“There is a similar issue around commonsense names for foods running afoul of ‘geographical indications’ for things like Asiago, Parmesan, or Brie cheeses.”. “The fact is for millennia people have been creating foods they refer to as ‘milk’ from a variety of items, including rice, coconuts, and other foodstuffs, besides the fluids that come from a cow’s udder,” said Sewell. (d) When foods characterized on the label as "nondairy" contain a caseinate ingredient, the caseinate ingredient shall be followed by a parenthetical statement identifying its source. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. NMPF is urging the Office of the Ombudsman to take appropriate action to remedy FDA’s lax approach to enforcing its own rules on the use of dairy terms on products containing no dairy ingredients, which have proven impacts on public health – a new phase of advocacy brought about by the agency’s inaction. What would confuse consumers is if plant-based products can’t use the term “milk,” says Bakst. “This is very helpful information, especially for individuals intentionally avoiding dairy, such as those who are lactose-intolerant.”. Baldwin’s bill would not serve the public interest, says Sewell. Registered in England and Wales. “Lobbyists for the livestock sector want to use it to defeat competition from lab-grown or cell-cultured meat,” Sewell said. “Consumers don’t think almond milk comes from cows,” said Bakst. Names currently used to market nondairy goods inform consumers of alternatives, says Bakst. For decades, the FDA has set labeling standards for a wide variety of food products. Ashley Herzog, The Heartland Institute - Ideas that empower people, T-Mobile and Sprint Merger Could Boost Wireless Service Competition, Ohio Legislature Considers Occupational-Licensing Reciprocity Bill, City of Dallas Studies Home Rental Regulations. Your support of Heartland will allow us to continue to educate others about our work. Feedstuffs is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC. “The FDA’s Office of the Ombudsman must intervene to break the bureaucratic logjam that is adversely affecting consumers. “If those products were called ‘almond drinks’ or whatever new name was adopted, that's when there'd be confusion,” said Bakst. “Businesses involved in farming and ranching play an important role in our national and state economies, [and] exploiting people’s love of farmers in order to gain an economic advantage by reducing consumer choice is just wrong,” said Sewell. Food production is a much broader sector than dairy farming, says Sewell.