FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Washington, D.C. – June 24, 2016) The International Dairy Foods Association yesterday commended Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for finalizing a bipartisan agreement that would establish a uniform, national standard for labeling foods made with genetically modified, or GMO, ingredients. IDFA urged members of Congress to act quickly to pass the legislation.

The bill, if passed, would prevent a state-by-state patchwork of labeling mandates. One such law is scheduled to take effect in Vermont on July 1, 2016. 

“This bipartisan agreement on GMO labeling would bring consistency and transparency to the marketplace, provide consumers with access to more product information than ever before and avoid stigmatizing a safe, proven technology that is a central part of modern food production,” said J. David Carlin, IDFA senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy. “This issue is so important to dairy foods companies, many of our members came to Capitol Hill last week to discuss the negative impact that state-by-state labeling would have on their customers, consumers and operations. We’re pleased that agreement has been reached and we’ll continue to push for passage of this important legislation.”

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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.