Oser Communications Group

20 The Cheese Guide This lack of data is one issue the American Cheese Society is working to rectify, and the organization has asked its members to provide the organization with data about what they're doing in the creamery, so that information can be passed on to the FDA to help guide the rule-making process. According to Weiser, the organization understands that the FDA is not coming from a malicious place with its regulatory standards, but that closer cooperation between the FDA and the cheesemakers could result in safer, more science-based regulations that also consider the unique aspects of cheesemaking. She said, "Our hope is to open the possibility for the FDA to move away from 'one-size-fits-all' regulations. It's about filing in the holes for an industry that is growing and thriving and doesn't have a data structure around it." A broad database of information about artisan and specialty cheesemakers has never existed, and those looking for this kind of data have only come up empty handed, Weiser said. "We [at ACS] are uniquely poised to do this survey. We need to understand the things that impact food safety, create undue hurdles for producers and put up barriers to growth. This is information producers may be wary about sharing with the FDA." She added, "This information will create business indicators for cheesemakers to make benchmarks for revenues or cost of production. It will also aggregate data anonymously, providing insights as we deal with regulators.... We're building a reference for cheesemakers, and the broader specialty food industry, that illustrates what artisan cheesemaking is like." ACS has already gotten the cooperation started by asking the FDA to review the first chapters of its "Best Practice Guide for Cheesemakers," which is a work in progress. The Guide is intended as a permanent tool to help makers navigate through the technical, regulatory process, and ACS is developing it with a committee of cheesemakers, retailers, scientists academics and other industry experts. The five chapters that have been completed were submitted to the FDA for review as part of the process. "It was a good indicator working with them... they shared feedback that will improve the Guide and also give us a sense of FDA's understanding of what cheesemakers do. FDA has agreed to review new chapters as they become available." BY RICHARD THOMPSON "It's time for artisan cheesemakers and regulators to work in tandem, so that science-based regulations can be made and cheesemakers can continue to do what they do best," says Nora Weiser, Executive Director at the American Cheese Society (ACS), which has advocated for cheesemakers since 1983, with a core mission of providing educational resources and networking opportunities for a unified cheese community. Since the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) was enacted, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been working on how to regulate the food industry to prevent foodborne illnesses instead of just reacting to outbreaks as they occur. While this may help keep Americans safer from foodborne illness, some artisanal cheesemakers are saying that it's sickening them. Weiser says she's hearing cheesemakers tell her that their products have a long track record of relative safety, but the FDA doesn't seem to be paying attention to that or to the realities of cheesemaking. They feel like they're under unfair suspicion. "This may not be [the FDA's] intent, but it may be the outcome because there isn't enough data about certain types of cheeses," Weiser said. shining a light on the cheese industry

• Cover