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CURD Act introduced to legally define “natural cheese”
A group of Washington D.C. lawmakers has proposed a legal definition of the term “natural cheese.” It’s called the CURD Act, or Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions Act, and is meant to help consumers differentiate between natural cheese and processed cheese products. It would also allow cheesemakers to continue using the term “natural cheese” on the labels of their traditionally-made cheeses.
Dave Carlin with the International Dairy Foods Association says the Food and Drug Administration’s “natural” labeling claims describe specific attributes of a food’s ingredients, which is different than defining a category of food such as “natural cheese.”
The CURD Act was introduced by Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson and backed by Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Jim Risch of Idaho, and Representatives Billy Long of Missouri, and Wisconsin Representatives Ron Kind, Glenn Grothman, Sean Duffy and Mike Gallagher.
U.S. cheese companies have been using the term ‘natural cheese’ for decades. The IDFA says this legislation would ensure that the term “natural cheese” retains its historic meaning and narrow the FDA’s work to define how the term “natural” is used in food product claims.
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