Milk Protein Concentrates 101
To read the complete article, go to:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/foodsafety/food-technologies/milk-protein-concentrates
You may never have heard of something called milk protein concentrates, but dairy farmers certainly have.
Snapshot:
1. MPC's - a new, unregulated protein source in your food supply. It is replacing the highly regulated, U.S. produced nonfat dry milk and driving down the price paid for milk produced by U.S. dairy farm families
2. Created by a ultra-filtration process that removes all of the liquid and all of smaller molecules including the minerals (like calcium)
3. Found in processed cheese, frozen dairy desserts, crackers and energy bars
4. Produced as a dry powder, exporters can ship MPCs long-distances very cheaply, and almost all of the dry MPC’s used in America are imported from New Zealand
5. Imported MPCs are the product of cow’s milk and yak or water buffalo that are more popular in some MPC exporting countries. Blended milk proteins from different sources are allowed as imports under the U.S.'s MPC designation
6. Some cheese manufacturers are violating the guidelines for MPC as an additive and using it to make standard of identity cheese, like mozzarella and cheddar. And at the same time, scores of other dairy products—from frozen desserts to non-standardized cheese used on frozen pizzas to individually wrapped processed cheese slices — have no “standard of identity and contain MPC’s."
7. Contact your Congressman or Senator by phone, fax or email and tell them you support the Specter-Casey bill s. 889 because it monitors MPC imports and ensures safe U.S. homegrown food from safe dairy ingredients
Unregulated imports of cheap milk protein concentrates are driving down the price of domestically produced milk and putting American dairy farmers out of business. And fewer American dairy farmers mean fewer choices for consumers, who are seeing increasing amounts of MPC’s—a new, unregulated protein source—in their food supply.
What are Milk Protein Concentrates?
MPC’s are created by putting milk through an ultra-filtration process that removes all of the liquid and all of smaller molecules including the minerals (i) that the dairy industry touts as being essential for good nutrition.
What is left following the filtration is a dry substance that is very high in protein and used as an additive in products like processed cheese, frozen dairy desserts, crackers and energy bars. Because MPC’s are generally produced as a dry powder, exporters can ship the product long-distances very cheaply, and almost all of the dry MPC’s used in America are imported.
In the United States, an MPC is defined as “any complete milk protein (casein plus lactalbumin) concentrate that is 40 percent or more protein by weight.” (ii) This definition is a bit of a catch-all because within the milk protein market there are a variety of proteins, like casein and whey, that are manufactured differently and can have different commercial uses. The definition also makes it unclear if imported MPC’s are the product of cow’s milk or if they come from animals like yak or water buffalo that are more popular in some exporting countries. Blended milk proteins from different sources are allowed as imports
under the MPC designation. (iii)
With such imprecise definitions and vague standards, it is hard to imagine how regulatory agencies manage to keep track of where this ingredient comes from and how it is used. As it turns out, they don’t have to, because MPC’s are largely unregulated.
Why It Matters Where It’s From
New Zealand is the major exporter of MPC’s to the U.S., but another dairy protein called casein is largely imported from China and Mexico, which together represent 70 percent of imported casein. Last year casein imports amounted to $61 million.(iv) Following recent scandals with food safety in China, including the melamine-tainted baby formula, American consumers have every reason to question imports of dairy products from countries where American standards cannot be enforced.
Weak Regulations and Enforcement Means No Consumer Protection
The FDA does have one mechanism to regulate MPC use in some dairy products. Many dairy products, like different types of cheeses, must conform to an official, FDA description about the components and/or processes used to make it, called “standards of identity.” One example is the difference between “cheddar cheese” and “pasteurized process cheese food,” which are both in the dairy case but bear different labels because they meet different standards for how they were made and what ingredients were used.
