Got Milk! Not if You Ask FDA.
[Posted on: Thursday, August 2, 2018] FDA announced last week that it is planning to create restrictions on using the word “milk” to describe non-dairy products such as almond milk, soy milk, etc. citing that consumers are “hurt” when non-dairy products are called “Milk”. It is hard to argue over the frivolity of this FDA initiative. Non-dairy products that look and feel like milk were created decades ago primarily as an alternative for individuals with lactose intolerance or milk allergy. There have been practically no incidences of harm to consumers from drinking milk alternatives. FDA cited an old regulation regarding the “standard of identity” which has rarely been enforced by the FDA. In the announcement FDA cited two cases of possible harm related to the consumption of non-dairy milk products, which appear very weak case studies at best. FDA also cited that the term “milk” has traditionally been used for lactation secretions and hence Almond milk, soy milk, etc are false names. The non-daily milk industry can fight these arguments in two ways: (1) they can start putting disclaimers on their labels indicating they are not of dairy origins, or (2) they can get creative by using terms that could get around FDA’s new policy with terms such as “milked” almonds, or “milked” soy. It is like the strategy used by the makers of “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” where a non-dairy fat product is compared to butter using double negatives. The new policy can also be challenged in courts where FDA would have a hard time proving the origin of the word “milk” to be exclusively used for mammary secretions. More importantly this initiative did not originate from consumer concerns but seems politically motivated, which contaminates whatever real concerns FDA may have had. Food industry has several examples where alternatives to common foods are created to give consumers options. Unless there is evidence of risk to consumers, FDA should step away from such frivolous initiatives. What’s next? Is FDA going to police Tofu-turkey for being deceptively called “turkey”! This is a waste of FDA’s resources, besides being nuisance to the public it serves.
|
|