WASHINGTON, April 27, 2004 -The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) filed a Citizens Petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Tuesday, requesting FDA to notify all Federal and State regulators of the necessity to meet Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) requirements for all uses of Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) in all food, including non-standardized food.

"It is a twist of logic to come to the conclusion that MPCs are legal in food," said N.Y. dairy farmer John Bunting. "FDA and the companies using MPCs and ultra filtered milk operate under the 'don't ask don't tell' policy. We are simply asking that these companies, under FDA's strict discretion, bring those products up to standard for human consumption."

Since companies did not use either MPCs or ultra filtered milk prior to 1958 in its products, these substances are subject to the regulation requiring GRAS certification (21 CFR 170.30). Companies can achieve this certification in one of two ways.

First, a company may request that FDA perform a GRAS certification for MPC, meaning that the specialized ingredient undergo an intense scientific analysis to meet FDA's human consumption standards. If the entire procedure is accomplished successfully, FDA will grant GRAS status to all products that currently use MPC as an ingredient.

Alternatively, a company may perform its own GRAS analysis. In that case, a separate analysis is required for each use. For example, companies like Kraft Foods, Inc. would have to test each product for GRAS standards, from Kraft Singles? to Velveeta? to Cheez Whiz?.

"This MPC is going into everything from cheese to baby formula," said Paul Rozwadowski, a Wisconsin dairy farmer and Chair of the NFFC Dairy Subcommittee. "The consumer has a right to know that what companies put in their products is safe, and right now no company in the United States can claim that MPC meets any FDA standard."