![]() "The comments and information we reviewed indicate that consumers understand plant-based milk alternatives to be different products than milk. "Although many plant-based milk alternatives are labeled with names that bear the term "milk" (e.g., "soy milk"), they do not purport to be nor are they represented as milk," the FDA concluded. ![]() But, the regulator argued, essentially, that plant-based milks aren't sold as just "milk," they're sold as distinct plant-based milks-and there's no confusion about it. "hey are made from plant materials rather than the lacteal secretion of cows," the FDA clarified. In the guidance, the FDA acknowledged that, by its own definition of milk, plant-based milk can't be called milk. In an about-face, the FDA on Wednesday released the long-awaited draft guidance with a spit-take pronouncement: Plant-based milk alternatives can keep using the term "milk." The agency did, however, recommend-though not require-that makers of non-milked milks note on their packaging if their product has differing nutrient contents than cow's milk. That is, much like blood from a stone, milk from a nut would be an unattainable secretion-or so it seemed. But, based on Gottlieb's adherence to the bovine-based definition, the outcome seemed like a foregone conclusion. Instead, the agency would have to pore over the topic, hold focus groups, and work up new guidance. Gottlieb conceded at the time that he couldn't swiftly or unilaterally wipe "milk" from almond- and soy-juice cartons nationwide. To be precise, the FDA appetizingly defined milk back in 1973 as "the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows." Colostrum, in case you were wondering, is a milky fluid produced immediately after birth before full milk production kicks in. "And, you know, an almond doesn’t lactate, I will confess." "If you look at our standard of identity, there is a reference somewhere in the standard of identity to a lactating animal," Gottlieb said. In a particularly clarifying statement, then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb noted that the FDA, in fact, has a definition for the "standard of identity" of milk-and it appears to exclude liquids squeezed from plants. With the issue simmering in 2018, the FDA stepped in to extract some truths and skim the fat. (And the trend went on in 2020, sales hit $2.4 billion.) But by 2016, it was up to a third of households, with the defrauding dairy products slurping up $1.5 billion in annual sales. The recalled vanilla Almond Breeze milk shows a use-by date of Sept.Further Reading “An almond doesn’t lactate”-FDA to crack down on use of the word “milk”At the time, the dairy industry was curdling as it watched the cold aisles of grocery stores fill with plant-based imposters-soy "milk" and almond "milk," rice and coconut "milks." In 2010, a fifth of US households were buying such non-moo juices. Allegedly, the error occurred not because of a problem in the plant’s design but because of an employee error. The company did stress that in general, the almond milk produced by the company is uncontaminated, because the two types of milk are produced on different machinery, keeping them free from contaminants and allergens. The company has stated that the contamination occurred because both almond and cows’ milk are processed at the same factory. In fact, some consumers with allergies to cows’ milk may have a serious or life-threatening reaction to drinking the contaminated almond milk. Though the milk should still be safe for most consumers, consumers who purchase almond milk because they have allergies or sensitivities to cow’s milk should be aware that they may react badly to tainted vanilla almond milk. Almost 150,000 half-gallon containers of vanilla Almond Breeze almond milk are being recalled over the issue. HP Hood announced that the company had decided to recall all of the potentially contaminated milk. Allegedly, the affected milk was sent to 28 states, and each container of the affected milk has a use-by date of Sept. 2, HP Hood LLC, the company that manufactures vanilla Almond Breeze almond milk, announced that some of their vanilla-flavored almond milk was contaminated with cow’s milk due to an employee error.
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