Study claims majority of consumers approve non-dairy items labeled as diary

A study commissioned by the Plant-Based Foods Association says 76 percent of survey respondents are in favor of allowing dairy terms on plant-based items, while those self-described as consumers were 97 percent in favor. The Food and Drug Administration accepted comments on the issue of labeling non-dairy imitators as dairy items recently. National Milk Producers Federation spokesperson Chris Galen says, however, that the survey shows “that the vegan community was confused about the question being asked by FDA.” Galen says the purpose of the FDA comment period was to assess whether all consumers, “not just those sending back postcards,” understand the nutritional inferiority of the plant-based alternatives, per comments made by former FDA commissioner Scott Gotlieb. Galen called the comment period “a qualitative review of evidence that there is a lack of understanding that not all products labeled as ‘milk’ have the same nutrition.” The National Milk Producers Federation is confident the data it and other organizations provided will help provide the rationale for the FDA to enforce its standards against labeling plant-based alternatives as dairy products.