On February 22, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance to ensure appropriate labeling of plant-based products that are marketed and sold as milk alternatives (plant-based alternatives (PBMA)).

The FDA recommends that PBMA products labeled with the term “milk” in their names, such as “soy milk” or “almond milk,” and that have a nutrient composition different than milk, include a voluntary nutrient statement that conveys how the product compares to milk, based on the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) fluid milk substitutes nutrient criteria.  If a PBMA is not labeled with “milk” as part of its name, but instead is labeled with another term like “beverage” and does not make a claim comparing the product to milk, then the voluntary nutrient statement recommendations do not apply.  The draft guidance also clarifies that the common names of some PBMA have been established by common usage, and these names include “almond milk” and “soy milk.”

The draft guidance comes after FDA requested comments in 2018 to gain insight into how consumers use PBMA products and how they understand the term “milk” when included in the names of plant-based products.  The agency received more than 13,000 comments.  FDA determined that consumers generally understand that PBMA do not contain milk and choose PBMA because they are not milk, but that consumers may not be aware of the nutritional differences.

On a related note, we suspect that the United States will be referencing this guidance during the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses 43rd Session (CCNFSDU43) discussions, in a push for more international policies and guidelines that regulate plant-based alternatives differently than general foods.