Baldwin, Risch slam FDA rule that allows plant-based products to use dairy’s good name, hurts consumers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On May 11, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jim Risch (R-ID) led a bipartisan group of colleagues calling out the Biden Administration’s misguided draft guidance that allows non-dairy product imitators to use dairy names, like milk, when labeling their products.
In February, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contradicted their own regulations by releasing draft guidance that would allow plant-based products to continue to use dairy terms despite not containing dairy, nor having the nutritional value of dairy products. In their letter today to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf, the Senators again called on the Biden Administration to require accurate labeling and define the nutritional differences between plant-based imitation products and dairy products to protect consumers.
“We are disappointed because under this guidance we expect the agency will continue to neglect to enforce standards of identity for plant-based products that mimic or imitate dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter,” the Senators wrote. “The inaction by FDA harms public health as a result of consumer misperception over dairy products’ inherent nutritional value. As a result, it is imperative that FDA enforce its existing standards of identity for dairy in both current and future guidance.”
As plant-based substitutes for dairy flood the market, the draft guidance released in February will hurt America’s dairy producers and add to consumer confusion over nutritional content. According to a 2018 survey by IPSOS, more than 70% of consumers believed that plant-based, non-dairy substitutes contain equivalent or greater amounts of protein than dairy milk. However, an actual comparison of nutritional profiles shows that most types of non-dairy substitutes are nutritionally inferior to their nutrient-dense dairy counterparts.
“FDA’s lack of enforcement, and now its recent draft guidance, both fail to provide Americans with the transparent and truthful labeling necessary for preventing such misperceptions that have been demonstrated to lead to harmful nutrition-related health consequences,” the Senators continued.
Senators Baldwin and Risch have led the charge to crack down on imitation products using dairy’s good name. They authored bipartisan legislation, the DAIRY PRIDE Act, to combat the unfair practice of non-dairy products using dairy names by requiring non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants, and algae to no longer be mislabeled with dairy terms such as milk, yogurt or cheese.
Joining Senators Baldwin and Risch in signing the letter were Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Angus King (I-ME), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Peter Welch (D-VT), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Fetterman (D-PA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
