Kerrygold butter set to return to US supermarket shelves after disappearing

Sarah Slater

Kerrygold butter is set to return to US supermarket shelves next week after disappearing for several weeks.

The Irish dairy group Ornua had stopped Kerrygold butter from reaching supermarket shelves in California and New York due to non-compliant packaging.

The supply was halted due to new State regulations and changes have now been made to its packaging.

New food packaging regulations came into effect three weeks ago in California on New Year’s Day and on December 31st, last year.

The restrictions centre around the use of certain chemicals in packaging. The US Environmental Protection Agency has linked the chemicals used in the packaging to causing harmful health effects in humans and animals.

A spokesperson for Kerrygold said: “There are no food safety concerns with (the butter) and it refers to a technical issue with the packaging.

“We have made changes to some of our packaging due to new regulatory requirements in the states of California and New York.

“We are pleased to confirm products will return to shelves from next week onwards.”

The Kerrygold spokesperson added that supply was temporarily stopped in time to ensure that no impacted product would be on shelves by the time the new State regulations in California and New York were introduced.

Kerrygold butter was first exported to the US 24 years ago in 1999 while 20 years later, Kerrygold became the first Irish food brand to exceed €1 billion in annual retail sales.

In its 2021 report, Ornua welcomed the removal of high tariffs on Irish dairy products into the US. The report said that Kerrygold butter achieved 12 per cent volume growth, outperforming the category, and strengthening its position as the number two butter brand in the country.

The new regulations state that "no person shall distribute, sell, or offer for sale in this state food packaging containing PFAS substances as intentionally added chemicals on or after December 31st, 2022."

PFAS or polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of man-made chemicals that have been manufactured since at least the 1940s and are used in many products to provide stain resistance, water and oil repellency, and other properties.

PFAS do not occur naturally, and some PFAS have been found to persist in the environment for long periods of time.

According to the EPA scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.