{"id":5252,"date":"2023-03-09T09:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/?p=5252"},"modified":"2023-03-09T09:00:43","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:00:43","slug":"got-plant-based-milk-new-fda-guidance-for-plant-based-milk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/?p=5252","title":{"rendered":"Got (Plant-Based) Milk? New FDA Guidance for Plant-Based Milk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natalie Jakubowski<\/em><\/p>\n

Associate Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

Loyola Chicago School of Law 2024<\/em><\/p>\n

Plant-based milks have been on the rise congruently with the movement towards living a plant-based diet and lifestyle. The FDA calls these products Plant-Based Milk Alternatives<\/a> (PBMA). There are many different PBMA\u2019s on the market, because there are a wide array of sources<\/a> that can be used to produce PBMA\u2019s and methods for processing. Some of the most popular examples of PBMA\u2019s include oat milk, almond milk, and soy milk, but there are many PBMA\u2019s made from other nuts, seeds, and alternative sources. PBMA\u2019s are currently in the news because the FDA has just released draft labeling guidance<\/a> (guidance) and recommendations for nutrition fact labeling. This draft guidance applies to any PBMA that uses \u201cmilk\u201d in its name<\/a>. The FDA\u2019s draft labeling guidance will likely help educate more consumers on PBMA\u2019s and their nutrition facts, hopefully leading to generally more informed consumers and labeling transparency.<\/p>\n

How are PBMA\u2019s categorized?<\/strong><\/p>\n

PBMA\u2019s and milk are comprised of different ingredients, although the milk and PBMA products are commonly used in similar ways. These PBMA\u2019s are made by extracting liquid<\/a> from the source product to make a consumable drink similar to milk. PBMA\u2019s typically label themselves as \u201cmilk\u201d although they are an alternative. Due to this labeling, many dairy companies have complained<\/a> that these alternatives that use milk on their labels are misleading. Opponents of alternative milk have led movements to pass legislation<\/a> that would define milk solely as cow\u2019s milk, excluding plant-based alternatives. However, guidance from the FDA disputes this and permits PBMA\u2019s to be labeled as milk. Courts<\/a> have ruled that plant-based milk alternatives labeled as \u201cmilk\u201d are not misleading to consumers. The FDA also has a list of requirements for a label to be \u201cmisbranding<\/a>\u201d. I agree with the FDA that it is clear the PBMA\u2019s are not trying to \u201cmasquerade\u201d as milk. For example, a quick glance at some of these PBMA\u2019s reveals that their packaging often includes photos of the alternative source (such as a nut or an oat) or have the alternative source written boldly on the label.<\/p>\n

PBMA\u2019s vary in taste, and many people have a specific PBMA preference out of the variety of options. Further, PBMA\u2019s vary in nutrient composition<\/a>, and the only PBMA that is close enough in composition to real milk is soy milk. Although there is the notion that PBMA\u2019s are healthier, some products do not provide the same amount of nutrients<\/a> that milk does. For example, PBMA\u2019s are typically deficient<\/a> in protein, vitamin, calcium, and potassium as compared to milk. Consequently, PBMA\u2019s can also be high in saturated fats and added sugars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With this new guidance, the FDA hopes to provide clarification<\/a> to consumers when they are reading the labels of PBMA\u2019s. This new guidance will be helpful in choosing from the wide variety of options that are available and making an informed decision<\/a>, as well as being educated on what to look out for on nutrition labels. Consumers can be more informed on how their milk alternative of choice compares to the nutritional benefits of traditional milk.<\/p>\n

Critiques of the new guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n

While this draft guidance pushing for more nutrition transparency has many benefits, especially for consumers, some organizations and producers have critiques. The Good Food Institute<\/a> believes that the guidance for nutrition labeling is arbitrary since the nutritional facts are already stated on the label. Interestingly, others point out that the new FDA guidance does not apply to alternatives<\/a> that do not label themselves as \u201cmilk\u201d. Thus, it is unclear whether producers will choose to label their PBMA\u2019s as something different than \u201cmilk\u201d instead of having to comply with the proposed guidelines.<\/p>\n

Another concern of the draft guidance is regarding space constraints on labels<\/a>. The FDA is proposing that PBMA\u2019s that label themselves as \u201cmilk\u201d must list additional nutritional facts so that consumers can see how the product compares to that of cow milk. However, producers are concerned with how much space such additional nutritional facts may take up which could increase packaging and labeling costs.<\/p>\n

Expanding guidance for plant-based alternatives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently the draft guidance only applies<\/a> to plant-based milk alternatives. However, there are many emerging plant-based dairy products now on the market that aren\u2019t just milk, like dairy-free yogurt or vegan butter. The FDA states that they are beginning to draft guidance<\/a> for these products as well.<\/p>\n

As someone who is vegetarian and most of the time chooses plant-based alternatives to dairy products like milk, yogurt, and butter, I think that drafting this guidance is helpful for consumers. Further, I think that it will inform more consumers of what alternative products are out there and providing more information to becoming more health-conscious and environmentally conscious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plant-based milks have been on the rise congruently with the movement towards living a plant-based diet and lifestyle. The FDA calls these products Plant-Based Milk Alternatives (PBMA). There are many different PBMA\u2019s on the market, because there are a wide array of sources that can be used to produce PBMA\u2019s and methods for processing. Some of the most popular examples of PBMA\u2019s include oat milk, almond milk, and soy milk, but there are many PBMA\u2019s made from other nuts, seeds, and alternative sources. PBMA\u2019s are currently in the news because the FDA has just released draft labeling guidance (guidance) and recommendations for nutrition fact labeling. This draft guidance applies to any PBMA that uses \u201cmilk\u201d in its name. The FDA\u2019s draft labeling guidance will likely help educate more consumers on PBMA\u2019s and their nutrition facts, hopefully leading to generally more informed consumers and labeling transparency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[810,1690],"class_list":["post-5252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fda","tag-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}