MPC’s are not allowed for use in cheese products bearing a standard of identity. While this gives the FDA a way to regulate MPC use, the agency does not have sufficient resources – or political will – to enforce these regulations. A Government Accountability Office report from 2001 showed that the FDA only inspected nine cheese plants in all of 1999.xi The GAO also reported “In 2000, Vermont state inspectors found that two cheese plants were using imported milk protein concentrates to make standardized cheeses in violation of federal and state regulations.” (xii)
And at the same time, scores of other dairy products—from frozen desserts to non-standardized cheese used on frozen pizzas to individually wrapped processed cheese slices — have no “standard of identity and contain MPC’s."
MPC’s Impact on U.S. Dairy Farmers
The United States’ imports of MPC’s have doubled in the last five years, and between 2007 and 2008 MPC imports increased 66 percent.xiii This $250 million worth of milk protein, mostly arriving from New Zealand,(xiv) is taking over the market share long-held by American dairy producers whose highly regulated, nonfat dry milk has been a preferred dairy protein additive to cheese, ice cream and other finished dairy products made in America
The current crisis in the American dairy industry has been widely attributed to a decreased consumer spending in the current economic downturn.(xv)
Import statistics, however, clearly show another contributing factor: processors are outsourcing their dairy protein needs to foreign producers of cheap MPC’s, which leaves domestic dairy farmers with a glut of extra nonfat dry milk.
This surge in MPC imports has been helped by the very low or non-existent tariffs on MPC’s.(xvixvii) Dairy farmers would like to see tariffs increased, to protect their livelihoods and provide some assurance about where dairy ingredients are coming from.
What You Can Do:
1. Tell your Congressman and Senator that you support the Specter-Casey bill s.889 because it legislates monitors dairy imports, such as MPC.
2.Check the Label: Look for “milk protein concentrates” on the label of processed
foods. If you discover MPC, don't buy it --and don't hesitate to let the
manufacturer and grocery store manager know you don’t want products that
contain this controversial ingredient.
2. Urge the FDA to keep the standards of identity strong for dairy products like
yogurt.
i Government Accountability Office. “Dairy Products: Imports, Domestic Production,
and Regulation of Ultra-filtered Milk.” March 2001
ii Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. 2009 at Chapter 4, Note 13
iii Durant, John. Commercial Ruling Division of MPC for United States International
Trade Commission Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Ruling made on April 5,
2002 at CAL-2 RR:CR:GC 965396ptl.
iv USDA, Foreign Agriculture Service, trade database available at www.fas.usda.gov/ustrade
v Government Accountability Office. “Dairy Products: Imports, Domestic Production, and Regulation of
Ultra-filtered Milk.” March 2001.
vi United States Food and Drug Administration. “FY 2009 Congressional Justification.”
February 5, 2008 at Foods 21.
vii United States Food and Drug Administration, database of GRAS available at
http://www.foodsafety.gov/~rdb/opa-gras.html
viii Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration.
Notices. “GRAS Notice No. GRN 000167.” September 29, 2005.
ix United States Food and Drug Administration, database of GRAS available at
http://www.foodsafety.gov/~rdb/opa-gras.html
x United States Food and Drug Administration, database of EAFUS available at
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/eafus.htmlxi Government Accountability Office. “Dairy Products: Imports, Domestic Production, and Regulation of
Ultra-filtered Milk.” March 2001 at 2.
xii Government Accountability Office. “Dairy Products: Imports, Domestic Production, and Regulation of Ultra-filtered Milk.” March 2001 at 2.
xiii USDA, Foreign Agriculture Service, trade database available at www.fas.usda.gov/ustrade
xiv USDA, Foreign Agriculture Service, trade database available at www.fas.usda.gov/ustrade
xv Martin, Andrew. “As recession deepens, so does surplus.” New York Times. January 1, 2009.
xvi Bailey, K.W. “Estimation of the Protein Content of US Imports
of Milk Protein Concentrates.” Journal of Dairy Science. 2003 at 4155.
xvii Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. 2008 at VI, 35-3
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