Federal law defines what natural cheese must be.

What it does

This bill sets a federal rule for what counts as natural cheese. Natural cheese must be made by coagulating milk protein and draining whey. Products labeled natural cheese cannot be pasteurized process cheeses, cheese foods, spreads, or cold-pack cheeses. Companies must follow this definition when they label products.

Who it affects

Shoppers can now rely on a clear meaning of natural cheese on labels. Cheese makers must follow the federal definition when labeling their products.

One thing to notice

The FDA can decide in the future which other products count as process cheese. This gives the agency power to change the definition without a new law.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

25 cosponsors: 15 Republicans, 10 Democrats.

• Feb 14, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 14, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

9 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 14 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $1,798,009 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 14 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 89% of bills with any report.

Bryan Steil, who sponsored the bill, received $1,668,200 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• International Dairy Foods Association — $540,000 in 2 reports
• National Milk Producers Federation — $518,009 in 2 reports
• Dairy Farmers of America Inc — $300,000 in 1 report
• Kerry Inc. and Affiliates Owned By Kerry Holding Co Including Niacet Corporation — $160,000 in 1 report
• International Dairy Foods Association — $90,000 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• coagulating — causing milk to thicken and separate into solid and liquid parts
• whey — the liquid left over when milk is turned into cheese
• FDA — the federal agency that makes rules about food safety and labeling
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.