Niceley, an honorary board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), is one of the more productive and liberty-minded legislators in the country and an effective advocate in Nashville (the state capital) not only for his own constituents but also for numerous other Tennessee residents, especially farmers. It’s common for farmers around the state to contact Niceley, a fifth-generation cattle farmer, for help instead of their own legislators if they are having an issue with a regulator or government agency, be it state or federal.

The successful legislation he has sponsored and policies he has helped implement as both a state representative and state senator have made a huge impact on small farmers and local artisan food producers and many others in Tennessee. In his latest term, Niceley sponsored successful bills legalizing the over-the-counter sale of ivermectin (Tennessee was the first state to do so), taking the sales tax off gold and silver coins, legalizing the unlicensed, unregulated sale of cottage foods not only direct from the producer to the consumer but also to third parties such as grocery stores, and establishing a state meat inspection program.

Niceley has done more to deregulate local food production and distribution than anyone in the past 15 years, enabling family farms and local artisans to have a better chance to make a living. His list of accomplishments include:

2009 [HB 720]
Sponsored bill legalizing the distribution of raw milk through herdshare agreements. In 2012 Niceley followed up on that bill by getting an Attorney General’s opinion that it was legal to distribute other raw dairy products through a herdshare agreement as well.

2012
Got an Attorney General’s opinion that farmers didn’t need a permit to sell eggs from their own farm.

2014 [SB 1707]
Sponsored a bill adopting the federal poultry exemption enabling farmers to process up to 20,000 birds a year. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has since expanded the exemption by policy to include processing rabbit meat on the farm.

Before the bill passed, Tennessee had one of the worst regulatory climates for on-farm poultry processing in the country; during that time, the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) received a call from a poultry farmer in Bristol, Tennessee, getting ready to move across the state line to Bristol, Virginia, because he was so fed up with the restrictive laws and policies on on-farm poultry processing.

2017 [SB 343]

Sponsored a bill adopting the federal exemption on custom slaughter and the exemption on non-amenable species. The latter exemption allows the sale of meat from animals such as bison and domestically raised deer that are slaughtered and processed at a custom facility.

2017 [SB 651]
When Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) chapter leader, Michele Reneau, was threatened with prosecution because the food buyers club she co-managed did not have a permit, Niceley passed a bill, exempting food buyers clubs from licensing and regulation.

2017
Received Attorney General’s opinion stating that there can be an unlimited number of owners for an animal slaughtered and processed at a custom facility and that entities such as a food buyers club can be an owner of such a custom animal.

2019 [SB 358]
Sponsored bill legalizing sales of raw butter by licensed dairies.

2020 [SB 2049]
Sponsored a bill requiring that any meat labeled as a product of Tennessee must be from an animal that was born and raised in the state.

2020 [SJR 841]
Sponsored a resolution commending the Weston Price Foundation for its 50-50 Campaign urging people to buy at least 50% of their food budget direct from the farm.

2022 [SB 693]
Sponsored the Tennessee Food Freedom Act legalizing the unlicensed unregulated sale from homemade food producers of food that does not require time and temperature control for safety, including fermented foods; these sales can be direct to consumers and also by some third parties such as food buyers clubs and grocery stores.

2023 [SB 123]
Sponsored the bill to establish a State Meat Inspection program in Tennessee; like many states, Tennessee has a shortage of federally, inspected slaughterhouses, especially in the eastern half of the state.

2024 [SB 1914]
Sponsored a bill providing for vending machines with whole milk in the schools, giving children a more nutritious option while still preserving federal funding for Tennessee’s school lunch program. The federal rule that withdraws funding from Washington if whole milk is served in a school lunch has worsened children’s health and the economic condition of the dairy industry.

Niceley‘s work impacts the local food movement around the rest of the U.S. as well. The first thing legislators typically ask when a constituent requests that they introduce a bill is: “Has this been done elsewhere?”

The senator has introduced and helped pass a number of bills that were law in few, if any, states outside Tennessee. In the 2024 session he helped pass a bill defining and regulating as a drug any food that contained “a vaccine or vaccine material.”

