The term “natural cheese”’ has been used by the U.S. cheese industry for decades, and one of IDFA’s top priorities is for Congress to include a definition of this term in federal statute to protect against consumer confusion. IDFA came closer to reaching this goal last week when Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced the Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions (CURD) Act in the Senate.

The proposed bill would help people to distinguish “natural cheese” from “process cheese.” It is identical to legislation that the Senate passed late last year by voice vote, but the House failed to pass it before the 115^th Congress adjourned. 

Additional bipartisan cosponsors of this year’s bill, S. 1669, are Sens. James Risch (R-ID), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). 

Transparent and Consistent

“The term ‘natural cheese’ has been used by the U.S. cheese industry for decades and is well established and understood by the American consumer,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA. “Defining the term is good for the consumer and good for the industry. It maintains transparency and consistency for shoppers so that they will know what they are buying in the grocery store.”

IDFA’s legislative team is now working with many cheese manufacturers to emphasize the importance of the CURD Act with members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has jurisdiction over the bill. 

For more information, contact Dave Carlin, IDFA senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy, at dcarlin@idfa.org.