Tag: milk

Say It Loud, Say It Clear: The Plant-Based Beverage Bust is Here

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

It was the fundamental fallacy that launched a thousand news articles: Dairy was dying as consumers were switching to plant-based beverages. That was always a lie — but at least from a certain angle, it could be stretched into something that at least somewhat looked it like could be true. After all, U.S. fluid milk consumption (though not dairy overall, a fact that was conveniently ignored) has declined, and plant-based beverage sales were rising.

But now even that distortion is no longer true. Retail sales volume of plant-based beverages year-over-year have been negative since February, continuing a trend of flat-to-declining volume that dates to mid-2021. This is no longer a blip – it’s a reality, an inconvenient truth that we hope may finally put the original lie to rest.

Declining sales are only some of the woes Team Plant-Based is facing. While eating your fruits and veggies remains good advice – and always will be – that doesn’t mean that ditching dairy nutrients, or animal protein and nutrition in general, is a good idea. The environmental claims of alternatives can be wildly overstated. The nutrition benefits often remain doubtful. And once the novelty wears off, imitator inferiority is left to shine through.

Maybe that’s why Oatly’s share price has declined more than 80 percent since going public last year. Maybe that’s why Beyond Meat is struggling, and the CEO of Maple Leaf Foods said the alts market is unlikely to pan out as originally thought.

And maybe it’s another reason why the Food and Drug Administration shouldn’t reward bad-faith arguments from desperate plant-based promoters that consumer acceptance of their heavily processed, sweetened water as “milk” is inevitable, and they should be rewarded for insisting on misusing a term they have no right to use under existing federal regulation.

If nothing else, perhaps declining sales would inject some welcome humility into marketing claims. Of course, we live in the real world, making that outcome, however desirable, highly doubtful.

But at the very least, the news of declining plant-based beverage sales should be reported just as forcefully as the distortion that was used to malign an entire industry. After being told for years that plant-based beverages were the wave of the future, the public would be well-served to know that the hype was a mirage.

NMPF Statement on Continued Allowance of Low-Fat Flavored Milk in Schools

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“Ensuring kids have access to the nutrients they need to grow and thrive is a top priority for dairy. We thank USDA for the rule’s provision that maintains schools’ ability to serve low-fat, 1% flavored milk. One percent flavored milk is not only fully consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it is also a nutrient-dense, low-fat healthy option kids will choose to drink. I would also like to thank Representatives Joe Courtney and G.T. Thompson for their long-time leadership on this issue. We look forward to continuing to work with them, USDA, and others to help ensure everyone has access to nutritious food.”

Yogurt Rule May Aid Consumer Win on Fake Milk – If FDA Follows Through

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

It’s a shame to even have to say this, but it’s 2021, so just to be clear: Logic matters. Consistency matters. That’s why a new FDA rule that defines what is and isn’t yogurt has much broader, and potentially very positive, implications in one of the most contested consumer issues of the day – the proper labeling of milk and dairy products.

Background: FDA last month issued a final rule taking effect today that amends yogurt’s standard of identity – the legal definition of what a food is – by modernizing rules to fit changes in yogurt-making technology. It also revokes the previous individual standards of identity for low-fat yogurt and nonfat yogurt. Industry compliance is expected by Jan. 1, 2024.

The new rule is rooted in a response to a citizen’s petition from the National Yogurt Association filed in February 2000. The slow pace isn’t unusual, unfortunately, and undoubtedly there will be quibbles with some details of the 22-page document. There always are. But FDA’s decision is important: It defends principles that support transparent food labeling and protects consumers. And those principles matter well beyond yogurt, with the FDA promising a review of a much larger issue –  the labeling of plant-based milk alternatives – by next June.

The rule offers a robust defense of standards of identity, which ensure that consumers purchase products that meet their expectations.  As FDA writes, “Any food that purports to be or is represented as yogurt, must conform to the definition standard of identity for yogurt.” So, what’s in yogurt? “Cream, milk, partially skimmed milk, skim milk, and the reconstituted versions of these ingredients may be used alone or in combination as the basic dairy ingredients in yogurt manufacture,” the rule states. And how is yogurt made? “Yogurt is produced by culturing the basic dairy ingredients and any optional dairy ingredients with a characterizing lactic acid-producing bacterial culture.”

In other words: How a food is made, and where it comes from, matters.

The rule also reaffirms the role of nutrition quality in meeting consumer expectations. Discussion of the “nutritional or functional purposes” of ingredients permeates the document, and while the rule allows some flexibility on the need to fortify with Vitamin A in lower-fat yogurts, it restates the basic, crucial role that nutritional value plays in a product’s definition, as evidenced by FDA’s emphasis on the preservation of protein content and nutritional quality in the product’s formulation.

In other words: Whether a food has the nutritional value expected of that food, matters.

So, what could a rule about yogurt mean for the decades-old debate over plant-based imposters? The FDA doesn’t address that issue directly. But it’s clear that non-dairy products that call themselves yogurt don’t fit the identity standard, and a look at nutrition labels shows nothing resembling equivalence between real dairy yogurt and plant-based pretenders.

The basic principles are clear. That makes the implications strong.

