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MIF and NMPF Ask for More Time on Class I Definition Issue In a September 23 letter, the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to delay scheduling a hearing regarding proposed changes to the fluid milk product (Class I) definition in the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. The dairy groups sent the letter in response to USDA's call for comments on an August 2003 petition to expand the Class I definition to include all milk and milk ingredients used in any beverage products, including several new milk-based drinks."More time is needed to study the nascent market for new milk-based drinks and other beverages containing milk before considering changes to the Federal Milk Marketing regulations," the letter states. "We respectfully request that USDA extend the deadline for comments to January 31, 2005, and delay any hearing on this subject until the second quarter of 2005." This is the second time that NMPF and MIF have joined together this year to ask USDA to give the industry additional time to study the new drinks and their impact, if any, on the dairy market. The industry has several research projects underway, but none has a full year's data yet to study. The debate was prompted last summer when Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) submitted a petition to amend the Class I definition to include all products "intended to be consumed in fluid form." USDA decided to call for proposals for an emergency hearing on the matter, despite the fact that DFA did not request the expedited pace in its petition. After receiving strong opposition from MIF on that course of action, USDA decided to decelerate the hearing's schedule and extend the public comment through January 30, 2004. At that time, MIF and NMPF submitted a joint letter asking USDA to again extend the comment period. Subsequently, USDA set the most recent deadline — September 30, 2004 — for input on the petition. Initial indications from USDA are that the department will again delay action on this petition, but an official announcement or revised timetable has not been issued. To read the full MIF-NMPF letter, click here. (.pdf) For more information, contact Bob Yonkers or Chip Kunde at 202/737-4332.
Posted October 4, 2004
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