional information,” said Briczinski. “Consumers think non-dairy alternatives with the term ‘milk’ or ‘yogurt’ in their name are nutritionally the same as real dairy products. But they are not. In addition, allowing these imitations to call themselves “milk” or “yogurt” is a clear violation of FDA’s own food standards and labeling regulations.

“It’s unfortunate that FDA has ignored this blatant misbranding of food products for decades, and is now touting its efforts to provide meaningful nutrition information to consumers,” Briczinski said.

Other points made in NMPF’s comments on FDA’s proposed revisions to the Nutrition Facts label:

• Since industry in recent years has drastically reduced the trans fat in food – with a corresponding reduction in the trans fat in the American diet – it may no longer be necessary to list trans fat in the nutrition facts label. Regardless, ruminant trans fatty acids, which occur naturally in meat and dairy products, are not the same as added trans fats and should be exempt from the labeling requirement.
• Dual-column labeling, designed to allow consumers to see nutritional information per-package as well as per-serving, doesn’t work for some dairy products, which should be exempted from the requirement – including quarts of milk, pints of cottage cheese, and dairy foods that are used primarily as ingredients, like butter and buttermilk.

In separate comments on serving-size issues, NMPF supported reducing a typical serving of yogurt from eight ounces to six ounces and opposed increasing a serving of frozen desserts

from half a cup to a full cup. “The yogurt change makes sense,” Briczinski said, “since it brings the government’s measurement in line with packaging found in the marketplace.”

At the same time, Briczinski said, while FDA is proposing to increase a frozen dessert serving, consumption of both ice cream and frozen desserts generally has been declining steadily for two decades. “Consumption data,” she said, “strongly suggests that an increase in the frozen dessert serving size is not warranted.”

“Overall,” said Briczinski, “FDA’s proposed Nutrition Facts and serving size changes will have a positive impact. They will provide accurate nutrition information to consumers. But a few aspects of the proposals will result in unintended consequences for some dairy foods and FDA needs to review those aspects and correct them.”

 

The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 32,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

The White House on Friday released a Biogas Opportunities Roadmap highlighting the economic and environmental benefits and potential for biogas systems in the U.S. According to the Roadmap, biogas systems offer a wide range of potential revenue streams, growing jobs and boosting economic development for communities, businesses and dairy farms. The systems work by recycling organic material — including cow manure and food waste — into valuable co-products such as renewable energy, fertilizer, separated nutrients and cow bedding.

To develop the Roadmap, The White House worked with the dairy industry through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, which was established under the leadership of dairy farmers, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Innovation Center brings together leaders of dairy farmer organizations, including NMPF, along with cooperatives, processors, manufacturers, and brands, to foster innovation and help dairy farmers and importers sell more milk and dairy products. Biogas initiatives completed by the Innovation Center helped inform the Roadmap, including 2013 research that identifies a $2.9 billion market potential for anaerobic digester systems that co-digest dairy cow manure and food waste.

“The Biogas Roadmap will help stimulate the emerging biogas market in ways that could provide revenue-generating opportunities for dairy farms of all sizes,” said Jim Mulhern, president and chief executive officer of the National Milk Producers Federation, which develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own.

The Roadmap strategies are entirely voluntary, not regulatory. “This validates the proactive and voluntary path the industry is already taking to reduce methane emissions, and provides direction for future actions and opportunities,” said Mulhern. NMPF sits on the Board of Directors for the Innovation Center.

The USDA, DOE and EPA will take these steps to promote the development of biogas systems:

• Fostering investment in biogas systems: To help overcome barriers to the widespread investment in biogas systems, USDA will lead efforts to better understand and track the performance of anaerobic digesters, seek opportunities to broaden financing options, and review Federal procurement guidelines.
• Strengthening markets for biogas systems and system products: The Roadmap identifies activities that could strengthen the market for biogas systems and system products including energy and other value-added products. For example, dairy farms of all sizes could enhance their revenues through nitrogen and phosphorus recovery.
• Improving communication and coordination: USDA will establish a Biogas Opportunities Roadmap Working Group, including the dairy industry, to implement the strategies in the Roadmap, with a goal to identify and prioritize policies and technology opportunities by August 2015.
• Promoting biogas use through existing agency programs: Leveraging existing programs will provide a way to enhance the use of biogas systems in the U.S. by ensuring existing criteria for technical and financial assistance considers the benefits of biogas system, leveraging research funding, and strengthening programs that support the use of biogas for clean energy, transportation fuel, and other biobased products.

