Soy, oat and almond drinks can still be called milk, US regulators say

Soy, oat, almond and other drinks that bill themselves as milk can keep using the term, according to draft federal rules released on Wednesday.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials issued guidance that says plant-based beverages do not pretend to be from dairy animals – and that US consumers aren’t confused by the difference.

Dairy producers for years have called for the FDA to crack down on plant-based drinks and other products that they say masquerade as animal-based foods and cloud the real meaning of the term “milk”.

Under the draft rules, the agency recommends that beverage makers label their products clearly by the plant source of the food, such as soy milk or cashew milk.

The rules also call for voluntary extra nutrition labels that note if the drinks have lower levels of nutrients – such as calcium, magnesium or vitamin D – than dairy milk.

The new guidelines are aimed at providing consumers with clear nutrition information, the FDA commissioner, Robert Califf, said in a statement. The draft rules do not apply to nondairy products other than beverages, such as yogurt.

The National Milk Producers Federation, an industry trade group, applauded the call for extra nutrition information on drink labels, but said it rejected the FDA’s conclusion that plant-based drinks can be called milk because it’s a “common and usual name”.

The Good Food Institute, a group that advocates for plant-based products, objected to the extra labeling.

In recent years, the number of plant-based drinks has exploded to include dozens of varieties, including cashew-, coconut-, hemp- and quinoa-based liquid extracts of plant materials labeled – and described – as milk.

In the US, almond milk is the most popular variety, but oat milk has been seeing the fastest growth. However, sales of refrigerated cow’s milk grew to $12.3bn in the year ending 28 January, compared with $2.5bn for nondairy milk, according to consumer information company NielsenIQ.

In the past, lawmakers in dairy states have tried to pass legislation requiring the FDA to enforce a federal standard defining milk as a product from cows.