Whether using symbols, digital codes or text, dairy foods companies will soon have to disclose information about genetically engineered ingredients in their products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now creating the rules food processors must follow in these different forms of disclosure, and will send the leading author of the standard, Doug McKalip, to address attendees of IDFA’s Regulatory RoundUP, June 12-13 in Washington, D.C.
McKalip, director of the Bioengineered Disclosure Division of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, will provide a preview of the changes that dairy foods companies may need to make on their products’ labels to come into compliance with the new standard. In his session, “Labeling GMOs: Update on the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard,” McKalip is expected to discuss in detail the standard’s definitions of biotechnology, digital or electronic disclosure challenges, enforcement, threshold for considering foods and overall timeline.
“When the biotechnology disclosure standard bill was passed into law, Congress and President Obama left several details for USDA to sort out,” said Emily Lyons, IDFA director of regulatory standards and counsel. “Over the next few months and in the midst of a shifting regulatory outlook from the new administration, member companies will be faced with a number of decisions about how to disclose biotech information on their products. It is invaluable for our members to hear directly from the expert responsible for authoring these important, new labeling rules.”
In his current position, McKalip will be responsible for developing USDA’s National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard over the next two years. Prior to his current position at USDA, McKalip served as both USDA’s acting chief of staff and acting director for standards on Country of Origin Labeling. He has also served as coordinator of the White House Rural Council and helped to coordinate biotechnology issues for the executive branch.
Regulatory RoundUP
IDFA’s Regulatory RoundUP will be held June 12-13 at the Loews Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C. The two-day conference will provide information-packed, interactive sessions between dairy industry professionals and key government regulators. The full list of sessions can be found here.
IDFA welcomes attendance by all dairy company and plant professionals who are responsible for understanding and complying with dairy regulations, as well as the suppliers who work with dairy plants to meet and exceed federal, state and local standards for dairy foods manufacturing.
For more information contact Maria Velasco, IDFA meetings coordinator and registrar, at registrar@idfa.org.