Not Milk?

ARLINGTON, VAThe dairy industry is stepping up its campaign to keep dairy-related terms like milk specific to the industry. Ten years after the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) first asked the FDA to crack down on what it considers the misuse of dairy terminology on imitation milk products, the organization sent another petition to the FDA, asserting that the practice has gotten worse in the past 10 years.

The NMPF contends that not only have the terms soy milk and soymilk continued to proliferate, but also other dairy-specific terms like yogurt, cheese, and ice cream are now being used by products made out of a wide variety of non-dairy ingredients.

The FDA has allowed the meaning of milk to be watered down to the point where many products that use the term have never seen the inside of a barn, says Jerry Kozak, president and CEO, NMPF. You dont got milk if it comes from a hemp plant, you cant say cheese if its made from rice, and faux yogurt cant be made from soy and still be called yogurt.

The petition mentions nondairy, imitation milks made from hemp, rice, almonds, and other plants, legumes and vegetables; yogurts made from soybeans and rice; and cheeses made from soy, rice, and nuts. Some products use terms like cheeze to avoid running afoul of standards of identity regulations.

In the petition, the NMPF claims that these products should be considered misbranded per FDCA rules [21 USC. § 331(b)]. It says FDCAs prohibition on misbranding is particularly relevant for the dairy sector because standards of identity exist in FDA regulations for most dairy products, including milk, yogurt, cheeses, and ice cream (21 CFR Parts 131, 133, and 135). Products for which no standard of identity has been established may be placed on the market under an apt common or usual name so long as that name does not cause confusion regarding the true nature of the product; however, if the name is likely to cause confusion, the product is misbranded, within the meaning of section 403(g). The group asks the FDA to step up its enforcement of the law with respect to the misbranding of dairy products.

Non-dairy products can vary wildly in their composition and are inferior to the nutrient profile of those from dairy milkalthough they are marketed as replacements for foods that consumers are familiar with and which have a healthful image, Kozak says. Although some phony dairy foods may have a passing resemblance to their authentic counterparts, they are very different in nutritional value, composition, and performance from standardized dairy products.