The US Department of Agriculture is proposing to change the mix of foods the Women, Infants and Children programme that threatens to significantly cut back on dairy demand. The dairy industry calculates that the change could mean the loss of up to $402 million (EUR294.7m) in fluid milk and cheese purchases every year for the Special Supplemental Nutrition of WIC, reduce dairy farm income and increase the cost of the milk price support programme.

Since 1974, WIC food packages have been designed to supplement the diets of low-income women and children (up to five years) at risk of nutritional deficiency with eggs, dairy products and other foods rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, iron and protein. USDA said it wanted to change the composition of WIC food packages, as recommended by the national Institute of Medicine, to reflect new dietary science and combat obesity. Rather than increasing the budget to allow WIC participants to add fruit, vegetables and whole grains, the administration chose a “budget neutral” approach by reducing dairy foods to allow more produce.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers’ Federation (NMPF) expressed concern that the proposal would “cut the availability of affordable, nutrient-rich milk and milk products to disadvantaged families” NMPF president Jerry Kozak says many WIC participants do not get recommended levels of key nutrients under existing formulas. “Those levels would be further diminished under this proposal.”

IDFA president Connie Tipton adds that the changes would cause “a very real, negative nutritional effect” by making it more difficult to make up dietary shortfalls in calcium, potassium and magnesium that are found in dairy products.

NMPF estimates that purchases of fluid milk would decline by 57-78 million U.S. gallons per year and purchases of cheese by 43-49m lbs per year, equivalent to losses of 0.9-1.3% of annual fluid milk sales and 1.1-1.3% of cheese sales, milk processors would sustain sales losses between $321-$402m a year, producers would suffer income losses of $1.05-1.3 billion over four years, and federal costs would increase $63-80m per year for the surplus products purchased under the price support programme.