A new proposal issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is suggesting that beverage producers responsible for making plant-based milk alternatives should be allowed to use the term "milk" to describe their products despite having no actual dairy content.
On Wednesday, the FDA announced it is sharing its "current view on the naming of plant-based milk" and will welcome feedback from the public as the government agency attempts to finalize its guidelines on the topic.
In a 29-page draft guidance, the FDA outlined that it’s considering the potential terminology allowance because most consumers understand the differences between plant- and animal-produced milk due to the non-dairy market’s growth. That growth has led to the colloquial use of the word "milk" when referencing the byproduct that’s made when water is combined with a tree nut, legume, seed or grain.
"The variety of plant-based milk alternatives available in the marketplace has also greatly expanded from soy, rice and almond to include cashew, coconut, flaxseed, hazelnut, hemp seed, macadamia nut, oat, pea, peanut, pecan, quinoa and walnut-based," the FDA wrote in its draft guidance.
