A bipartisan group of U.S. senators reintroduced the DAIRY PRIDE Act in the Senate on February 28. The move comes on the heels of a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcement. The Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, milk, and cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday (DAIRY PRIDE) Act of 2023 seeks to address concerns related to labeling. Senators Tammy Baldwin, Jim Risch, Susan Collins, and Peter Welch aim to prevent dairy terms from being used to describe products made from non-dairy materials.
“For too long, plant-based products with completely different nutritional values have wrongly masqueraded as dairy,” Senator Risch said in a press release. “This dishonest branding is misleading to consumers and a disservice to the dairy farmers who have committed their lives to making milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and more nutritious products Idahoans enjoy every day. It is past time that the Food and Drug Administration enforce its own definitions for dairy terminology, prevent imitation products from deceiving consumers, and start advocating for the farmers who feed us.”
The legislation would prevent products made from nuts, seeds, plants, and algae from using dairy terminology on labels. Under the recent proposal from FDA, guidelines for labeling address nutritional values and not the use of dairy terms. The reintroduction of the legislation to address labeling shortcomings in the FDA proposal is being applauded by dairy groups.
“Proposed FDA guidance that acknowledges the problem of consumer confusion over the nutritional content of plant-based beverages, but doesn’t go far enough,” said National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “To eliminate consumer confusion over their nutritional content, plant-based drinks or beverages shouldn’t be allowed to use dairy terms in their labeling. That’s common-sense, and DAIRY PRIDE is a common-sense solution.”
A companion bill has also been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 8. The bill is being supported by Derrick Van Orden, John Joyce M.D., Ann Kuster, Angie Craig, Mike Simson, and Joe Courtney.
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