Legislation he introduced this past session includes: a constitutional resolution to protect the individuals right to grow and acquire the food of their choice [SJR 902]; a bill that would have barred any prohibition on the growing of produce and the raising of chicken or meat rabbits on a residential lot [SB 1761]; a bill that would have exempted farms from any vaccine mandate for their livestock or poultry, if the farms practice was not to vaccinate their livestock or poultry [SB 2543]; and legislation that would have prohibited cell-cultured meat from being defined as “meat” [SB 2603].

Niceley has been generous with his time in helping legislators, farmers and eaters in other states working on food and agriculture bills. As for Tennessee, there is no one who has done as much for the small farmer and local food producer in that state as Frank Niceley.

[Photo credit: Solari.com “Blast from the Past“]

The post The Farmers’ Legislator appeared first on Real Milk.

Raw dairy products are the only foods for human consumption banned in interstate commerce. A question for the court of appeals to consider is: does FDA have the power to prohibit raw butter from crossing state lines when the record before the court does not list a single foodborne illness outbreak definitively attributed to the consumption of commercially produced raw butter?

FDA is claiming it can ban raw butter in interstate commerce under its authority to regulate communicable disease [1], a power granted the agency by the Public Health Services Act (PHSA). Thirty years ago FDA issued a regulation banning all raw dairy products in interstate commerce other than cheese aged 60 days [2].

Does FDA have the power to issue a blanket ban on a food? Or is its authority limited to instances when a specific batch or a lot is suspected of being adulterated and/or making people sick?

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been getting lots of mileage out of its authority to regulate communicable disease. In 2020 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) used that power to justify an order staying any eviction of residential tenants by landlords during the COVID crisis. In striking down the order, the Supreme Court found that “regulations under this authority have generally been limited to quarantining infected individuals and prohibiting the import or sale of animals known to transmit disease” [3].

Another question for the court is: can FDA require that butter be pasteurized under its power to regulate communicable disease, when the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) seemingly prohibits the agency from doing just that?

There is a conflicting statute in the FDCA defining butter that does not require it to be pasteurized [4]. A separate statute in the FDCA specifically mandates that “[n]o definition and standard of identity and no standard of quality shall be established for … butter” [5]. Standards of identity are requirements for prescribing what a food product must contain to be marketed under a certain name in interstate commerce; they are intended to promote honesty and fair dealing for the benefit of consumers.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a standard of identity exists, for purposes of the FDCA, whenever the government, “by regulation, fix[es] the ingredients of any food,” such that “a commodity cannot be introduced into interstate commerce which purports to be … [that] food … unless [the commodity] is composed of the required ingredients” [6]. The regulation governing the interstate raw dairy ban provides, in part, “No person shall cause to be delivered into interstate commerce or shall sell, or otherwise distribute…any milk or milk product [e.g., butter]…unless…made from dairy ingredients… that have all been pasteurized…” [7].

The demand for raw dairy in the U.S. is booming. There are around a dozen states that currently allow the distribution or sale of raw butter. A court decision in favor of McAfee and FTCLDF will increase that number rapidly in a short period of time as well as reduce the power of an agency that is a major threat to bodily autonomy and freedom of choice and that has long placed the profits of the pharmaceutical and biotech industries ahead of the public health.

The oral argument before the court of appeals will be livestreamed.

• For the archive of Oral Argument Recordings, find links at

https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/recordings/recordings.nsf

A recording of all Oral Arguments for April 8, 2022, will also be posted on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyWi9futNwg

Livestream link – https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/Content/VL%20-%20Calendars%20-%20Live%20Audio%20Streams%20of%20Oral%20Arguments

For more background on the Raw Butter case and related documents, go to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund website at https://www.farmtoconsumer.org/campaign-for-raw-food/

FOOTNOTES
1. See 42 USC 264(a)
2. 21 CFR 1240.61
3. Ala. Ass’n of Realtors v. HHS 141 S. Ct. 2485, 2487-2488.
4. 21 USC 321a
5. Subbaraman, M. Principal Brief of Appellants Mark McAfee & Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. USCA Case 21-5170 (Document #1929731, filed 01/07/2022), p. 24 citing 21 USC 341. https://www.farmtoconsumer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Raw.Butter.1.07.22.ECF-Stamped-Opening-Merits-Brief.pdf
6. Subbaraman, p. 24 citing 62 Cases of Jam v. United States 340 U.S. 589, 593 (1951) (internal quotation marks omitted)
7. 21 CFR 1240.61(a)

Photo Credit: congerdesign on pixabay.com

The post Raw Butter Ban Before U.S. Appellate Court appeared first on Real Milk.

