Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Susan Duncan, Dairy and Sensory Evaluation

Bill Eigel,                Food Biochemistry

Joe Marcy:               Food Processing

Merle Pierson: Food Microbiology

 Sean O’Keefe: Food Chemistry

Susan Sumner:   Food Safety

Walter Hartman:    Dairy Plant Manager whartman@vt.edu

Kim Waterman:  Dairy Chemistry    Kwater@vt.edu

Brian Yaun: Microbiology byaun@vt.edu           Phone: (540) 231-8697

Updates at Virginia Tech

VA Tech Dairy Products Evaluation Team

        The 2002 Virginia Tech Dairy Products Evaluation team was made up of six undergraduate students: 

    Michael Stiltner;  Senior;  FST

    Justin Rhodes;  Junior;  Dairy Science

    Ximena del Campo; Senior; Dairy Science      

    Jessica Butler; Junior; FST

    Lacey Milam; Junior; FST

    Heather Clarkson (FST Master’s Candidate) was the graduate student competitior and assistant coaches were Donna Greene (FST Master’s Candidate) and Walter Hartman.  Dr. Susan Duncan served as the team’s coach.

     Competition was very intense this year at the national collegiate contest (held in Phoenix, AZ.). Seventeen teams participated, including teams representing South Africa, South America and Canada.  The team from South Dakota State University won five of the six categories.                                                        Ximena del Campo received the Virginia Dare award for top performance on the Virginia Tech team.   Ximena del Campo, Justin Rhodes, Michael Stiltner and Heather Clarkson will each receive scholarships sponsored by the Virginia Dairy Technology Society.

  HOT TOPICS AND DAIRY ISSUES

Allergen Labeling Victory for the Industry

     The food industry won one in Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee action, when the panel unanimously passed a substitute food allergen-labeling bill.  The measure replaced a proposal, backed by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D – MA) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D – NY) that industry representatives fought hard to defeat. 

     The measure would have required dairy and other food processors to implement prescriptive labeling formatting and would have imposed civil financial penalties for violations.  The new measure, passed with bipartisan backing, is seen as more flexible and more “industry friendly”.  It would require that food product labels declare in plain English all major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans) contained in the product, including flavors, colors, spices and incidental additives. 

     Effective on January 1, 2006, if the product is

not labeled properly, the FDA can deem it misbranded, and the food could be subject to recall.  The measure now moves to the full Senate floor for consideration.

DFA Seeks More Producer Payments

     Milk producers are appealing to USDA for additional payments to be added to Class I and II milk prices, to help farmers offset drought losses.  In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, the Dairy Farmers of America suggested a monthly payment formula based on the cost of feed to produce 100 lbs of milk.  Dairy processors say now is not the time to add to the retail price of milk and are against the proposal.

Cloned Cows’ Milk Indistinguishable from Conventional

     DALLAS – The milk from cloned cows is virtually indistinguishable from that of normal cows on every parameter commonly used to measure quality, according to detailed data released at a scientific conference last month.  The findings, if confirmed by further studies, appear likely to accelerate the development of commercial agricultural cloning in the United States. 

     They add weight to an emerging scientific consensus that such cloning poses little risk to the safety of the American food supply.  The milk results, a compilation of analyses from scientists at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Utah, have not yet been published in a scientific journal.  But they have been eagerly awaited by farmers, food safety advocates and regulators at the Food and Drug Administration, which is weighing whether to open the food market to products made from clones or their offspring.

Job Cuts at Ben & Jerry’s

     Montpelier, VT – More than 50 job cuts were announced in November at Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., this time at the company’s Vermont headquarters.

     Company spokeswoman Chrystie Heirmert told an Associated Press reporter that the cuts were prompted by “changes in the industry”. 

     “The cost of doing business has gone up and our competition is fierce,” Hiemert said.

     Ben & Jerry’s, owned by Anglo-Dutch food conglomerate Unilever, employs 199 marketing, sales and administrative persons at its offices.  In June, Nestlé announced it would take a majority stake in Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc., which distributes Ben & Jerry’s.  Nestle also owns Häagan-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s prime competitor.  The Nestlé deal is being reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission.

     Heirmert said the layoffs were not a sign that Ben & Jerry’s would shut down its Vermont operation.  The cuts will be Ben & Jerry’s second round of layoffs this year.  This spring the company announced it was closing two Vermont facilities.  In its third quarter earnings report last month, Dreyers attributed part of an 11% growth in its partner brands distribution division to increased sales of Ben & Jerry’s products.

 Extended Recall for Havarti Cheese

Swiss-American, Inc. of St. Louis, MO is recalling cut pieces of Prima Della Imported Danish Havarti Plain with a sell by date of March 12, 2003, because it has the potential to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. Cut Prima Della Imported Danish Havarti Plain was distributed through Wal-Mart grocery stores in the continental United States. The cut items come in random weight packages of between 7 oz. and 10 oz. with the sell-by date of March 12, 2003.