The FDA suggests nutrient statements for substitutes for milk.
In draft guidelines released on February 22, the US Food and Drug Administration suggested voluntary nutrient disclosures for plant-based milk substitutes. Based on the fluid milk substitutes’ nutrient standards from the US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, the statement should explain how the substitute compares to milk.
If a plant-based milk substitute is not labelled with the word “milk” in its name but rather with a term like “beverage” or “drink,” or if the alternative has no claims made that compare it to milk, the voluntary nutrient statement does not apply.
The following nutrients should be disclosed, according to FDA recommendations: calcium, protein, riboflavin, vitamin B12, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and vitamin A and D. These nutrients can be found in dairy products, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
For sixty days following the draft guidance’s release in the Federal Register, the FDA will take comments on it. You can send electronic comments to www.regulations.gov. Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852 is the address where written comments can be sent. Please use the docket number FDA-2023-D-0451 to identify them.
The FDA is seeking feedback on this matter and notes that space restrictions on the labelling of some plant-based milk substitutes may prevent the identification of several nutrients.
Joseph Scimeca, PhD, senior vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs for the Washington-based International Dairy Foods Association, stated, “IDFA will seek to ensure this draft guidance clears up any longstanding confusion about the nutritional quality of plant-based beverage as we continue to review today’s draft guidance to industry and begin to consider formal comments within the 60-day comment period.” “The FDA has a duty to implement this policy correctly. IDFA will carefully examine and challenge the FDA’s intended implementation of this draft guidance to guarantee that the data businesses give to customers is accurate andnot misleading and enables consumers to compare the nutritional value of plant-based alternatives to their traditional cow’s milk counterparts.”
Madeline Cohen, senior regulatory counsel for the Good Food Institute in Washington, noted that unfortified skim milk and 2% reduced-fat chocolate milk are exempt from FDA regulations requiring front-of-pack labels indicating their nutritional differences from whole cow’s milk.
“Common sense labels that use terms consumers understand and themselves use are supported by GFI,” the spokesperson stated. The job of the government is to make sure that everything is fair. The FDA shouldn’t give cow’s milk the benefit of the doubt and impose de facto labelling rules on plant-based milks.Draft guidance represents the FDA’s position on the laws and regulations it enforces, even if it lacks legal power, according to Ms. Cohen.
“In addition, the proposed guidelines that delineate a labelling framework offer a means for naïve class-action lawsuits to contest any product label that fails to adhere to the scheme,” the spokesperson stated. “Companies are unlikely to risk non-compliance with the FDA’s draft guidance given these realities.”
“We commend the FDA’s acknowledgement that consumers are affirmatively choosing plant-based milks because of their many benefits for human and planetary health,” said Rachel Dreskin, CEO of the Plant Based Foods Association in San Francisco. However, we find that this proposal contains a lot of recommendations that unfairly burden businesses and, to be honest, treat plant-based goods differently than any other foods available on the market.
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Plant resources like tree nuts, legumes, seeds, or grains are extracted liquidly to create plant-based milk substitutes. While the FDA has set compositional requirements and identity standards for milk, it has not done the same for plant-based milk substitutes.
The Federal Register, published on September 28, 2018, contained a request for comments from the FDA on the labelling of plant-based substitutes that have names that contain dairy products. After reviewing over 13,000 comments, the organisation concluded that most customers are aware that plant-based milk substitutes aren’t made of milk and that they were chosen for that reason alone.
It’s possible, though, that many customers are unaware of the nutritional distinctions between milk and milk substitutes. Alternatives based on almonds or oats may also contain some calcium and can be eaten as a calcium source.but their overall nutritional content is not similar to milk and fortified soy beverages, according to the FDA.
For three reasons, various plant-based dairy substitutes such as plant-based cheese, yogurt, or kefir were not covered in the proposed guidelines. One was that plant-based milk substitutes accounted for the majority of the feedback and consumer research that was sent in response to the 2018 request. An additional factor was the fact that the market for plant-based milk substitutes is larger than that of other plant-based dairy substitutes. The third argument was that consumers would not be aware of the nutritional differences between plant-based milk substitutes and milk, which could pose a risk to public health if plant-based milk alternatives are used in place of milk.