On May 24, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras (2021)¹ rubber-stamped the U.S. Food and Drug Administration‘s (FDA’s) denial of a citizen petition² filed by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and dairy farmer Mark McAfee (petitioners) to lift the interstate ban on raw butter, disposing of petitioners’ appeal³ by granting FDA‘s motion for summary judgment. The upshot of the judge’s decision is that FDA can ban any food in interstate commerce it wants under its power to regulate communicable disease;⁴ FDA did not provide any evidence in the case specifically establishing that commercially produced raw butter has ever been blamed for causing a foodborne illness outbreak in the U.S.⁵

FDA had rejected the petition in February 2020⁶, and FTCLDF and McAfee appealed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Two issues were before Judge Contreras: whether FDA had the statutory authority to require pasteurization for butter, and second, whether FDA acted arbitrarily when it banned a food in interstate commerce that had little or no record of making people sick.

Through a statute in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA, 21 USC 341⁷), Congress has given FDA the power to issue standard of identity regulations for most foods; standard of identity regulations are requirements prescribing what a food product must contain to be marketed under a certain name in interstate commerce. For instance, the standard of identity for milk in final package form requires that it be pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized and that it contain not less than 8.25% non-fat milk solids and not less than 3.25% milkfat.⁸ FDA’s long-held position is that the pasteurization requirement can be part of the standard of identity. As Judge Contreras noted in his opinion (p. 6),⁹ standards of identity “promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers.”

There are several foods that Congress prohibits issuing standard of identity regulations for and one of those is butter. Congress has defined butter in the FFDCA which serves as a standard of identity for the food; that definition does not require that butter be pasteurized. When FDA violated the FFDCA by requiring that butter in interstate commerce be pasteurized, they claimed it had the power to do so under the authority given it to regulate communicable disease⁴. The Public Health Service Act (PHSA) authorizes FDA “to make and enforce such regulations as in its judgment are necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission or spread of a communicable disease from foreign countries into the states or possessions or from one state or possession into any other state or possession” (42 USC 264).¹⁰ There is little or no evidence that Congress intended to give FDA the power to ban a food completely in interstate commerce under the PHSA, but that is what the judge found in his opinion.

In discussing the conflict between the FDA’s pasteurization requirement under the PHSA and the FFDCA’s statutory definition of butter, the judge stated:

• [T]he two statues hardly touch on the same topic, much less conflict in such a way that one would have to supersede the other. While the PHSA is concerned with containing the spread of infectious diseases regardless of the means of transmission, standards of identity are meant to ensure that consumers know what foods they are buying. Rarely do two statutes with such different purposes conflict.⁹ (p. 7)

What the judge ignored in making this statement is that both standard of identity regulations and Congress’ definition of butter are concerned with public health; the 60-day aging requirement for raw cheese and the pasteurization requirement for milk and other dairy were implemented by FDA because of the agency’s health concerns. When Congress passed the law creating the definition for butter, it didn’t think a pasteurization requirement was necessary to protect the public health; it could have amended the definition at any time since to require pasteurization but has never done so.

