Missouri Considers Severely Curtailing Consumer Information on Milk Labels Dairy processors oppose

(Washington, D.C. — April 1, 2008) Representing dairy companies with facilities in Missouri, as well as regional and national dairy manufacturers, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) testified against Missouri's proposed legislation to severely restrict labels on dairy products. "This House Bill erects barriers that effectively eliminate nearly every label with an absence claim being made in Missouri today, which is why its implementation is opposed by dairy processors and consumer organizations," IDFA Senior Group Vice President Clay Hough told the Missouri House Special Committee on Agri-Business on House Bill N. 2283 earlier today.

"More than anything else, this rule is simply unnecessary," said Hough. "Missouri's consumers are not being misled or cheated and there is no public outcry to change dairy labels. The proposal attempts to solve a problem that does not exist with a solution that will harm the vast majority of Missouri's residents as well as the dairy industry itself."

Hough outlined four major barriers that the new labeling legislation creates. He testified that it restricts the right of Missouri businesses to commercial free speech, limits consumer information, interferes with interstate commerce and increases costs of dairy products.

IDFA's membership includes 14 dairy processing companies with facilities in Missouri, including Kraft Foods, Unilever, Dean Foods, Prairie Farms Dairy and Schreiber Foods, that combined employ over 3,700 Missourians.

To read IDFA's testimony, click here.

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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, DC, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 530 companies representing a $90-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 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org