FDA Nomination Heads to Senate Floor, Pleasing NMPF

On Tuesday, the Senate Health Committee advanced President Trump’s nomination to lead the FDA to the full Senate. The committee forwarded the nomination of Stephen Hahn as FDA commissioner, which the dairy industry said represents another step towards greater transparency in the use of dairy terms in the marketplace.

The National Milk Producers Federation is eager to see Hahn take the FDA role, as Hahn voiced his support in his confirmation hearing last month for "clear, transparent, and understandable labeling for the American people," when asked about dairy imitating products using dairy terms.

Jim Mulhern, President and CEO of NMPF, said, "It is long past time for the FDA to begin enforcing its own standards." Current FDA standards make "clear that dairy terms are reserved for real dairy products, not plant-based imitators,” according to Mulhern.

The organization, which has been speaking out on plant-based imitators for four decades, noted encouragement by recent FDA attention to the issue.

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