The second issue before the court was petitioners’ claim that the pasteurization requirement for butter was scientifically “unsupported” and therefore “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law” (pp. 4, 17).³ On this issue, the judge’s holding against McAfee and FTCLDF was even more troubling. The most important consideration in determining whether there is scientific support for banning a food in interstate commerce is looking at the food’s history of making people ill. In the court record before Judge Contreras, there are only two foodborne illness outbreaks since 1908 where raw butter is definitively listed as the suspected cause of illness; in both outbreaks the butter was homemade.¹¹ In its letter to McAfee and FTCLDF rejecting the petition, FDA included a table listing 13 foodborne illness outbreaks attributed to butter from 1908 through 2003. There is a column in the chart indicating pasteurization status; only one of the outbreaks has “unpasteurized” in the column while the other 12 have either “not specified” or “not specified but commonly unpasteurized” in the table (pp. 18-22).¹¹

The judge upheld the ban on raw butter in interstate commerce even though FDA failed to specifically link a single outbreak to commercially produced raw butter. There are a dozen states that allow the sale or distribution of raw butter, including California where Organic Pastures Dairy Company, a business McAfee founded, has sold well over 2 million pounds of raw butter the past 20 years without incident (p.14).³

The judge justified his decision by indicating FDA’s findings that raw butter could contain pathogens that may cause illness were sufficient for him to uphold the ban, but shouldn’t the number of illnesses a food has caused be a more important consideration? Moreover, any food that is improperly produced or handled is capable of making people sick. FDA shouldn’t have the power to ban any food under its authority to regulate communicable disease; under the judge’s ruling, there isn’t a food the agency conceivably couldn’t ban.

In his ruling, Judge Contreras stated that the court had to be “highly deferential” on FDA‘s decision to ban raw butter, citing a legal doctrine called Chevron Deference, a doctrine which basically leaves the courts powerless to overturn agency decisions (p. 4).¹ As long as Chevron Deference is in effect, lawyers for the agencies before the court might as well write the opinions themselves. If the courts ever want to reestablish their independence in reviewing agency decisions, this doctrine needs to go.

The best path to overturning the sham that is the raw butter ban is to legalize its sale or distribution one state at a time. Tennessee legalized the retail sale of raw butter in 2019.¹² Utah did the same in 2020,¹³ and Montana has legalized the sale from producer direct to consumer in 2021.¹⁴ The petition has further established the excellent track record for food safety of raw butter; the move to legalize sales of the product in the state legislatures should continue.

Alexia Kulwiec, executive director of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, offered this statement, “FTCLDF is very disappointed¹⁵ in the decision, and has until late July to decide whether it will appeal. FTCLDF is considering all available options at this time.”¹⁶

Photo Credit: “Bread and Butter” by Marina Shemesh on PublicDomainPictures.net

References

1. Contreras, R. (2021, May 24). Order: Denying plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment. [19-3161 (RC)] U.S. District Court for District of Columbia. https://www.realmilk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-05-24-Order-Denying-Plaintiff_Granting-Def-SJ.pdf

2. McAfee, M., & Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. (2016, June 22). Citizen petition seeking legalization of interstate transport of unpasteurized butter. p. 5.
https://www.realmilk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1-CitPetFDA-Butter-062216-1-1.pdf

3. McAfee, M., & Farm-to-Consumer. (2020, May 25). Second amended complaint [Civil Action No. 19-3161]. https://www.realmilk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Filed-Second-Amended-Complaint-5.26.20.pdf

4. Kennedy, P. (2017, April 14). Raw butter, a communicable disease? A Campaign for Real Milk. https://www.realmilk.com/raw-butter-communicable-disease/ (Originally published 2016, June 23 at
Farm-to-Consumer

5. Kennedy, P. (2016, March 17). OPDC citizens petition for raw butter. A Campaign for Real Milk. Citing “the CDC has no outbreaks, no cases of illness or death recorded in its databases related to commercially produced raw butter illness or pathogen defects.” https://www.realmilk.com/opdc-citizens-petition-for-raw-butter/

6. Kennedy, P. (2020, March 18). FDA Denies Petition to Lift Interstate Ban on Raw Butter. A Campaign for Real Milk. https://www.realmilk.com/fda-denies-petition-to-lift-interstate-ban-on-raw-butter/

7. United States Code. (1938/1993). 21 USC 341 – Definitions and standards for food: “No definition and standard of identity and no standard of quality shall be established for fresh or dried fruits, fresh or dried vegetables, or butter, except that definitions and standards of identity may be established for avocadoes, cantaloupes, citrus fruits, and melons.” Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved July 4, 2021 from https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/341

