FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
04.28.04
Contact: John Bunting (607) 746-3892
Molly Spence (202) 543-5675
NFFC FILES PETITION WITH FDA: REQUESTS MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE
MEET SAFETY REGULATIONS
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.”
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The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), founded in 1986, provides
a voice for grassroots groups on farm, food, trade and rural economic
issues to ensure fair prices for family farmers, safe and healthy
food, and vibrant, environmentally sound rural communities here
and around the world. NFFC represents family farm and rural groups
in 30 states whose members' face the challenge of the deepening
economic recession in rural communities caused primarily by low
farm prices and the increasing corporate control of agriculture.
For further information about the organization, call 1-800-639-3276
or visit www.nffc.net.
