FDA Announces Intent to Enforce the Use of the Word ‘Milk’

Jul 25, 2018

By Rick Barrett
 

Dairy farmers who want the terms “soy milk” and “almond milk” banished from our lexicon may soon get their way as a federal agency plans to enforce the definition of “milk” as something that comes from a cow, not a plant.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Tuesday that he intends to implement the change over the next year or so.

The agency has long had a definition of milk as being an animal-based product, but it hasn’t been enforced.

“This has been a little bit of a bugaboo to the dairy industry,” Gottlieb said during a Politico event in Washington, D.C.

“But we do have a standard of identity, and I intend to enforce that,” he said.

This week, the American Dairy Coalition launched an effort aimed at persuading the FDA to not expand the definition of milk to include plant-based beverages.

The FDA has scheduled a July 26 public hearing on that, and other matters, in Washington, D.C.

“It is crucial the dairy industry speaks up” on the issue, the American Dairy Coalition, based in Green Bay, said in a statement.

“We can no longer stand by” and allow plant-based beverages to be labeled as milk, the statement said.

The dairy industry says the FDA hasn’t enforced its labeling regulations, resulting in a cascade of products such as soy, almond, rice, coconut and oat beverages to flow into the dairy aisle under the guise of milk.

“After years of inaction … Dr. Gottlieb’s announcement that the agency is intending to act on this issue is very encouraging,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, Va.

The FDA’s previous inaction “has led to rampant consumer fraud related to the inferior nutrient content of these non-dairy products compared to their true dairy counterparts,” Mulhern said.

It’s been confusing for consumers, said Laurie Fischer, executive director of the American Dairy Coalition, whose membership includes large dairy farms and milk processors.

“The dairy industry is taking a stand and saying ‘milk is milk.’ And we want to make sure that consumers understand what it is,” Fischer said.

A contentious issue

Critics of the effort to ban the word “milk” from plant-based beverages say it’s more about propping up the dairy industry than clearing up any confusion.

“No one is buying almond milk, or soy milk, thinking that it came from a cow,” said Matthew Ball, spokesman for the Good Food Institute, a Washington, D.C., group that advocates for plant-based foods.

Good Food says it has gathered thousands of petition signatures that make it clear people know the difference between soy and regular milk.

Plant-based beverage makers use the word “milk” on their labels because the products are used in a way similar to cow’s milk, according to Ball.

People put soy milk on their cereal, for example, just like they would regular milk.

“This is a free speech issue. There’s no way it can be painted as misleading consumers,” Ball said.

Before the FDA can implement the change, Gottlieb said, there will have to be public hearings to gather comments.

“It will probably take close to a year to go through that process. But that’s what we intend to do,” he said.

“Invariably, we will probably get sued, as well, because the dictionary says milk can come from a lactating animal or a nut.”

Gottlieb’s comments Tuesday were similar to testimony he presented this spring to the Senate, when he acknowledged the FDA has “exercised enforcement discretion” in not holding food marketers to federal standards limiting the use of standardized food terms.
 

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