The International Dairy Federation (IDF) has today (18 November 2020) published an update to its Bulletin on the Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms, also known as the GSUDT, providing the reader with the latest information on the nature, content and possible implications of the GSUDT in the context of national, regional and international trade, including its status in relation to the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Protection of the integrity of dairy is vital, given that the production and placement on the market of nutritionally inferior imitations can pose potential health risks for consumers.

The Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms (CXS 206-1999) was adopted by Codex Alimentarius in 1999, corresponding to its mandate to ensure the correct use of dairy terms intended for milk and milk products, to ensure fair practices in the food trade, and to protect consumers from being confused or misled by the use of dairy terms for non-dairy products.

Globally recognized and implemented in the regulations or policies of many countries all over the world, the clear rules of the Codex GSUDT provide an internationally accepted framework to protect the integrity of milk and milk products against nutritionally inferior imitation products that attempt to take advantage of the natural and healthy image of milk and milk products.

IDF Bulletin 507/2020: The Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms – Its nature, intent, and implications, has been developed to help policymakers, food business operators and enforcement authorities interpret the detail of the GSUDT. This new edition replaces previous IDF Bulletin 397 of 2005 on the subject.

Melissa Cameron, Dairy Australia, and chair of the IDF Standing Committee on Standards of Identity and Labelling: “The natural origin, nutritional value, functional properties and sensory characteristics of milk and milk products have created the uniquely positive consumer perception and strong market position of milk and milk products all over the world. This update supports policymakers, food business operators and enforcement authorities in avoiding any erroneous use of dairy terms for non-milk products, essential for safeguarding consumer health.”

IDF Bulletin 507/2020 provides details on the GSUDT, covering both labelling and promotional information about dairy products and other foods for further processing as well as for direct consumption, and information on application of the terms “milk”, “milk product”, “composite milk product”, “reconstituted milk product”, “recombined milk product” and other “dairy terms” and information related to the interpretation of Codex GSUDT.

Its application assists consumers all over the world in making their own purchasing decisions regarding milk products versus non-milk products and assists policymakers to ensure fair practices in the food trade.

IDF Bulletin 507/2020: The Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms – Its nature, intent and implications is free to download from the IDF website from today (18 November 2020). The publication of IDF Bulletin is accompanied by the release of a supporting IDF Position Paper on the subject, which provides an overview and key messages. IDF Position Paper ‘The Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms – Its nature, intent, and implications’ is available to download on the IDF website.