“On dairy farms, digesters can increasingly be part of the solution to manure management challenges and enhance our ability to sustain our farms for the next generation,” said Jim Werkhoven, a dairy farmer in Monroe, Washington, and Chairman, Darigold, Inc.

Biogas systems could help the dairy industry, which contributes approximately 2 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, to further reduce its carbon footprint.  In 2009, the dairy industry established a voluntary goal to reduce its carbon footprint by 25 percent by 2020. The Dairy Power project is one of a portfolio of projects to help achieve that goal; it focuses on harnessing the value of manure and realizing the potential of biogas systems for U.S. dairy farmers.

“Dairy farmers are taking many steps to provide nourishing dairy foods and beverages that are responsibly produced,” said Tom Gallagher, chief executive officer of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. “Biogas systems are one example of many technologies available to the industry today that help us continuously improve our stewardship and contribute to our communities.”

 

Visit USDairy.com/DairyPower for information and case studies about biogas projects on dairy farms, and watch this video to see how a coalition of urban and rural partners — including the Cleveland Browns – used a biogas system to recycle cow manure and food waste.

     In the 1973 Woody Allen comedy “Sleeper,” Allen’s character awakes from two centuries of suspended animation to find that his preferred diet of wheat germ, organic honey and tiger’s milk has fallen out of favor. Scientists in the future have concluded that the benefits of those substances, believed in the 1970s to contain life-preserving properties, were inferior to deep fat, steak, cream pies and hot fudge. Nutritional science in the 22nd century found that what was once viewed as “health food” was, in fact, the opposite of what later came to be understood as healthy.

Although it was intended to be a parody of 1970s counter-culture excess, Sleeper serves as an important reminder that food fads come and go, and that what passes for mainstream dietary dogma at a given point in time can evolve. The really startling news is that we’re seeing precisely such a shift in the 21st century because of the accumulation of recent research suggesting that saturated fats from dairy foods are not the dietary villains they have been portrayed to be for many years.

The most significant of these findings was published this spring in the Annals of Internal Medicine. After reassessing the results of 72 different studies, a team of British researchers concluded that “Current evidence does not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats.”

A similar conclusion was published in the medical journal Atherosclerosis, which earlier this year found that “Animal product intake (unprocessed red meat, egg, dairy) is not necessarily associated with increased cardiovascular risk.”

These findings add to a 2010 compilation of research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which found that “There is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of heart disease or cardiovascular disease.”

The accumulation of research like these peer-reviewed reports is finally beginning to chip away at more than a half-century’s worth of accepted of medical doctrine: the long-questioned theory that dietary intake of saturated fat from meats, eggs, and dairy, is directly tied to higher cholesterol levels leading to increased coronary heart disease.

What’s also become obvious is that, as fats were villainized and skimmed out of foods in the past two generations, they were replaced in many cases by simple sugars and other refined carbohydrates – a deal with the devil that is now looking more like a major source of the obesity epidemic in our society, and others as well. To put it in plainer terms: We’ve been fighting a war against fat, and fat – consumed in moderation – is not the enemy.

Heavily-processed foods are now being viewed with the jaundiced eyes once reserved for products containing saturated fats. Witness the renaissance of butter, sales of which are sizzling, even as margarine – a heavily-processed imitator if there ever was one – is in a long-term slump. The awareness that trans-fats are a greater health concern than saturated fats has put margarine on the defensive, and led to a resurgence in use of butter.

It will take additional research to verify this growing body of opinion that balanced diets in otherwise healthy people need not fear dairy fats. There are plenty of indications that consumption by children and adults of dairy products such as milk and yogurt is tied to healthier body weights. As the National Dairy Council has reported, the evidence from observational studies has shown that the consumption of dairy foods as part of a balanced diet is not associated with increased weight gain over time, and in many cases, is associated with less weight gain. Research has also shown that consumption of milk, even flavored milk, doesn’t contribute to a higher body mass index in kids.

Rolling back the conventional wisdom where fats are concerned is not going to happen overnight. Many people and organizations have staked their reputation on the premise that fat is bad. They will not go quietly into that good night.

But the process is underway, and will hopefully lead to a more reasoned discussion about the need for a balanced diet, with less strident rhetoric about good versus bad foods. Hot fudge sundaes – even in the 22nd century – may never achieve health food status, but even now, chocolate (at least the dark kind) is seen by many as having health benefits. And that’s no joke.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) praised a letter to President Obama yesterday from 140 members of the U.S. House of Representatives expressing concerns about the status of agricultural market access negotiations with Japan and Canada in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The bipartisan letter was led by Devin Nunes (R-CA), chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, and Ranking Member Charles Rangel (D-NY).

