Dairy Pride Act reintroduced
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| Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed guidance last week allowing nut, oat, soy, and other non-dairy products to use the name “milk,” Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Peter Welch, D-Vt., today reintroduced The Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, milk, and cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act (DAIRY PRIDE Act) of 2023. The bill would require non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants and algae to no longer be labeled with dairy terms such as milk, yogurt or cheese. In a joint news release, the lawmakers noted that current Food and Drug Administration regulations define dairy products as being from dairy animals, but that last week the FDA “released ill-advised draft guidance allowing plant-based products to continue to use dairy terms despite not containing dairy, nor having the nutritional value of dairy products.” |
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| The National Milk Producers Federation, which represents dairy farmers, commended the lawmakers for reintroducing the bill. “DAIRY PRIDE is needed more than ever, now that FDA has offered guidance on the labeling of plant-based beverages that, while taking steps in the right direction, ultimately doesn’t remedy the problem it seeks to solve, which is the proven confusion among consumers created when plant-based beverages steal dairy terms to make their products appear healthier than they really are,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. |