8. Department of Health and Human Services. (1993/2020, November 10). 21 CFR 131.110(a) – Milk. Code of Federal Regulations. Retrieved July 4, 2021 from https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=131.110

9. Contreras, R. (2021, May 24). Memorandum opinion: Denying plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment. U.S. District Court for District of Columbia. [McAfee et al v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, No. 1:2019cv03161 – Document 23 (D.D.C. 2021). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2019cv03161/212153/23/] Accessible at https://www.realmilk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-05-24-Memorandum-Opinion-on-SJ-Orders.pdf

10. United States Code. (1944/2002). 42 USC 264 – Regulations to control communicable diseases. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved July 4, 2021 from https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/264

11. FDA. (2020, February 27). Letter from FDA to Mark McAfee and Pete Kennedy, Re: Docket No. FDA-2016-P-1852 [Letter]. https://www.realmilk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FDA-RawButterPetition-Response-2-27-2020.pdf

12. Kennedy, P. (2019, May 7). Raw butter sales now legal in Tennessee. A Campaign for Real Milk. https://www.realmilk.com/tennessee-raw-butter-sales-now-legal/

13. Kennedy, P. (2020, April 19). Raw Butter and Raw Cream Sales Now Legal in Utah. A Campaign for Real Milk. https://www.realmilk.com/raw-butter-and-raw-cream-sales-now-legal-in-utah/

14. Kennedy, P. (2021, May 10). Montana Local Food Choice Act Now Law. A Campaign for Real Milk. https://www.realmilk.com/montana-local-food-choice-act-now-law/

15. Kennedy, P. (2020, March 21). FTCLDF Takes the FDA to Court Over Raw Butter Petition. A Campaign for Real Milk. https://www.realmilk.com/ftcldf-takes-the-fda-to-court-over-raw-butter-petition/

16. Kulwiec, A. (personal communication via email, 2021, June 16).

The post Judge Upholds FDA Raw Butter Ban appeared first on Real Milk.

On April 30 Governor Bill Lee signed into law Senate Bill 358 (SB 358); the legislation legalizes the sale of raw butter by licensed producers in Tennessee. SB 358, sponsored by Senator Frank Niceley, a long-time champion of the small farmer and local food, goes into effect immediately.

SB 358, as amended in the House and passed, provides that

“the department [of agriculture] shall not regulate the production of unpasteurized butter provided that it is produced:

(A) In a facility separate from production of pasteurized products;

(B) Solely for intrastate commerce; and

(C) By a person licensed by the department as a dairy plant.

¹

On any raw butter sold, the bill also requires a warning label stating, among other things, that the product has not been inspected and that butter “may contain disease-causing micro-organisms.”¹

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), between 1998 and 2016, there was not a single foodborne illness outbreak attributed to the consumption of commercially-produced raw butter²; during that time, California-based Organic Pastures Dairy Company (OPDC) sold over two million pounds of the product without incident³. The labeling requirement was a concession that had to be made if the bill was going to pass.

It’s not clear why the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) would not regulate the production of butter from a licensed dairy plant but the answer could possibly be because of some agreement the department has with the federal government.

SB 358 allows the retail sale of raw butter; Tennessee joins Arizona, California, Idaho, and Maine as states allowing the sale of the product in retail stores. There are around a dozen states that allow the sale or distribution of raw butter for human consumption.

Niceley introduced a bill in 2018 that would have legalized raw butter sales, but that legislation didn’t make it out of House committee after passing the Senate. With the accelerating decline of the state dairy industry over the past year, SB 358 did not have any significant opposition. One point Niceley made during consideration of the bill was about the increasing competition from lab-grown dairy products to the conventional industry, saying that laboratories could produce pasteurized dairy products at a much lower price than the dairy industry could and that the industry needed to separate itself from that competition with the production and sale of raw dairy products.