“This Congressional letter reinforces the message that a unified dairy industry expressed last month in a letter to Ambassador Froman and Secretary Vilsack and that is the importance of a high-quality dairy outcome with Japan and Canada,” said USDEC President Tom Suber. “We share the concerns of Congress over the efforts of Japan and Canada to evade meaningful market access in the TPP.”

“We believe that TPP needs to be a high standard agreement that maximizes export opportunities for U.S. dairy products,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “To that end, we concur with the Congressional message that the key to a good agricultural outcome with Japan and Canada is an agreement that is meaningful and comprehensive. The letter’s core message, urging the U.S. Trade Representative to obtain the best deal possible, is very much in line with the type of ambitious and balanced outcome our members believe is necessary.”

Both organizations also remain focused on addressing another U.S. dairy industry priority regarding the lingering impacts of New Zealand government dairy policies that have intentionally advantaged a single national champion at the expense of other competitors.

Many U.S. agricultural organizations united in support of the Congressional letter. While the goals of various agricultural organizations in the TPP may differ, the unifying aim is a desire to see significant movement by Japan and Canada to greatly expand market access opportunities for U.S. agricultural exports. NMPF and USDEC remain hopeful that the TPP negotiations will result in a final package that can garner the endorsement of the U.S. dairy industry.

ARLINGTON, VA – Milk producers joined milk processors yesterday in supporting the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed regulations on the safe shipment of food, saying the draft rules largely write into regulations what the dairy industry is already doing.

“Dairy foods are safely transported already, and there is no need to improve on current practices,” said Beth Briczinski, vice president for dairy foods and nutrition for the National Milk Producers Federation. “As a result, we basically support what the FDA is proposing.”

NMPF, the voice of 32,000 dairy farmers in Washington, submitted comments on the draft regulations issued in February as part of efforts to implement a major update of the nation’s food safety laws enacted in 2011.

NMPF did note several areas where the proposal could be clarified or modified. In particular, it urged expanding waivers from the regulation for dairy products if a shipper is licensed under the Grade “A” milk program. NMPF urged including outbound shipments of finished products – such as yogurt, cottage cheese and sour cream – as well as inbound shipments of unpasteurized milk under the waiver.

Other areas NMPF suggested clarifying included language regarding short or intra-company food shipments and the transportation of frozen dairy desserts. On the latter, the organization said the final regulations should specify that ice cream and other frozen dairy desserts should not be included under the proposed regulations because when ice cream is temperature-abused it doesn’t present a food safety risk. Instead, it melts. 

The proposed rules were issued under the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, as well as a separate 2005 law covering safe transportation of foods.

“We supported the FSMA and have been pleased to work with the FDA to implement its provisions,” said Briczinski. “We share the desire for food transportation rules that are broad, goal-oriented, aligned with current practices, and adaptable to the many transportation activities conducted in our industry.

“For the most part, FDA’s draft regulations are just that,” Briczinski added. 

The U.S. dairy industry told the Senate Finance Committee’s trade subcommittee today that the 2010 U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement has further strengthened U.S. dairy exports to the Korean market, even though it is not yet fully implemented.

At the same time, Shawna Morris, vice president for trade for the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), said a new and growing type of trade barrier involving common food names has emerged that is restricting access to the Korean market for key U.S. cheeses. 

“(Korea’s restrictions on the use of several common cheese names) are the direct result of their separate free trade agreement with the European Union,” Morris, shown at right, testified. “In a nutshell, the European Union has been leaning on countries around the world to block imports of products by confiscating common food names and reserving them exclusively for cheese producers in their member countries.” 

 

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – Eduardo de Souza Ribeiro, a doctoral student in animal sciences at the University of Florida, today received the National Milk Producers Federation Richard M. Hoyt Award for dairy-related research. 

Ribeiro was recognized during the awards ceremony at the annual meeting of the American Dairy Science Association in Kansas City. NMPF Vice President for Dairy Foods and Nutrition Beth Briczinski made the scholarship presentation.

 

The National Milk Producers Federation on July 14 endorsed a draft plan for allowing the U.S. and Canada to cope with an outbreak of a serious foreign animal contagion, such as foot-and-mouth disease, suggesting the plan is a template for similar plans involving other important dairy export markets.

The plan, drafted by the Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, calls for the United States and Canada to recognize each other’s efforts to control an outbreak, while regionalizing how the outbreak is handled, so as to allow continued trade with disease-free areas of the country.