If standards of identity matter as much as FDA says it does, then the phrase “the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows” is critical – because that’s the standard of identity for milk, which FDA is pledged to enforce. And if nutritional integrity is as important to a food’s definition as the yogurt rule says it is, then beverages that are wildly deficient in protein and other nutrients compared to milk, shouldn’t call themselves “milk.”

That’s good news for consumers. But whether encouraging restatements of principles translate into action will depend on how important logic and consistency turn out to be.

If they are, all FDA has to do is 1. Follow its logic and 2. Be consistent (and of course, enforce. None of today’s proliferation of imposters would be a problem if only FDA enforced existing standards of identity and labeling regulations). With that, a path forward on fake milk becomes clear, one in which dairy-product integrity is protected and consumers aren’t led to believe that certain products may provide value that they don’t because of their labeling. Just like the National Yogurt Association – whose petition outlasted its own existence — we have a citizen’s petition too, filed in 2019. With the yogurt rule complete, our petition should be answerable in much less than 21 years.

FDA has shown its hand in a rule that will help consumers make informed decisions. Extending the logic and consistency of the new yogurt standard to labeling of products using terms like milk, cheese and butter – and then enforcing them — is long overdue.

The yogurt rule shows that reason can still win out, with standards of identity and nutritional value protected. That matters. A lot.

NMPF Celebrates Rep. Glenn Thompson’s Election as Ranking Member of House Agriculture Committee

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation today congratulated Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) on being elected by his colleagues to serve as the Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee in the 117th Congress. Rep. Thompson is the descendant of a long line of dairy farmers and been a champion of dairy producers on the House Agriculture Committee since coming to Congress in 2009.

“We have enjoyed working with Congressman Thompson and his team for years. GT has been a vocal and effective advocate for the needs of dairy farmers in Pennsylvania and throughout the country,” said Jim Mulhern, NMPF president and CEO. “He also has a keen understanding of the need to build a vibrant rural economy to sustain a safe, abundant, and affordable food supply to nourish our country and our planet.”

During his time in Congress, Rep. Thompson has played a critical role in enacting bipartisan policies that create an effective climate for dairy farmers and their cooperatives to produce safe, healthy dairy products in an environmentally sustainable manner. As Vice Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, GT worked with his colleagues to secure much-needed dairy policy reforms, culminating in the Dairy Margin Coverage program created in the 2018 Farm Bill.

Congressman Thompson served as Chairman of the Conservation and Nutrition Subcommittees during the writing of the last two farm bills. He has championed bipartisan legislation to improve the effectiveness of farm bill conservation programs and to enhance consumption of nutritious dairy products. In addition, GT has been a vocal advocate for expanding markets for all farmers, helping to push through the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement last year.

“Congressman Thompson’s bipartisan record of achievement speaks for itself, and we are eager to work with him to build on that record as he assumes his new role,” said Mulhern. “We congratulate GT on his appointment as Ranking Member and know he will continue to be a leading voice in the House for dairy and all of agriculture.”

NMPF featured Rep. Thompson on its Dairy Defined podcast earlier this year. The full interview is available here.

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.

Dairy Defined: An Open Letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Dear Dr. Hahn –

Sorry to bother you at such a busy time, but we need to talk. We’re guessing that 2020 wasn’t what you expected, dealing with COVID vaccines and a host of other pressing concerns. It’s been crazy for us too. But faith and friends can help you through, no matter how big or small the troubles may be. We hope you’ve felt supported through these challenging times.

We’ve noticed that recently, FDA has been getting more active on topics beyond COVID-19, in some cases even revisiting issues that have lain dormant from previous decades in the spirit of completing unfinished business. That made us think it was time to remind you about something you promised you’d deal with back in November, before everything turned upside down. At your FDA confirmation hearing, Senator Tammy Baldwin asked you whether and when FDA under your leadership would soon start enforcing labeling standards that reserve dairy terms for real dairy products, not the plant-based imposters that are posing an increasing problem for public health. You said you supported “clear, transparent, and understandable labeling for the American people” and that you would “very much” look into it.

How is that going? Any way we could help? We understand that FDA has kicked fake dairy deception down the road for decades, but the problem is only growing, public-health experts are growing concerned, and it isn’t a heavy lift for the FDA to do what’s not only true to its mission but also what’s legally required. In fact, we have provided an entire road map proposal that offers a clear guide to resolution – one that is well-grounded in First Amendment law, would ensure that consumers know what products are and aren’t nutritionally, and even could allow plant-based “milks” to continue dairy terms in some instances, with proper qualifiers that have long been established in FDA regulations to clearly distinguish them from dairy.

We had been very hopeful, based on your pledge, that this would be the year this problem could finally be solved. Since it’s late in 2020 – and who knows what the next few months might be like? — we thought we should check in.

We’re cheering for you to take action. FDA commissioner is never an easy job, and 2020’s been a challenge for the ages. But since fake milk has long been crucially important to dairy farmers – in places like Wisconsin, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, in Minnesota, and all across the United States – we thought this might be a good time to remind you of this promise.

We’re happy to chat further because this simple matter can be resolved soon, to the benefit of everyone. Well, maybe not marketers of dishonest products, but they’ve had their day. Say hi to everyone at FDA for us, there’s never enough bandwidth on Zoom to talk to everyone we’d like to. Good luck with the rest of the year!

With Regards,

The National Milk Producers Federation