WASHINGTON, D.C. — While federal lawmakers have proposed legislation intended

to limit the labeling of milk products to strictly those that come from animals, a series of court cases within the past year also aim to stop companies from comparing plant-based drink products to dairy milk.

 

In one class-action lawsuit settled in January by Blue Diamond Growers regarding

its Almond Breeze product as well as its Nut Thins item, the company without admitting fault or wrongdoing agreed to pay $9 million to consumers who purchased the products between May 28, 2009-Nov. 18, 2016.

 

The initial California plaintiff in the case claimed that Blue Diamond advertised

the products as “all natural” and “natural” when both contain synthetic material,

including added nutrients.

 

Another pending California lawsuit filed in late January and granted class-action

status claims the company continues to market its Almond Breeze as “nutritionally

equivalent” to dairy milk. That case is pending in U.S. District Court for the Central

District of California and was filed by Long Beach resident Cynthia Cardarelli Painter.

The issue of what can be labeled as “milk” has been a contentious one for several

years, just as the makers of plant-based beverages designed as alternatives to dairy

products have seen their product sales increase while consumption of dairy milk has

declined significantly in the past three decades.

 

Dairy industry officials are adamant that companies making non-dairy products should not be allowed to label their products as “milk,” or soy milk, or almond milk, said Monica Nyman, nutrition educator for the St. Louis District

Dairy Council.

 

“Technically, (plant-based products) are not the same as cow’s milk,” she said.

“They don’t have the same nutrient package found in cow’s milk.”

 

A key point the dairy industry regularly makes is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines milk as a “lacteal secretion” from hoofed animals.

Nyman said the industry recognizes the benefits of plant-based products, particularly for people who cannot tolerate lactose or don’t prefer the flavor or texture of dairy milk.

 

But to suggest that consumers are “confused” over how soy milk differs from dairy

milk is unfair, said Michele Simon, executive director of the Plant Based Food Assoc.

She told Farm World earlier this year that consumers of plant-based beverages are

keen label readers and know the products are not from animals.

 

She said her industry is hopeful of a reasonable solution to the label dispute,

that appeases everyone. In the meantime, a total of 27 U.S. House members submitted a letter to the FDA in January asking the agency to take action against producers of plant-based beverages that attempt to equate their products to dairy milk.

 

That letter came on the heels of legislation sponsored in both chambers in January

that calls on the FDA to take action and restrict the labeling of “misbranded dairy

alternatives.”

 

The House measure (H.R. 778) has been assigned to the body’s Subcommittee on

Health; the Senate version (S. 130) now sits with its Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Both measures are awaiting a hearing.