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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 111 / Friday, June 11, 2021 / Rules and Regulations that opposed the use of preservatives did not provide any data or information to support their opposition, and we do not have any data that indicate that appropriate use of preservatives has an adverse effect on the characteristics of yogurt, particularly in the case of yogurt that is heat-treated after culturing to have an extended shelf-life. Therefore, we decline to revise 131.200d6
regarding the use of preservatives as an optional ingredient in yogurt, but we have renumbered the section in the final rule as 131.200d7 see response 21.
Comment 23 The proposed rule would revoke 131.200b, which provides for optional addition of vitamins A and/or D in yogurt, and revoke 131.200f1iii,which pertains to labeling of yogurt that contains added vitamins A and D. The proposed rule explained, in part, that the provision for the optional fortification of yogurt with vitamins A
and D was established in 1981 before the implementation of the NLEA and the adoption of the certain nutrient content and relative claims regulations, including 101.54. We explained in the proposed rule that we believed it was appropriate to apply the provisions of 101.54e to vitamins A and D
fortification of yogurt 74 FR 2443 at 2454.
We invited comment on whether we should retain the current optional vitamin addition provisions of 131.200b and, if so, what the justification for retaining these provisions would be, and the appropriateness of applying 101.54e to yogurt fortified with vitamins A and/
or D. One comment agreed with removing the provisions pertaining to optional addition of vitamins A and D.
However, other comments asked us to retain the current optional vitamin fortification provisions and the associated labeling provision. The comments said that, even though such provisions are not consistent with the NLEA and the nutrient content claim regulations, optional vitamins A and D
fortification is a longstanding practice for the yogurt industry and is consistent with the standards of identity for other milk products in 21 CFR part 131.
Another comment said we should revise the amounts of vitamins A and D
fortification based on percentages of recommended Daily Values DV rather than specific levels per quart. The comment recommended we modernize the optional vitamin A addition of not less than 10 percent DV per RACC and optional vitamin D addition of not less than 25 percent DV per RACC in the final rule.

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Response 23 Given the yogurt industrys current fortification practice and apparent consumer acceptance of optional fortification with corresponding ingredient declaration, the final rule does not remove the provisions concerning the optional addition of vitamins A and D. For these reasons, the provisions for optional addition of vitamins A and D remain part of the yogurt standard; however, because the final rule also reorganizes and renumbers the provisions in 131.200, we have placed the provisions regarding optional vitamin addition in 131.200d8.
We believe that modernization of the yogurt standard of identity should include bringing the outdated vitamins A and D fortification provisions in conformity with the way in which vitamins are now referenced based on percentages of recommended DV rather than specific levels per quart. Therefore, the final rule, at 131.200d8, provides for the optional addition of vitamin A if added at not less than 10
percent Daily Value per RACC, and/or the optional addition of vitamin D if added at not less than 25 percent Daily Value per RACC.
In addition, we decline to revoke the labeling requirements associated with optional vitamins A and/or D addition.
To inform consumers about the optional addition of vitamins A and/or vitamin D, these requirements remain part of the yogurt standard in 131.200f1iii.
Comment 24 The proposed rule discussed that the standards of identity for yogurt, lowfat yogurt, and nonfat yogurt do not permit the optional use of any safe and suitable ingredient for a nutritional or functional purpose. We explained that while the NYA petition asked us to revise our regulations to allow for such ingredients and while comments to the ANPRM both favored and opposed the NYA recommendation, we decided that there was not a need for a broad provision to permit any safe and suitable ingredient for a nutritional or functional purpose 74 FR 2443 at 2453.
The comments to the proposed rule were mixed on whether we should add a broad provision permitting the use of any safe and suitable ingredient that serves a nutritional or functional purpose. Some stated that such an approach would help maintain the integrity of yogurt. Other comments said that any safe and suitable ingredient should be allowed to provide flexibility and to promote innovation. One comment was concerned that yogurt bearing nutrient content claims would no longer fall under the standard of identity without a provision that would
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allow the use of any safe and suitable ingredient for a nutritional or functional purpose. Another comment emphasized that lactic acid and other acidulants as functional ingredients should not be allowed.
Response 24 As we explained in the proposed rule, our existing regulatory framework governing standardized foods already provides for the addition of substances for a nutritional purpose 74 FR 2443 at 2453. As for the use of ingredients for a functional purpose, the final rule, at 131.200c, provides for the use of optional dairy ingredients to increase the nonfat solids content of food under certain conditions. The final rule, at 131.200d, also provides for the use of specific functional categories of ingredients such as emulsifiers and stabilizers. We revised 131.200 to retain the optional addition of vitamins A and/or D. Section 131.200d8 now provides for optional addition of these vitamins as in our current standard of identity for yogurt but has been revised to specify the amounts of added vitamins A and D based on percentages of DV per RACC rather than International Units per quart.
Although 131.200c and d permit the use of certain optional ingredients for nutritional or functional purposes in yogurt, lactic acid and other acidulants are not permitted as other optional ingredients under 131.200d. Yogurt is produced by culturing the basic dairy ingredients and any optional dairy ingredients with a characterizing lactic acid-producing bacterial culture, and not through the addition of lactic acid or other acidulants see response 6.
G. Section 131.200eMethods of Analysis The current standard of identity for yogurt lists the methods of analysis for milkfat content, total solids content, and titratable acidity that are from the Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC
International, 13th Ed. 1980. The proposed rule, at 131.200e, would update the referenced methods of analysis to Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International AOAC
Methods, 18th edition, 2005. The AOAC Methods have been updated twice since the publication of the proposed rule. The latest version is the 21st edition, 2019. Therefore, on our own initiative, we have revised 131.200e to refer to the 21st edition of the AOAC Methods.
The proposed rule inadvertently deleted the milkfat method of analysis from 131.200e. Therefore, on our own initiative, we have revised 131.200e by restoring the method of analysis for milkfat referencing the
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