On April 28, 2021

Welch and Simpson introduce bipartisan, bicameral bill to stop the labeling of non-dairy products as ‘milk’ 

U.S. congressmen Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), and senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) re-introduced bipartisan legislation that requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take enforcement action against manufacturers labeling non-dairy products as dairy on April 22.

The Dairy Pride Act would stop the use of dairy terms such as milk, yogurt and cheese on the labels of non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants, and algae. The legislation does not prevent the sale of non-dairy products, only their mislabeling as dairy products.

“Dairy farmers, already struggling to survive, are facing a growing threat due to the misleading practice of marketing plant-based products as milk and dairy products,” said Welch. “These products do not meet the FDA’s definition of a dairy product because they do not have the unique attributes and nutritional values provided by dairy. Our bill would require the FDA to enforce its existing definition of milk and dairy products so that consumers can make more informed choices.”

“For decades dairy farmers have called on FDA to simply enforce the law and follow its own standards designed to protect product integrity, marketplace transparency and the ability of consumers to make informed choices about what they feed themselves and their families,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. “The medical community is increasingly concerned about mislabeled dairy imitators that harm public health, while consumers demand honesty in labeling.”

The Dairy Pride Act would require the FDA to issue guidance on its enforcement of its regulations on mislabeled dairy products within 90 days and require the agency to report to Congress on its implementation of the law two years after its enactment. The bill has 33 cosponsors in the House.

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

Not so “Easy”

March 26, 2025
Not sure they still sell those “EASY” buttons, but we sure could have used one in the House Appropriations Committee last Friday. In an extraordinary long day, the committee finished a draft on its version of the state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The $9 billion spending plan of state and federal…

A look at key bills advancing in the legislature

March 26, 2025
Both chambers in the Vermont Legislature are working their way through the large number of bills that made the cross-over deadline. Cross-over is a deadline we set each year, roughly marking the halfway point of our legislative session. It forces us to finish our work on the bills in our House and Senate committees, which…

The long arm of DOGE reaches into Vermont

March 26, 2025
By Sarah Lyons, Public Assets More than 3,000 Vermonters are caught in the on-again, off-again firings and layoffs of federal employees by the Trump administration and the Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It is challenging to keep track of who has a job and who doesn’t, or even of which departments still exist.  During the…

Vermont DEC seeks public lake ice observations

March 26, 2025
As Vermonters patiently wait for spring temperatures, the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) invites the public to report when Vermont’s lakes and ponds lose their ice cover. Also known as the “ice-out date,” this date marks when lakes or ponds become ice-free from shore to shore. Tracking ice-out dates helps DEC scientists decide when to begin…