On every package of Kraft Singles American cheese slices you'll find the words "Milk Makes 'Em Taste Great!" Ads for Kraft Singles feature kids describing how much milk goes into every slice, and the package itself even features a glass of milk. But the fine print of Kraft's ingredient list tells a different story - on that list is something called "Milk Protein Concentrate." This ingredient, called MPC for short, is an unregulated, untested substance that is far from the wholesome milk Kraft brags about.
What is MPC?
Kraft - the second largest food conglomerate in the world after Nestle and one of the giants in the U.S. dairy industry - uses MPC in many popular products from cheese and high protein sports drinks to energy bars and nutritional supplements. But when it comes to explaining what Milk Protein Concentrate is, it's actually easier to explain what it is not.
MPC is not dry or powdered milk, though MPC usually comes in a powder form. But unlike dry milk, MPC is what is left over after ultrafiltration (UF) removes all of the most valuable components of milk. In short, MPC is the lowest grade dairy equivalent of the asphalt that is left at the tail end of petroleum refining.
Save for a handful plants in NM, AZ, and IL, milk protein concentrate is not produced in the U.S. Domestic fluid milk that is not drunk by U.S. consumers, is usually made into milk powder for later use in cheese production. But it is much MUCH cheaper for dairy giants like Kraft to import MPC instead from around the globe. In fact, in recent years U.S. MPC imports have come from as far away as New Zealand, China, India, Ireland, Argentina, Belarus, and even Singapore (which incidentally has no dairy industry and simply serves as a convenient trans-shipment point since the U.S. has a duty-free trade deal with Singapore...)
MPC is also not an approved food ingredient. In fact, it enters the U.S. as an industrial component to make glue and other adhesives. There is not enough research on MPC to qualify it for the list of food ingredients that the U.S. federal government classifies as "Generally Regarded as Safe." But even though MPC is not an approved food ingredient, it can still be found on most grocery store shelves!
MPC has never been defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the agency has no standard for the purity of MPC. The FDA admits that they do "minimal monitoring" of MPC as it enters the U.S. This is important because MPC is imported from many countries where dairy sanitation and food regulations are less stringent or virtually nonexistent. For instance, MPC has been found to be laced with melamine, a toxic waste from the coal industry, that has already been implicated in the death of thousands of dogs and cats given contaminated pet food in the U.S., as well as infants fed tainted baby formula in China.
So Why Is Anyone Allowed to Use MPC?
When it comes to cheese it is technically illegal to use MPC. The FDA has "standards of identity" for most cheeses, including Pasteurized Processed Cheese Food. Because of this rule, Kraft was recently forced to change the label on Singles and other items containing from "processed cheese food" to "processed cheese product." Since a product has no federal definition you can then still make it "legally" with MPC. Of course, the dairy giants would rather have the government officially recognize MPC as fit for human consumption, which is why they have petitioned the FDA to change the definition of milk to include ultrafiltered versions (aka MPC).
Who Gets Hurt by MPC?
Family Farmers - As imports of MPC rise, farmers face even more depressed domestic milk prices and lose options for selling their product. There are less than 70,000 dairy farms left in the entire U.S. and thousands go bankrupt each year due to unrestricted free trade "dumping" of subsidized powder imports like MPC.
Consumers - People who think they're buying a healthy wholesome food need to think again when they buy a cheese product containing MPC. Since MPC is an imported, untested, unregulated dairy waste byproduct from other countries it can contain virtually anything - melamine, radioactive isotopes, dioxin, dried pathogens.
Taxpayers - As domestic farm prices stagnate and rural communities suffer, the federal government is pressured to help agriculture more. Unfortunately, most of these subsidies are quickly siphoned off by agribusiness corporations like Kraft, who refuse to pay a fair price to farmers while being dishonest with consumers.
What Can You Do?
1. Don't Buy Kraft Singles!! Tell Kraft you think their "American" cheese ought to be made from U.S. milk - not from imported MPC that is unapproved, unregulated, and untested. Call Kraft: # 1-800-323-0768 or write them: Kraft Foods, 1 Kraft Court, Glenview, IL 60025
2.) Be a smart consumer and carefully read labels. If you discover MPC in a food product, don't buy it, and don't hesitate to let the manufacturer and grocery store manager know about this illegal food ingredient.
2. Tell your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators to get MPC out of our food! Call the Congressional switchboard: #1-202-224-3121
3. Urge the FDA to enforce the existing laws on using MPC in food. Call the FDA: # 1-888-463-6332 or write them: FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857
For more information, contact:
Family Farm Defenders, P.O. Box 1772, Madison, WI 53701 tel./fax. 608-260-0900
America Raw Milk Producers Pricing Association (ARMPA), P.O. Box 134, Waunakee, WI 53597
Milkweed, P.O. Box 10, Brooklyn, WI 53521