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Dairy group leader says FDA might welcome DairyPRIDE Act

A leader at the National Milk Producers Federation says the Dairy PRIDE Act might be welcomed by the Food and Drug Administration.  Alan Bjerga tells Brownfield the proposed regulation would force the agency to enforce its own dairy standards of identity and end the use of dairy terms on imitation products, a task that could be difficult after years of no enforcement. “They’re between a rock and a hard place one way because indeed, they haven’t been enforcing their rules for more than four decades. These companies have grown up like crabgrass, and they have lawyers.”

Bjerga says the Dairy PRIDE Act might lessen the risk of legal action against the FDA when they start enforcing the rules. “If you’re the FDA, wouldn’t it be great if Congress came in, just told you what to do, and then if you did it, you’d just say hey, sorry, this is what Congress said. It really, you know, makes life easier for them, too, which is another reason why I think the time has come more than ever for the Dairy PRIDE Act.”

Bjerga says there’s bipartisan support for the Dairy PRIDE Act in the Senate, and he’s expecting the bill to get picked up in the U.S. House in a few weeks.