Tag: dairy labeling

The World Unites Against “Plant Butter.” Will We?

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Strange bedfellows, indeed. But also a reason for hope.

In Case You Missed It, the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils of the Codex Alimentarius, which, among other things, sets international food standards, in October decided not to take up a proposal by IMACE, the European Margarine Association, to allow its members to call their members’ products “plant butter” under the international standard for fat spreads and blended spreads.

U.S. dairy farmers hold no natural gripe against the European Margarine Association – in fact, we had never even heard of them until last month. Europeans, like consumers worldwide, have every right to purchase inferior products in fair and open market competition. However, touting “plant butter” as a legitimate name is a rude introduction to our continental purveyors of congealed vegetable oil, to say the least. It smacks of the shenanigans of Country Crock on this side of the Atlantic. And it speaks volumes about the increasing brazenness of plant-based imposters that they would even bring forth this request, which is so obviously driven by marketing concerns over the public good.

As due process dictates, the European Margarine Association got its hearing. And fortunately, most of the world is much more honest and consistent in labeling than what’s currently practiced in the United States. A wide-ranging coalition of nations spoke against it before CODEX, including the EU itself, France, Norway, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, India, Iran, Argentina, Colombia, Uganda, Malaysia, and the United States. For a brief moment, longtime friends, and even longtime adversaries, fought the fakes. The world came together to defend dairy terms, gain showing the power that global dairy has to nourish and promote health – in this case, the health of international relations.

And so, “plant butter” as a global standard has been resoundingly defeated – for now. But it still leaves some unanswered questions. Why now, European Margarine Association? Why did the idea even come up? Perhaps even more interesting is how the global consensus reflects on current U.S. practice. The argument used by many nations to deny the request was that it would contravene the Codex General Standard for Use of Dairy Terms (GSUDT) (CXS 206-1999) as well as mislead the consumer.

But if that argument is understood and accepted around the world, why has it been so hard to get across here in the U.S.? With the FDA next year promising guidance on dairy labeling, and with an NMPF request to the FDA ombudsman for the agency to enforce its own rules still pending review, will the U.S. be willing to stake out the same pro-consumer position right here at home that it (rightfully) takes abroad?

We shall see. But we never fail to hope that the U.S. will eventually stand behind its own dairy standards of identity. Global support for the proper use of dairy terms remains strong, and that strength only raises our hope that worldwide consistency can soon be achieved. And heck, if the United States can agree with Iran on something … maybe this truly is the first step toward a better tomorrow.

So thank you for clarifying where the world stands, European Margarine Association. May this request never be made again – and may its rejection be an example our own government will follow.

Bipartisan DAIRY PRIDE Act May Further FDA Enforcement Progress

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and James Risch (R-ID) on April 22 reintroduced the bipartisan DAIRY PRIDE Act. The bill would bring clear, accurate labeling information for consumers and end harmful mislabeling of dairy foods by peddlers of plant-based products by requiring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce its own existing standards of identity on imitation dairy products after decades of inaction.

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern thanked Welch and Simpson and Baldwin and Risch for reintroducing the measure and their ongoing leadership working to ensure FDA does its job. NMPF has been working for decades for FDA to enforce dairy standards of identity, as plant-based imitators have a long history of flouting these labeling laws to piggyback on dairy’s good name and reputation and benefiting from the “halo of health” associated with nutritious, healthy dairy products.

“FDA is responsible for the integrity and safety of our nation’s food, medicine, and medical devices, and it’s crucial that it enforce its own standards and requirements,” Mulhern said. “Without enforcement, we are left open to the potential for questionable products, deceptive practices, and, in cases such as mislabeled plant-based products that masquerade as having nutritional benefits similar to dairy’s, negative effects to our health.”

Medical groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics are voicing concerns over the harm lack of enforcement is having on public health as misinformed consumers unintentionally choose less nutritious products for themselves and their families.

Congress has also shown a growing concern for FDA’s failure to enforce. The House held a hearing in January 2020 on the agency’s lack of enforcement, during which NMPF Executive Vice President Tom Balmer testified on the need to enforce dairy standards of identity. In December 2020 Congress included in the report accompanying the FDA funding bill for FY 2021 a statement of concern and directive to FDA regarding enforcing standards of identity for dairy products.

NMPF will continue working on FDA enforcement, building on this progress made in 2020, with Mulhern seeing the reintroduction of the DAIRY PRIDE Act as “helping NMPF and consumers continue to move forward toward solving this critical public health and fairness issue.”

FDA Must Enforce Fake-Dairy Rules, NMPF Tells Agency Ombudsman in New Advocacy Phase

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

With FDA giving little indication of promised action on proper labeling of imitation dairy products, the National Milk Producers Federation today asked the agency’s ombudsman to ensure that rules are properly enforced.

“Allowing unlawfully labeled ‘plant-based’ imitation dairy foods to proliferate poses an immediate and growing risk to public health; it is a clear dereliction of the FDA’s duty to enforce federal law and agency regulations,” wrote NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern in the letter, sent to Dr. Laurie Lenkel, ombudsman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “The FDA’s Office of the Ombudsman must intervene to break the bureaucratic logjam that is adversely affecting consumers. Doing so would fit squarely within the Office’s own mission to ensure even-handed application of FDA policy and procedures.”

The FDA ombudsman, based in the agency commissioner’s office, “serves as a neutral and independent resource for members of FDA-regulated industries when they experience problems with the regulatory process,” according to the agency. NMPF is urging the ombudsman’s office to take appropriate action to remedy the 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 regrettable inaction. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations have offered evidence of nutritional deficiencies caused by confusion over the contents of plant-based versus dairy beverages.

NMPF last year released its own road map offering solutions to how public health, product integrity and free speech could be protected through updated regulations. NMPF also supports the DAIRY PRIDE Act, a potential legislative prod for FDA action, and has asked FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn to follow up on the pledge he made nearly one year ago to make fake-dairy labeling a high-priority issue at FDA.