June 16, 2014
Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, Commissioner
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993
Re: FDA statements regarding the use of wooden boards in the cheese aging process
Dear Commissioner Hamburg:
As members of the Wisconsin Legislature and strong supporters of our state’s cheese-making heritage, we appreciate the prompt reply to the concerns surrounding the practice of creating artisan cheese by using wooden ripening boards. We were very troubled by the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent public interpretation of 21 CFR 110.40(a) and its subsequent clarifications pronouncing doubt over whether the practice was allowed. At best, the various interpretations have created confusion and uncertainty for the industry.
As you know, Wisconsin takes great pride in being the Dairy State and in our world-renowned, award-winning cheeses. Agriculture contributes $59 billion annually to our economy, and dairy represents a significant share, amounting to $26.5 billion annually. At any given time, Wisconsin cheesemakers have between 20 million to 30 million pounds of cheese aging on wooden boards. This has been a safe and standard practice in Wisconsin and around the world for generations.
Earlier this year Monica Metz of the FDA stated that the “use of wooden shelves….for cheese ripening does not conform to cGMP requirements” and that “wooden shelves or boards cannot be adequately cleaned and sanitized.” We know that the FDA has recently attempted to put the issue to rest through an official statement on its website. The statement said, “To be clear, we have not and are not prohibiting or banning the long-standing practice of using wood shelving in artisanal cheese. Nor does the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) require any such action. Reports to the contrary are not accurate.”
However, we are concerned that this issue will come up again and we urge you to give due consideration to the food safety protocols and cheese-making practices in Wisconsin before proposing any regulatory changes. We consider further regulations on our well-established practice of aging cheese on wooden boards to be an unnecessary federal overreach.
Please consider the implications of the very real harm posed by the FDA’s recent communications regarding 21 CFR 110.40(a). The prior statements by the FDA have created unnecessary uncertainty for Wisconsin cheesemakers and consumers. We, along with Wisconsin cheese enthusiasts everywhere, sincerely hope the troubling language in the initial FDA communication on this subject is merely a misunderstanding and now laid to rest. As lawmakers, we will scrutinize any new, unnecessary attempts at federal regulation.
Sincerely,
Rep. Travis Tranel Rep. Lee Nerison
49th Assembly District 96th Assembly District
Rep. André Jacque Rep. Kathy Bernier
2nd Assembly District 68th Assembly District
Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt Rep. Michael Schraa
52nd Assembly District 53rd Assembly District
Rep. John Spiros Rep. Paul Tittl
86th Assembly District 25th Assembly District
Rep. Kulp Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber
69th Assembly District 57th Assembly District
Rep. Mary Czaja Rep. Dean Kaufert
35th Assembly District 55th Assembly District
Rep. Dan Knodl Rep. Howard Marklein
24th Assembly District 51st Assembly District
Rep. Tod Ohnstad Rep. Alvin Ott
65th Assembly District 3rd Assembly District
Rep. Warren Petryk Rep. Dan Pridemore
93rd Assembly District 22nd Assembly District
Rep. Keith Ripp Rep. Joe Sanfelippo
42nd Assembly District 15th Assembly District
Rep. Christine Sinicki Rep. Pat Strachota
20th Assembly District 58th Assembly District
Rep. Duey Stroebel Rep. Rob Swearingen
60th Assembly District 34th Assembly District
Sen. Terry Moulton Sen. Scott Fitzgerald
23rd Senate District 13th Senate District
Sen. Rick Gudex Sen. Sheila Harsdorf
18th Senate District 10th Senate District
Sen. Frank Lasee Sen. Joe Leibham
1st Senate District 9th Senate District