In comments filed with APHIS Monday, NMPF, the voice of 32,000 dairy farmers in Washington, noted that Canada is the second-largest export market for U.S. dairy products, and that an outbreak of a highly contagious animal disease such as FMD in either country could be catastrophic for the U.S. dairy industry.

“We applaud the Agriculture Department for working with its Canadian counterparts to prepare for a foreign animal disease outbreak,” said Jamie Jonker, NMPF’s vice president for sustainability & scientific affairs. “We fully support the draft plan and see it as an effective tool for dealing with an outbreak.”

The plan, officially termed a framework, calls for the two countries to cooperate in establishing quarantine areas that would be the focus of disease eradication efforts in an outbreak. Trade could then resume or continue in areas considered free of disease. 

“The framework will facilitate continued trade between disease-free areas, while safeguarding animal health in both countries,” said Jonker. “NMPF encourages USDA to use this approach as a template for other countries that are important U.S. dairy export markets.” These countries include Mexico, China, Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.

This is in contrast to another USDA proposal earlier this year, which NMPF determined had significant flaws, because it will allow imports of fresh beef from certain parts of Brazil which have a history of foot and mouth disease. 

“We are happy to have Brazil export its enthusiasm for soccer,” said Jonker, “but the last thing we need is for that country to send us its FMD problems.”

Over the last decade, U.S. dairy exports have increased more than 20 percent annually and the United States is now a global leader in exports for products including cheese, skim milk powder, whey products and lactose.

The National Milk Producers Federation on July 7th asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw recent guidance concerning when farmers must seek Clean Water Act permits for a long list of normal farming activities near wetlands.

NMPF, the voice of more than 32,000 dairy farmers in Washington, said the EPA’s proposal could have the perverse effect of discouraging water conservation, by changing the long-standing relationship between farmers and the Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The EPA guidance, officially called an Interpretive Rule, was issued in March. It says producers are only exempt from needing Clean Water Act permits for more than 50 routine farming practices if they comply with detailed NRCS technical conservation standards. Until now, these standards have been voluntary, and the farming practices exempt from the permit process.

In comments filed Monday, NMPF said the guidance changes NRCS’s role from that of a conservation partner to an enforcer of the Clean Water Act on EPA’s behalf. 

“Until now, NRCS has been the place producers could go for conservation advice, while EPA was charged with ensuring compliance with the Clean Water Act,” said Jamie Jonker, NMPF’s Vice President for Sustainability & Scientific Affairs. “The cooperative relationship with NRCS made it more likely farmers would adopt water conservation practices.

“Unfortunately,” Jonker said, “the interpretive rule moves NRCS into an enforcement role and, in the process, could set back conservation efforts.”

In its comments, NMPF used harvesting hay as an example. Under the Interpretive Rule, farmers harvesting hay may be exempt from needing a CWA permit only if they follow NRCS Conservation Practice Standard No. 511:  four pages of criteria covering timing of the harvest, moisture content of the hay, length of the cut hay, stubble height and much more.

“Many dairy farmers harvest hay without any reference to NRCS standards,” said Jonker.  “Will these farmers now be forced to comply with Standard No. 511? If so, many will simply choose not to work with the NRCS. As a result, there will be less water conservation on farms, not more.”

Jonker noted that NMPF has drawn up a detailed environmental handbook (shown above left) based on NRCS standards but tailored specifically to dairy farmers. “Under the IR, producers who follow the handbook apparently will not qualify for a permit exemption,” Jonker said. “Having invested time and money in producing the handbook, NMPF is now forced to ask if it was worth it to try to do the right thing.”

Additional points in the NMPF comments:

• While EPA argues that meeting the NRCS standards is still voluntary, in practice it is mandatory, since failure to comply may expose farmers to legal liability.
• More than 100 farming practices covered by NRCS standards but not listed the IR are left under a “cloud of suspicion” and further expose farmer to legal liability.
• As a major policy change, the IR should have been issued as a proposed regulation, with public comments in advance of approval, rather than as guidance that is immediately applicable.

“NMPF and its members are committed to protecting U.S. waterways through voluntary efforts and regulatory compliance with the Clean Water Act,” NMPF said. “(But) the IR will have the perverse impact of harming the longstanding trust and cooperative relationship between producers and NRCS.  Consequently, water quality improvements will be adversely impacted.”

Established initially the 1930s, the NRCS provides voluntary help to farmers who want to conserve the resources on their farms.

In May, NMPF urged the Environmental Protection Agency to allow more time to examine a controversial draft regulation expanding the waterways subject to regulation under the federal Clean Water Act. That request was granted on June 10th.