WASHINGTON – Dairy farmers are getting a headache from ice cream manufacturers that want to loosen standards on how the frozen treat is made.

Ice cream companies are asking the Food and Drug Administration to let them make their products with more whey – the watery part of milk that separates from curds when cheese is processed. They say government approval of their proposal will give them more flexibility to make a variety of products and meet consumer demand.

Whey, which Little Miss Muffet was known for eating, often is an ingredient in bread, pie crust and canned soup. Until now, some processors have shunned whey because of its reputation for giving some foods a rancid flavor.

The National Milk Producers Federation, which represents 60,000 dairy farmers, says ice cream makers are running the risk of ruining the taste of their product by switching to whey as a cheaper substitute for nonfat milk.

“Descriptions associated with flavor problems stemming from the increased use of whey proteins include ‘salty’ and ‘graham crackerlike,”‘ the federation’s president, Jerry Kozak, wrote the FDA.

Currently, the FDA requires processors to make ice cream with 10 percent nonfat milk solids, including a small amount of whey. The processors want a new standard that would allow them to increase the proportion of milk proteins, specifically more whey.

Ice cream processors maintain that more whey in their product will not change the nutritional content or taste.

Susan Ruland, a spokeswoman for the International Ice Cream Association, said manufacturers are producing whey proteins that do not taint the foods with bad flavors. In the past, whey was produced by heating milk. “Now, they just use a filter,” Ruland said. “The off-flavors that used to be an issue are not an issue any more.”

What is not in dispute is the economic impact of the FDA’s decision.

There is no question that whey is a better bargain than nonfat dry milk. Dry whey costs about 15 cents per pound while nonfat dry milk is about 80 cents a pound, the Agriculture Department says.

Dairy farmers, already seeing some of the lowest prices in years for their product, fear the new standards will allow makers to substitute whey for nonfat dry milk.

“If you’re not using milk and cream to go into ice cream, then you’re using other ingredients, and then, basically we’re going to have a flood on the market [of dry milk],” Byrne said. “We don’t necessarily want to see more of a buildup of nonfat dry milk.”