During a recent Senate hearing on Capitol Hill, farm state lawmakers pressed officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the use of dairy terms in labeling imitation dairy products. The FDA has only instituted voluntary labeling guidance when it comes to imitation products.
James Jones, Deputy Commissioner of Human Foods at the FDA, told lawmakers the agency is following the letter of the law.
“On the issue of using the term milk, you have to characterize what it is derived from. So it has to say soy milk or oat milk. You can’t just say milk on such a label..”
The FDA does ask manufacturers to label their products as not nutritionally equivalent to dairy products, but critics like Senator Tammy Baldwin say it’s not enough.
“It’s hard to believe that plant -based alternatives would willingly highlight the nutritional disadvantages of their products compared to real milk.”
I’m Rusty Halvorson reporting for AgNet West.