IDFA Blog

March is National Nutrition Month, and March 14 is designated as Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day to honor these nutrition experts and health professionals. IDFA would like to thank Michelle Matto, an R.D.N. and IDFA consultant on labeling and nutrition issues, for her many contributions to the association and to the dairy industry. Matto posted her latest blog this week titled “Go Further with Food (and RDNs)!” Read More

This week is National School Breakfast Week, a celebration of the program and people that serves more than 14 million children every day. The theme is “I Heart School Breakfast” and the School Nutrition Association is encouraging school food service staff, parents and students to share the ways that they love school breakfast. Dairy companies love school breakfast too, and show it by providing the milk, yogurt and cheese that are important parts of school breakfast. Together with other nutritious foods that are also required in a school breakfast, dairy products contribute to the healthy meals and full stomachs that so many kids need in the morning. Read More

In this blog post, Michelle Matto, IDFA's labeling consultant, discusses the regulations for ingredient labeling. The regulations state that all ingredients must be declared by their common and usual name, which is sometimes set by regulation or by a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notification. Brand names or extra descriptions (e.g., “super creamy milk”) are not allowed in the ingredient list. Additional statements about ingredients could be made elsewhere on the label, as long as they are truthful and not misleading. Read More

Thousands of students are currently celebrating National School Lunch Week in the perfect way—eating nutritious meals at school, according to Michelle Matto, IDFA nutrition and labeling consultant. In her new Nutrition Notes blog, Matto says the celebratory week encourages students, parents, foodservice professionals and food companies to tell others about the ingredient they think makes American school lunches successful. Matto said that the addition of more options for milk, including the return of low-fat flavored milk, is a real success story for students and school nutritionists. She invited readers to celebrate the increased options for nutrition school milk brings to students. Read More

Research collected by the Food Marketing Institute shows that family meals have both health and social benefits and work to build strong family ties. That’s why FMI has designated September as “National Family Meals Month,” which is a great time for food companies and retailers to share messages encouraging more family meals, says Michelle Matto, IDFA’s nutrition and labeling consultant. In her new blog, Matto recommends several ways dairy companies can engage during the month, such as sharing nutritious recipes that families can make together and working with retailers to display dairy as part of a healthy meal. Read More