The Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) has told the US Food & Drug Administration that forced relabelling of plant-based drinks and food products – to omit dairy and animal based terminology – would be “unnecessary, costly, and unconstitutional”.
The trade group’s comment are contained in its submission to a formal consultation on the subject, which the FDA launched after announcing plans to re-examine its approach to food ‘identity’ labelling as part of its wider Nutrition Innovation Strategy (NIS).
The FDA has concerns that the labeling of some plant-based products – which can vary widely in their nutritional content – is leading consumers to believe that those products have the same key nutritional attributes as dairy products. The Agency says it “wants to make sure that the names of dairy foods is not misleading to consumers”.
“…marketplace disruption being pushed by the dairy lobby would hinder innovation, create untenable costs for our members, and ultimately be found unconstitutional”
But the PBFA says that “preliminary analysis” of the comments posted so far by FDA shows that most people – “at least 74% – are in support of using the term ‘milk’ on the label of plant-based milks.
“We maintain that this entire exercise is a solution in search of a problem,” said Michele Simon, executive director of PBFA. “At a time when resources are scarce, our federal government should not be concerned with how ‘almond milk’ is labelled. Aren’t there higher priorities, such as a safety of our food supply, for FDA to worry about?
“Moreover, the marketplace disruption being pushed by the dairy lobby would hinder innovation, create untenable costs for our members, and ultimately be found unconstitutional, making the entire effort a waste of everybody’s time and resources. We encourage the FDA to abide by free market principles and not restrict labelling to unfairly favour the dairy industry,” she added.
Photo: Plant Based Food Association promotion.PBFA.