CURD Act

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to define the term natural cheese. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions Act CURD Act 2. Findings Congress finds as follows: (1) There is a need to define the term natural cheese natural cheese process cheese (2) The term natural cheese 3. Definition of natural cheese (a) Definition Section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 321 (ss) (1) The term natural cheese (A) by— (i) coagulating wholly or partly the protein of milk, skimmed milk, partly skimmed milk, cream, whey cream, or buttermilk, or any combination of such ingredients, through the action of rennet or other suitable coagulating agents, and by partially draining the whey resulting from the coagulation, while respecting the principle that cheese-making results in a concentration of milk protein (in particular, the casein portion), and that consequently, the protein content of the cheese will be distinctly higher than the protein level of the blend of the above milk materials from which the cheese was made; or (ii) processing techniques involving coagulation of the protein of milk or products obtained from milk to produce an end-product with similar physical, chemical, and or­gan­o­lep­tic characteristics as the product described in subclause (i); and (iii) including the addition of safe and suitable non-milk derived ingredients of the type permitted in the standards of identity described in clause (B) as natural cheese; or (B) in accordance with standards of identity under part 133 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations), other than the standards described in subparagraph (2) or any future standards adopted by the Secretary in accordance with subparagraph (2)(I). (2) Such term does not include— (A) pasteurized process cheeses as defined in section 133.169, 133.170, or 133.171 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations); (B) pasteurized process cheese foods as defined in section 133.173 or 133.174 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations); (C) pasteurized cheese spreads as defined in section 133.175, 133.176, or 133.178 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations); (D) pasteurized process cheese spreads as defined in section 133.179 or 133.180 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations); (E) pasteurized blended cheeses as defined in section 133.167 or 133.168 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations); (F) any products comparable to any product described in any of clauses (A) through (E); (G) cold pack cheeses as defined in section 133.123, 133.124, or 133.125 title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations); (H) grated American cheese food as defined in section 133.147 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations); or (I) any other product the Secretary may designate as a process cheese. (3) For purposes of this paragraph, the term milk . (b) Labeling Section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 343 (z) If its label or labeling includes the term natural cheese natural all-natural . (c) National uniformity Section 403A(a)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 343–1(a)(2) or 403(x) 403(x), or 403(z)

Summary: Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions Act or the CURD Act This bill establishes a statutory definition for natural cheese. Under the bill, natural cheese is defined as cheese (ripened or unripened soft, semi-soft, or hard) that is produced from animal milk or certain dairy ingredients and is produced in accordance with established cheese-making standards. The definition excludes pasteurized process cheeses, cheese foods, and cheese spreads. A food is deemed misbranded and may not be sold if it does not meet this definition and its label includes the term natural cheese as a factual descriptor of a category of cheese.