With Control of Congress passing to the Democrats, changes are taking place on key food industry related committees. Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte will step down as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. He’ll be replaced by Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson. Peterson has served eight terms in the House and is a certified public accountant, one of the few CPAs in Congress. Meanwhile, Michigan Democrat John Dingell will become chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, replacing Republican Joe Barton of Texas.

 USDA is expected to make changes in the food list for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program for the first time in 30 years. WIC program managers have proposed adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to the list and less dairy. Government nutritionists note that in light of recent revisions to USDA’s food pyramid, the WIC food list should be updated. According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the proposed changes would decrease the amount of milk and cheese that participants are allowed to purchase and would not allow yogurt to be substituted for milk.