The International Dairy Foods Association today applauded President Barack Obama for signing into law a landmark agreement that protects America’s food supply system from a harmful patchwork of varying state labeling laws for foods made with genetically modified, or GMO, ingredients.
The historic federal law will give consumers access to more product information than ever before and ensure a transparent national system for disclosing ingredients without stigmatizing a safe and proven technology.
“We are grateful to President Obama for swiftly signing into law a bill that is vital for consumers and food manufacturers,” said Clay Hough, IDFA senior group vice president and legal counsel. “The new federal law explicitly preempts state GMO labeling laws, including Vermont’s, and will bring much-needed consistency to the marketplace.”
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA’s nearly 200 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.