YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Non-dairy products should not be labeled 'milk'

By Gary Joiner
Publisher

It used to be one of the biggest misconceptions about milk was that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

Unfortunately, there is even more confusion about milk labels.

One in four Americans, 83 million people, are confused or have been misled about whether dairy alternatives contain milk. That’s according to a survey used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Non-dairy beverages are sold in the milk case alongside traditional milk, very often with labeling that implies they are dairy products.

America’s families deserve to know what they’re buying when shopping in the dairy aisle.

The FDA needs to enforce food labeling standards for dairy substitute products and enforce existing prohibitions on the misleading labeling of nut- and other plant-based beverage products as “milk.”

It is time non-dairy products are labeled accurately. Several markets outside of the U.S. already do so, including Canada, which labels “almond milk” as “almond beverage,” for instance.

Applying the same standards in the United States should not be a heavy or unreasonable burden on companies.

Truth in labeling is required for other foods. Consumers deserve the truth about labels for milk.

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

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