Connie Tipton, IDFA president and CEO, and Kathryn Boor, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, at IDFA's Regulatory RoundUP in June. IDFA and Cornell University Team Up to Launch Leadership Development Program IDFA is joining with Cornell University to offer leadership development opportunities for the next generation of leaders in the dairy foods business. The first joint program will be the NextGEN Symposium, October 6-8, at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. "Teaming up with an organization such as IDFA will help to bridge the gap in workforce development for the next generation of leaders in our industry,” said Kathryn J. Boor, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Senators Urge Administration to Avoid New Restraints on Mexican Sugar A bipartisan group of senators, led by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), expressed concern yesterday about a potential administration agreement with Mexico that would increase sugar prices in the United States. In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, the senators said the agreement could threaten the viability of American food manufacturers and raise food prices. The Coalition for Sugar Reform, of which IDFA is a member, applauded the senators’ call to avoid new restraints on Mexican sugar in answer to the petitions filed by U.S. sugar producers.
IDFA, NMPF Support Goals of Proposed Sanitary Transportation Rule IDFA and the National Milk Producers Federation submitted joint comments on Monday regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed rule on the sanitary transportation of human and animal food. IDFA and NMPF supported FDA’s goal of issuing regulations to codify existing industry practices and its proposed waiver for foods subject to the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO). They also identified areas that need clarification and improvement.
Codex Renews Efforts on Processed Cheese, Considers New Whey Permeate Standard Two IDFA staff members traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, this week to attend the 37th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the United Nation’s international food standard-setting body. Clay Hough, IDFA senior group vice president, and John Allan, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards, said the Commission took action on two items relevant to dairy. It agreed to continue work on a processed cheese standard, which IDFA opposes, and to consider developing a new standard for whey permeate.
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Presents Work to Date, Mentions Dairy The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee convened for its fourth meeting earlier this month to discuss nutritional research that can serve as the basis for the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Each subcommittee presented its work to date, including a list of studies consulted and draft conclusions. Overall, dairy garnered a good deal of attention, both positive and negative. The committee’s final report is expected before the end of this year, with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to be released by the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services by the end of 2015.
Members: Test New Energy Benchmarking Tools for Milk, Ice Cream Plants EPA released this week its latest draft of ENERGY STAR® Energy Performance Indicators (EPI) for benchmarking the energy performance of fluid milk and ice cream processing plants. IDFA and the ENERGY STAR® program are asking dairy companies to test and evaluate the draft tools. Members may log in to download the tools. The EPIs for ice cream and fluid milk reflect the request from the dairy industry to evaluate the impact of climate and weather on energy use in dairy processing plants, according to Walt Tunnessen, national program manager for ENERGY STAR® who was a featured speaker at IDFA’s Regulatory RoundUP.