It is uncertain at this time how many of the state’s licensed dairy plants are interested in selling raw butter but the potential is there. None of Tennessee’s neighbors allow raw butter sales; there could be out-of-state customers buying butter in Tennessee. Cheesemakers from other states could be moving in with an additional high-demand product to sell. If demand does take off, some of the state’s remaining dairies could obtain higher prices for their milk by selling some of their production to dairy plants instead of cooperatives where most are losing money with each load they ship.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) has a citizen petition⁴ before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lift the interstate ban on sales and distribution of raw milk and other raw dairy products (except aged cheese). If the petition is successful, it is likely raw butter sales would be legal in all states within a few years. Until that time, there should still be a steady increase in states allowing raw butter sales or distribution.

Brentwood Chapter Leader Shawn Dady lobbied for the bill on behalf of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF). Congratulations to her, Senator Niceley, and the other Tennesseans supporting SB 358 for legal raw butter sales⁵, in time for the spring flush.

===============
[1] House Amendment Number 1 to HB0532 (HA0116), Tenn. House § 1 (2019). Last accessed 5/7/2019 at http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/HA0116.pdf
[2] Mark McAfee and Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, “Citizen Petition Seeking Legalization of Interstate Transport of Unpasteurized Butter”, petition, June 22, 2016; p. 10
[3] Ibid. p. 11
[4] For more details about the citizen petition, read “FTCLDF Hires Jim Turner to Litigate Raw Butter Petition” at https://www.realmilk.com/turner-litigate-raw-butter-petition/
[5] Thanks to an opinion from the Attorney General, the state has allowed the distribution of raw butter and other dairy products since 2012 through herdshare agreements.

The post Raw Butter Sales Now Legal in Tennessee appeared first on Real Milk.

The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) and the Communities Alliance for Responsible Eco-agriculture (CARE) are providing funding for Turner’s legal expenses. WAPF is the leading advocacy group in the U.S. for raw milk and raw milk products, including butter. CARE is a Pennsylvania-based food buyers club that has long been a strong supporter of freedom of food choice, especially raw dairy products.

Turner is no stranger to FDA, having dealt with the agency on various matters since the 1960s. His law practice consists of representing businesses, individuals, and consumer groups on regulatory issues concerning food, drug, health product safety and environmental matters.

In 1970 he was largely responsible for getting Cyclamate, an artificial sweetener, pulled off the market. For nearly ten years he fought against FDA and the G.D. Searle Corporation in an effort to take the artificial sweetener, aspartame, off the market. There have been more complaints filed with FDA about aspartame than any other food product.

Federal law requires FDA to file a response to a citizen petition within six months after receiving a copy. In December 2016 FDA sent FTCLDF and McAfee a letter stating it needed more time to review the petition; in the two years since, the agency has sent nothing to the two petitioners. If Turner can’t convince FDA to issue a substantive response to the petition, he will likely file a writ of mandamus motion in a federal district court to have the court compel FDA to respond. If FDA rejects the petition, petitioners can appeal the agency’s decision to a federal appellate court.

There has been a federal ban on raw milk and raw milk products for human consumption (other than raw cheese aged sixty days) in interstate commerce since 1987 when FDA issued a regulation (21 CFR 1240.61) establishing the ban in response to a court order. Three arguments Turner can make to lift the ban are: that FDA exceeded its authority in banning raw butter since the case resulting in the court order, Public Citizen v. Heckler, only concerned fluid milk products (milk, cream, yogurt) not manufactured milk products (butter, cheese); that federal statute (21 CFR 341) prohibits FDA from issuing a federal ‘standard of identity’ regulation for butter [standards of identity are requirements prescribing what a food product must contain to be marketed–pasteurization is one such requirement]; and that there isn’t a single foodborne illness outbreak attributed to the consumption of commercially produced raw butter [OPDC has sold over 2 million pounds of raw butter since 2001 without incident]. FDA is basically claiming that its power to regulate communicable disease allows it to ban a food that makes few, if any, sick.

The butter petition is a great opportunity to weaken the interstate raw dairy ban — a significant step towards the day when the transport of all raw dairy products across state lines will be legal. Jim Turner has the experience and ability to make that happen.

———
Image from video: Jim Turner Recalls Rumsfeld Meeting over Nutrasweet Toxicity, published on YouTube October 7, 2011

The post FTCLDF Hires Jim Turner to Litigate Raw Butter Petition appeared first on Real Milk.