1. Food Safety. The industry needs to ensure consumers that the products it manufactures are safe, and will continue to be safe. Headlines like the following—"FDA Suspends Milk Quality Testing Program for Job Cuts” and “Is Your Milk Still Safe? FDA Puts Dairy Testing on Hold.”--are provoking unease and it’s paramount that processors communicate their food safety programs.
On Thursday, April 24, 2025, Roberta Wagner, senior vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs at the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), issued the following statement clarifying a pause in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) lab proficiency testing program.
“The suspension of FDA’s Grade ‘A’ proficiency testing program does not reduce the types or frequency of milk quality tests for Grade ‘A’ milk or finished dairy products as it makes its way from farms to stores across the country. All Grade ‘A’ milk continues to be subject to stringent testing and oversight throughout the supply chain—on the farm, before transportation and multiple times at processing facilities—by both state and federal regulators, as outlined in the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. Milk and dairy product safety remains a top priority in the United States, and consumers can continue to trust that the dairy products they purchase at retail are safe to consume. The FDA is actively evaluating alternative approaches for its annual evaluation of laboratories that test required Grade A milk samples, which is the purpose of proficiency testing and evaluation programs. FDA will keep all participating laboratories informed as new information becomes available.”
The paused program was a proficiency check for laboratories, not a test of the milk or dairy products themselves. It served as an internal evaluation tool to ensure FDA-affiliated labs could accurately analyze milk samples. Many of these labs are also evaluated by third-party programs to ensure proficiency. Under the proficiency program, labs are asked to test milk samples spiked by FDA with microbiological, animal drug and chemical contaminants. The labs are evaluated on whether their results concur with those of FDA reference labs for each sample. FDA spikes the samples, analyzes them and then allocates them into appropriate shipping containers and sends them to labs for analysis. The results need to match closely the results of FDA plus or minus a small percentage. FDA has stated they are committed to finding alternative methods to maintain the lab performance monitoring and will share those alternatives when identified.
2. Colors. I don’t want to say I told you so, but for years I’ve been encouraging processors to clean up their labels and eliminate artificial additives, with colors being the biggest one.
The FDA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, intends to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply and plans to work with food and beverage companies to do so., according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of HHS, in an April 22 news conference. The FDA is fast-tracking the review of calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue and butterfly pea flower extract as new alternatives for color.
My colleague Jeff Gelski at Food Business News wrote a comprehensive synopsis HERE.
3. Sugars. After eliminating dyes, I’ve been encouraging processors to reduce added sugars for years. And kudos to the many of you who have already done so. During that same news conference, RFK Jr. called sugar a “poison” that was giving America a “diabetes crisis.” Read more about what he said and how the Sugar Association responded HERE.
3. Clean Labels in Schools. IDFA has been busy. The same day as RFK Jr. demonized synthetic colors, added sugars and food additives, in general, IDFA announced the “Healthy Dairy in Schools Commitment.” This is a voluntary, proactive pledge to eliminate the use of certified artificial colors in milk, cheese and yogurt products sold to K-12 schools for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs by the start of the 2026 to 2027 school year, or July 2026.
The goal of the Commitment is to eliminate the use of Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 in any milk, cheese, and/or yogurt products sold to K-12 schools for reimbursable school meals. Today, the vast majority of dairy products sold to schools do not contain any certified artificial colors, as most dairy processors have chosen not to use or decided to remove or replace these ingredients in the past. Moving forward, all companies supporting the Healthy Dairy in Schools Commitment have pledged to discontinue products containing certified artificial colors or to reformulate products with natural ingredients, joining the majority of companies that will continue making products for schools without certified artificial colors. At the same time, dairy companies will continue to reduce added sugar and work with school nutrition professionals, parents and students to educate them about the benefits of milk, cheese and yogurt in healthy diets.
“Dairy products in school meals including milk, cheese and yogurt play a critical role in meeting child nutrition requirements by providing 13 essential nutrients students need for healthy growth and development,” said Michael Dykes, president and CEO, IDFA. “Milk is the top source of calcium, potassium, phosphorus and vitamin D in kids ages 2 to 18. Cheese provides a high-quality source of protein, calcium, phosphorous and vitamin A. Yogurt is a nutrient-dense food that is a good source of protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B12 and phosphorous that may reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes. The Healthy Dairy in Schools Commitment further demonstrates our industry’s longstanding promise to provide healthy, nutritious dairy options to school kids everywhere.”
Five states--Arizona, California, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia--have already passed laws banning the use of synthetic colors in foods sold to schools, and others are likely to follow suit, signifying a new attitude by states to go beyond federal regulators.
5. Reformulations for Retail. The Healthy Dairy in Schools Commitment does not apply to foods that fall outside of reimbursable school meals. Don’t let that stop you, or let it stop you from reformulating all synthetic colors out of all the products you manufacture, for schools, for foodservice and for retail.
