Gillibrand backs law on dairy labeling

WASHINGTON — A law that requires fruits, vegetables, nuts and seafood to carry country of origin labeling ought to apply to dairy products too, Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand said.

Mrs. Gillibrand announced she is supporting the effort to expand the labeling law to milk, cheese, butter and yogurt, following the footsteps of her predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as other senators who have introduced legislation to carry out that goal.

In a conference call with New York reporters, Mrs. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., cited the recall of melamine-tainted milk powder from China as spurring her to push for the law's expansion.

"I would not buy milk products from China if I knew they were from China," said Mrs. Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

As much as $2.7 billion worth of dairy products are imported to the United States, but companies are not required to tell consumers where the products came from, Mrs. Gillibrand said.

Organic dairy organizations have been pushing for dairy country-of-origin labeling for several years, saying it gives U.S. farmers a more level playing field against foreign competition.

When the country-of-origin labeling law was enacted, Congress exempted dairy products and processed foods. The latest legislation in the Senate preserves the exemption for processed foods while extending the requirement to milk, cheese, yogurt and butter.

However, the origin labeling does not appear to address one sensitive issue in the dairy industry: the import of dairy ingredients such as milk protein concentrate that are added to cheese or other domestically produced food. Mrs. Gillibrand said the extension of country-of-origin labeling refers only to where the main product was made, not whether imported ingredients were used.

The International Dairy Foods Association, representing companies that buy milk from farmers, has complained about extending country of origin labeling to dairy products, saying dairy products would be the only type of processed foods to which the law applies, and manufacturers might choose non-dairy ingredients to get around the law.

The National Milk Producers Federation, representing farmer-owned bargaining cooperatives, has opposed extending country of origin labeling to dairy products. Many dairy products imported into the United States already carry a country of origin label as a marketing tool, the NMPF has said.

Country of origin labeling has led some U.S. trade partners to complain to the World Trade Organization.

Mrs. Clinton introduced dairy country of origin legislation in 2008. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced a similar bill last October.