Baldwin bill bans ‘non-dairy’ milk labels

Posted at 12:20 p.m. on March 14, 2019

The Brillion News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation proposed by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, that would prohibit mislabeling of non-dairy foods was reintroduced in Congress on Thursday, March 14.

The Dairy Pride Act would make it illegal to market products using dairy terms unless those products are derived from milk that comes from a hooved animal.

The bill, which was first introduced in 2017 but failed to advance, comes amid a proliferation of plant-based food products marketed as milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy foods. The mislabeling of these imitation foods misleads customers about nutritional value, the bill states.

“Misperceptions about non-dairy foods are real. The imitations confuse customers who rely on names and product packaging to make judgments about a food,” said Broday Stapel, president of the Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative of Green Bay.