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FDA to Crack Down on Non-Dairy Products Using 'Milk' Term
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 07/18/2018

It appears that all those efforts to prevent companies from using the term 'milk' when marketing products that are not from dairy animals has caught the attention of the Food and Drug Administration. On Tuesday, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced that the Trump administration plans to crack down on the use of 'milk' for foods such as soy and almond beverages.

"An almond doesn't lactate, I will confess," Gottlieb said during a POLITICO Pro Summit, where he was referring to the fact that the agency's current standards for milk reference products from lactating animals. He says the next step will be to gather public comment before redefining the rules for milk products.

"This is going to take time... not two years, but it probably takes something close to a year to get to go through that process," he noted.

Wisconsin politicians and dairy groups have been petitioning the FDA for years to enforce marketing standards for milk. They claim it causes confusion among consumers who think they are buying real dairy products.

Last year, Sen. Tammy Baldwin introduced legislation that would ban the use of the term 'milk' in non-dairy products.

In a joint statement, the Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative and Dairy Business Association, both based in Wisconsin, said they have been pushing the FDA to take this action.

"FDA regulations define milk as coming from a cow, not a plant. So, it is encouraging to hear Commissioner Gottlieb state his commitment to enforcing the laws already on the books," the groups said. "Our dairy farmers and processors work hard to produce incredible food. Milk and dairy products offer almost unbeatable nutritional value."

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Sheila Harsdorf also sent a letter to Gottlieb this week expressing concern over the issue. She says the number of plant based products being marketed as milk continues to increase and that it's essential that standards of identity and labeling requirements be clear and enforced to maintain the integrity of the agricultural industry.


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