(L to R) David Ahlem of Hilmar Chese Company, Brian Perry of Perry's Ice Cream and Tom Arata of Ecolab stop by the office of Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) during Washington Conference. Members Make a Difference on Capitol Hill During Washington Conference Washington Conference opened yesterday with a lively keynote speech by Brad Fitch, president and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. After hearing Fitch’s advice on how to gain your congressman’s attention, more than 50 members traveled to Capitol Hill for congressional visits, undaunted by the taxi strike in Washington, D.C., that threatened to slow their progress.
Coalition Calls Managed Trade ‘Inappropriate’ in Mexican Sugar Case IDFA and other members of the Coalition for Sugar Reform wrote to federal officials on Tuesday, urging the administration not to enter into negotiations with Mexico on a managed trade agreement in response to a petition filed by U.S. sugar producers against U.S. imports of Mexican sugar. In the letter, coalition members said a managed trade agreement that restricts trade would run counter to completing a comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.
IDFA and NMPF File Comments on FDA’s Intentional Adulteration Rule IDFA and the NMPF together have submitted extensive comments on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed rule “Focused Mitigation Strategies To Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration.” The rule would require registered domestic and foreign food facilities to address hazards that may be intentionally introduced. “While IDFA and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) support FDA’s efforts, we also want FDA to be mindful that the proposed rule is the first of its kind,” said Clay Detlefsen, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and counsel. “We want to make sure that FDA is aware of the success that voluntary efforts ...
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.
Connie Tipton, IDFA President and CEO Tipton ‘Not Okay’ with Federal Government Limiting Consumer Choices “The federal government has taken a big step into the marketplace for food and it’s not okay with me,” Connie Tipton told Cheese Market News readers in her latest column. "Apparently this interference is not okay with a lot of school kids either, as more than a million have dropped out of the school meals program since choices have been limited on lots of things, including milk over 1 percent fat.” Tipton said.
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.