USDEC Tackles Hurdles to U.S. Dairy Trade

In joint comments filed with the National Milk Producers Federation to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Dairy Export Council listed nearly 20 measures from nine countries that should be included in the U.S. government’s “2009 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.” The report serves as a companion piece to the President’s Trade Policy Agenda published in February.

Among the barriers listed were several that USDEC says impede U.S. dairy exports to China, a “swift growing market, making any trade challenges of particularly concern to our industry.” Highlighted in the comments are development of new standards for whey permeate, whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate that USDEC says are not based on sound scientific principles and may not be in compliance with China’s obligations under the World Trade Organization.

Another long-standing concern was restrictive levels of vitamin D fortification for milk in Mexico, which are far lower than those of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. USDEC also cited concern with standards recently implemented in Canada that changed the composition standards for cheese.

Other trade measures included unscientific and unwarranted health certificate requirements in Algeria, one of the world’s largest buyers of skim milk powder; unfounded sanitary requirements in India that have limited imports of U.S. dairy exports since 2003; and new requirements in Indonesia (the fourth largest export destination for U.S. dairy products in 2008) requiring companies exporting animal-derived products to reveal proprietary information.


IDFA Opens Registration for Ice Cream Tech Conference

Each year, the Innovative Ice Cream Flavor Competition, sponsored by Dairy Foods, gives Ice Cream Tech participants the chance to taste the latest flavors and vote for their favorite product. 

Companies planning to participate in the 2010 Ice Cream Technology Conference, scheduled for March 10-11 in St. Petersburg, Fla., are invited to enter their own innovative flavors for a chance to take home honors in one or more of the three product categories: favorite new flavor that is currently in the market; most innovative prototype flavor not yet in the market; and most innovative novelty that is currently in the market.

Previous Innovative Ice Cream Flavor winners include Publix Super Markets in the favorite new flavor category for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie ice cream; Sensient Flavors in the most innovative prototype flavor with Oatmeal Scotch Cookie ice cream; and Wells’ Dairy for most innovative novelty category with its Raspberry Vanilla Aspen Frozen Granola Bars.

Ice Cream Tech, considered the premier event for frozen dessert professionals, focuses specifically on frozen dessert research, technology, new market trends and opportunities. The conference fosters an open exchange among participants and experts on the technical and practical processing issues pertinent to the frozen dessert industry, such as production and ingredient technologies, product safety and labeling. 

Registration is available online at www.idfa.org. For contest submission guidelines or questions, contact Lauren Ledermann at 202/220-3532 or lledermann@idfa.org.


Booth Sales Brisk for IDFA’s New Dairy Show

In the wake of news that it’s launching a new annual trade show, the International Dairy Foods Association reported that Worldwide Food Expo 2009 was a great success.

As announced by dairyfoods.com and reported in last month’s issue, IDFA’s board of directors voted unanimously to pull out of its Expo partnership with the American Meat Institute and launch an annual trade show focusing strictly on the dairy industry, beginning next year.

The first International Dairy Show will be held Sept. 13-15, 2010, in Dallas.

For the first time, IDFA opened future booth sales during the current expo, and the response from exhibitors was overwhelming. “The energy level coming off the last expo is extremely high, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve already received contracts for 64,000 square feet of booth space for the 2010 show in Dallas, and we’re certain that momentum will continue,” said Connie Tipton, IDFA president and chief executive officer.

The biennial food technology expo, which was held Oct. 28-31 in Chicago, hosted more than 21,000 attendees and featured nearly 700 exhibitors from more than 100 countries around the globe.

“Attracting the right buyers is a top priority for us, and we’re extremely pleased with the attendance figures, especially given today’s economic climate,” Tipton said.

In addition to discussing technology innovations with exhibitors on the show floor, attendees also packed the Super Sessions and other educational programs, sampled new food and beverage products and found many opportunities for networking and social events.


USDEC, DMI Team Up For Global Marketing

The board of directors of the U.S. Dairy Export Council has approved a plan to combine Dairy Management Inc.’s domestic ingredients program with USDEC’s export program to create a global ingredients marketing platform directed by USDEC members.

The move integrates the two into a single global initiative, maximizing efficiencies and impact of efforts to increase sales of U.S. dairy ingredients at home and abroad. This step comes on the heels of a comprehensive study on the impacts of globalization, conducted by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, which highlighted the need to accommodate an increasingly global market.

USDEC’s scope and mission will be expanded to include responsibility for domestic ingredients marketing. Additional funding from DMI will be allocated annually against an approved business plan.