Dairy Foods Columnists

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I came to the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) just over three years ago to focus on the environmental issues, as well as the challenges and opportunities, that exist for the nation’s milk producers. One opportunity that caught my attention early on was water quality trading (WQT). To this day, I am still enamored with the concept.

It’s an unfortunate fact that food recalls still occur too often. And with the FDA’s focus on ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, the dairy industry is no exception. For example, there have been more than 20 recalls of various types of cheeses due to Listeria monocytogenes concerns thus far in 2017.

Alive and ever-changing, microbes are responsible for everything from the safety of cheese to its flavor development during ripening. In fact, microbes in the form of starter culture, or adjunct bacteria/fungi, are ultimately responsible for turning milk into an almost endless array of cheese varieties.

In September, researchers, manufacturers and end users of whey protein from around the world gathered in Chicago for the eighth International Whey Conference. A key takeaway from the conference is that whey protein continues to be the “gold standard” for fueling muscle protein synthesis (MPS).

Clean label can be categorized multiple ways, but in the end, it’s the ingredients and their origins that matter for labeling. Four P’s — pronunciation, production, processing and purpose — all contribute to clean-label perceptions.

Gelato is most commonly presented for sale in a dip shop as a semi-solid product characterized by intense color and flavoring. Composition of gelato varies widely and may be positioned as gourmet, super premium or other market terminologies.

Greek yogurt was not newly created. It was borrowed from the Mediterranean region. Might there be something else looming on the horizon for the taking if we just look beyond our shores?

Probiotics are hot. Originally found primarily in dairy foods, probiotics now pop up in everything from pills to prunes. As competition mounts from other probiotic delivery vehicles, the dairy industry needs to continue to educate consumers about the benefits of dairy as a delivery vehicle for healthy bacteria.

Earlier this year, the European Union and Japan announced a trade agreement in principle that includes dairy market access to Japan. Europe is actively working to establish a trade deal with Mexico in which agriculture and dairy will no doubt be central components. New Zealand is renegotiating a trade agreement with China in large part to improve dairy access terms. New Zealand and Australia are pushing to implement a “Trans-Pacific Partnership light” with eight other countries including Mexico.

There is no better time for processors to make sure they have the policies, procedures and practices in place to help meet the objectives of new rules on Preventive Controls for Human Food under the Food Safety Modernization Act.