A bill to prevent non-dairy products from using the term milk or other dairy terms was introduced today (April 22) in both houses of Congress and by representatives of both parties. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
The Dairy Pride Act would prevent the makers of beverages and other products made from nuts, seeds, plants and algae from calling the products milk, yogurt, cheese or other dairy terms. The legislation does not prevent the sale of non-dairy products, only their labeling as dairy products.
It was introduced by representatives in dairy-heavy states: Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), and Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho). The bill requires the FDA to take enforcement action against manufacturers labeling non-dairy products as dairy. The bill has 33 cosponsors in the House.
“Dairy farmers, already struggling to survive, are facing a growing threat due to the misleading practice of marketing plant-based products as milk and dairy products,” said Welch. “These products do not meet the FDA’s definition of a dairy product because they do not have the unique attributes and nutritional values provided by dairy. Our bill would require the FDA to enforce its existing definition of milk and dairy products so that consumers can make more informed choices.”
What he said is largely true. FDA and USDA have hundreds of standards of identity for food products, many of which they intentionally no longer enforce –not because of laxity but because of technology. Following incidents of adulteration, or simply milk being diluted with water, during the 1930s Great Depression, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 called for the agencies to define what constitutes ice cream, ham and many other products.
But the arrival of soy- and nut milks, plant-based burgers and now cultured meat is posing a quandary. As a result, in February 2020 the FDA opened a comment period on modernizing the standards of identity. "Given that many standards of identity are now 75 and even 80 years old, we feel the time is right," the agency wrote at the time.
The comment period ended last July, but the agency hasn't made any decisions.
