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Dairy group reiterates FDA labeling criticism on World Plant Milk Day

The celebration of World Plant Milk Day Thursday has a dairy trade group calling again on the FDA to enforce labeling laws and restrict the use of dairy terms. Alan Bjerga with National Milk Producers says, “There’s no such thing as plant milk. Let’s also take a look at this term “world.” The United States is basically the only country in the world that allows this to happen because of FDA inaction. In the rest of the world, you see proper labeling of beverages.”

Bjerga tells Brownfield it’s okay for consumers to have imitation products, but they should be labeled properly, and consumers should be aware of the differences. “If you take a look at almond beverage, for example, you’re going to see protein levels that are in some cases that are one-eighth that of a dairy product. Other products will have very different levels of various vitamins and nutrients.”

Bjerga says the industry has been battling the dairy labeling issue for 40 years, and efforts to make the FDA enforce its own rules need to stay on the front burner.

World Plant Milk Day was started three years ago by vegan groups ProVeg International and Plant Based News.