Not Milk? That’s For SureJerry Kozak,
President/CEO If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s the operating principle behind the renewal of NMPF’s decade-long campaign to get the federal government to enforce the use of proper terms on phony dairy product labels, and to admonish dairy’s pale imitators. Back in 2000, NMPF first submitted a letter of complaint that imitation dairy products, primarily those made of soy, were using the term “milk” on their labels…even though FDA regulations clearly state that milk products have to come from animals, not beans. The FDA did absolutely nothing about our complaint, so we are now taking up the campaign again, in a more public and aggressive fashion. Part of the reason is that, just as we predicted ten years ago, because the FDA has turned a blind eye to this mislabeling issue, we’re seeing even more of these problem products on store shelves. So today, we have not just soy “milk,” but also “milks” made from rice, almonds, and even hemp. Beyond the beverage category, we’re also seeing “yogurts,” “cheeses,” and even “ice creams” made from legumes, nuts, seeds, and all manner of vegetable materials…all using specific dairy terms on their faux dairy products. (You can read more about the issue in the April 29 issue of USA Today, which talks about our effort.) Now, one thing that has changed in the past decade is that we have new tools to enlist the support of the public in our campaign to wake up the FDA. NMPF has created this new Facebook page, They Don’t Got Milk, (www.facebook.com/theydontgotmilk) to allow people to view examples of what we assert are mislabeled products, and to allow them to submit their own images of similar items. We are also urging the public to write to the FDA to express their disappointment that the agency has been so indifferent to its own labeling laws. Part of our message in this effort is directed not just at the misuse of dairy terms, but also at the perception that many of these products are nutritionally-equivalent to cows’ milk dairy goods, and therefore are suitable substitutes. There is no nutritional equivalence between real milk and soy beverage (or rice, almonds, etc.), and it is important that policy makers understand this distinction going forward. Congress is in the middle of rewriting the Child Nutrition Act, which governs the types of foods the government requires to be provided to school students. Imitation dairy products should not be given equal status as real milk, because milk's nutritional value is the reason why school lunch programs offer real milk to begin with. One thing to remember is another old saying: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The soy processors (some of whom also have a stake in the dairy industry) are trying to take a page from our playbook, and market their products in as dairy-friendly a fashion as possible. They take these nuts, seeds and weeds, add sugars, flavors, colors, and emulsifiers, all in an effort resemble real milk as much as possible. But there’s a line that has been crossed when label terms that are legally defined are ignored, both by marketers, and even more sadly, by the government watchdogs whose job it is to police these labels. Dairy farmers have worked for decades to promote the entire dairy category; we need a strong defense as well. *Anyone is welcome to post comments. Comments must be approved before appearing on the page. All effort will be made to publish every comment, provided that each comment is respectful and directly addresses the issues discussed in the column. Readers are encouraged to respond to the comments of others. Comments |
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David Newhouse: