Press Releases

The Consortium for Common Food Names, of which IDFA is a founding member, welcomes the Japanese government's decision to assure the continued general use for many generic food terms as part of its trade agreement with the European Union (EU), especially highly contested terms such as "parmesan" and "romano," even as CCFN seeks further assurances on several common terms still at risk. Japan has assured continued common use for the generic cheese names brie, camembert, cheddar, edam, emmental, gouda, grana, mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, provolone and romano.

IDFA announced today that 80 dairy company operations will receive the IDFA Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Award this year for outstanding achievements in worker safety. This is the 14th year that IDFA has sponsored the program. “Winning firms have demonstrated that they are able to keep workplace safety front and center, and the large number of applications for the award process shows that safety truly matters to IDFA’s members,” said Dave Crowley, senior environmental health and safety director for HP Hood LLC and chair of IDFA’s Environmental Worker Safety Committee.

Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay must protect the interests of their local food producers and respect current international standards by rebuffing European Union (EU) efforts to confiscate common food and beverage names. This was the message sent to the Mercosur nations yesterday by the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), which has been sounding the alarm this year to governments from China and Japan to Mexico - and now in South America - about the EU's recent, systematic attempts to abuse geographical indications (GIs) protections. CCFN filed its letter as part of a brief comment period provided during the course of the EU-Mercosur negotiations.

The nation’s two leading dairy organizations applauded Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday for allowing school districts to offer low-fat (1%) flavored milk as part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. An interim final rule implementing the regulatory changes needed to reinstate low-fat flavored milk in schools was announced today on the Federal Register site and goes into effect for the 2018-2019 school year.

IDFA has named Thomas Wojno to a newly created position of senior vice president of innovation and member advancement. In this role, Wojno will be responsible for identifying and implementing innovative strategies to enhance IDFA services, expand its diverse membership and develop new opportunities for growth. “Tom joins the IDFA team at a time when our industry is going through dynamic change,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO. “Tom’s demonstrated leadership and proven results will help ensure that IDFA will achieve its strategic vision of a strong, leading-edge organization that is positioned for the future.”

IDFA and the National Milk Producers Federation today applauded the introduction of a bipartisan bill to help reverse the decline of milk consumption in schools. The School Milk Nutrition Act of 2017, introduced by Representatives G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and Joe Courtney (D-CT), would allow schools to offer low-fat and fat-free milk, including flavored milk with no more than 150 calories per 8-ounce serving, to participants in the federal school lunch and breakfast programs. Once enacted, the bill would make permanent the administrative changes in the school lunch program proposed earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In an aggressive push on geographical indications (GIs), the European Union last week tossed overboard its commitment to international standards by approving a new GI that grants Denmark sole use of the common cheese name “danbo.” Unlike other GI registrations, danbo is considered a generic name by Codex Alimentarius, a leading international standards-setting bodies, and Denmark and the EU approved the process to preserve the inclusion of danbo in the Codex cheese standards in 2007. The Consortium for Common Food Names, of which IDFA is a member, called the recent move “an alarming precedent,” noting that the EU is breaking commitments to monopolize terms and gain unfair advantage in the market.

IDFA is seeking applicants for its 2018 summer internship, which will offer one undergraduate or recent graduate a firsthand view of the association’s efforts on dairy policy with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and federal officials in regulatory agencies. The selected candidate will work in Washington, D.C., to support IDFA’s efforts on the upcoming farm bill, the school lunch program, trade policy and the bioengineered food disclosure standard, among other issues of interest to dairy products companies.

The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) this week insisted that Mexico and Japan protect the interests of its consumers and producers, and maintain a competitive marketplace, by striking several generic names from the lists of geographical indications (GIs) for which the European Union is seeking approval in trade negotiations. CCFN also pursued clarification on how some terms will be protected within the EU's agreement with the two nations, in order to safeguard the food's common name.

IDFA today joined with the EAGL Coalition to applaud the introduction of the Multilateral Aid Review Act of 2017, an important first step to ensuring greater accountability at international organizations. The act, sponsored by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Chris Coons (D-DE), requires the U.S. government to conduct an analysis of U.S. investments in global institutions, assessing the relative value, effectiveness and impact of the United States’ participation.

The National Cheese Institute is now accepting nominations for its highest honor, the NCI Laureate Award. The award winner will be recognized during IDFA's Dairy Forum 2018, Jan. 21-24, at the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert, California. Nominations must be submitted by Oct. 20, 2017, and there is no fee to enter. “Behind the U.S. cheese industry’s history of continued growth and success are talented leaders who have devoted their lives to perfecting the craft and promotion of cheesemaking,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO. “With this award, we're looking to celebrate an individual who has shaped the industry with outstanding accomplishments and contributions.”

In a letter sent Tuesday to President Trump, IDFA joined other food industry groups in urging the United States to impress upon trade partners that the lists of geographical indications they are considering for approval with the European Union, or will soon be considering, must not include common food and beverage terms. The groups said they hoped the United States would make its voice heard with Mexico and Japan and to tell them that it is in their best interests to safeguard common terms for all producers.

IDFA joined other dairy organizations last week in urging Japanese agriculture officials to respect current market access between Japan and its trading partners when reviewing a list of geographical indications proposed by the European Union. In a joint letter to the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, leaders from IDFA, the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council asked Japan to finalize a list of GIs that does not encroach on common food names. “We urge you to make sure that the steps you take do not unnecessarily limit healthy trade and competition within your market,” they said.

Fresh off a successful 2017 debut that brought together nearly 10,000 food and beverage professionals, ProFood Tech announced this week its Exhibitor Advisory Council and launched exhibit sales for its return to Chicago, March 26-28, 2019. Powered by world trade show leaders PACK EXPO, Anuga and IDFA, the biennial show is unprecedented in its ability to bring the industry together and address key issues. Showing strong support is the Exhibitor Advisory Council whose members read like a Who’s Who of food and beverage processing. The deadline to participate in priority booth selection and receive early-bird space rates is Nov. 3, 2017.

The European Union-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was provisionally implemented today. Of deep concern to the U.S. dairy industry is the automatic protection the EU gained for five generic cheese names: “asiago,” “feta,” “fontina,” “gorgonzola” and “munster.” “The outcome in CETA on GIs goes against the very core of a trade agreement, which is to remove trade barriers – not erect new ones – and allow for greater competition,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA. “We are diligently working to ensure strong provisions that protect generic terms are included in NAFTA 2.0, as well as to discourage Mexico from going down the Canadian path as it negotiates a GIs list with the EU.”