What This Bill Does
This bill prevents companies from selling plant-based products using dairy product names like "milk," "yogurt," or "cheese" unless those products actually come from milk produced by hooved animals. The bill requires the Food and Drug Administration to enforce rules against mislabeling these products.
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Who It Affects
Companies that make and sell plant-based beverages and food products using dairy product names will be directly affected. Food retailers selling these products will also be impacted. The Food and Drug Administration will have new enforcement responsibilities.
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Key Provisions
- No food product can be sold using a dairy product name unless it comes from, contains as its main ingredient, or is made from the milk secretion of hooved animals (Sec. 4(a))
- Products must meet the definition of dairy products found in federal food regulations, including those described in parts 131 and 133 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Sec. 4(a))
- The Secretary of Health and Human Services must issue draft guidance within 90 days and final guidance within 180 days on how to enforce these new rules (Sec. 4(b))
- Any previous guidance from the Food and Drug Administration that conflicts with this new rule loses its power immediately upon this bill becoming law (Sec. 4(b))
- Within 2 years of this bill becoming law, the Food and Drug Administration must report to Congress on all enforcement actions taken, warnings issued, and penalties assessed under this new rule (Sec. 4(c))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, plant-based products made from almonds, rice, oats, coconut, hemp, nuts, and other non-dairy sources cannot use the words "milk," "yogurt," "cheese," or other dairy product names on their packaging or marketing. Companies selling these products in ways that violate this rule could face FDA warnings and penalties. The FDA's enforcement approach will shift to focus on stopping mislabeled plant-based products from entering the marketplace.
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Important Definitions
The bill defines a dairy product as food that is, contains as its main ingredient, or is derived from "the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more hooved mammals." (Lacteal secretion means milk produced by an animal; colostrum means the first milk produced after birth.)
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text for most provisions. However, the rules that cancel out previous conflicting FDA guidance take effect on the date this bill becomes law (Sec. 4(b)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1462
To require enforcement against misbranded milk alternatives.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 2023
Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania (for himself, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr.
COURTNEY, Mr. VAN ORDEN, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. KILDEE, Mr.
NEWHOUSE, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. STEIL, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr.
GROTHMAN, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mr. VALADAO, Mr.
THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. LANGWORTHY, Mr. RYAN, and Mrs.
FISCHBACH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To require enforcement against misbranded milk alternatives.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defending Against
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Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese
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To Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act’’ or
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the ‘‘DAIRY PRIDE Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds as follows:
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(1) Dairy products are an important part of a
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healthy diet for both children and adults, according
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to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025
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(referred to in this section as the ‘‘Dietary Guide-
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lines’’) published by the Department of Agriculture
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and the Department of Health and Human Services.
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The Dietary Guidelines state that most Americans
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are not meeting recommended intake for the dairy
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food group.
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(2) Consumption of dairy foods provides numer-
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ous health benefits, including lowering the risk of di-
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abetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease,
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and obesity.
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(3) The Dietary Guidelines state that dairy
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foods are sources of critical nutrients for human
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health, including vitamin D, calcium, and potassium,
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all of which are under consumed by people of the
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United States. Even though average consumption
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falls short of amounts recommended by the Food
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Patterns of the Department of Agriculture, on aver-
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age across the calorie levels dairy foods still con-
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tribute about 68 percent of calcium, 76 percent of
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vitamin D, and 31 percent of magnesium.
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(4) Beginning at age 9 and persisting through-
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out every subsequent life-stage, individuals in the
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•HR 1462 IH
United States on average fail to meet the rec-
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ommended amount of dairy intake for their age
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group, according to the Dietary Guidelines. The Die-
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tary Guidelines note the gap between recommended
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and current intake of dairy widens throughout life
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stages and find the age-related decreasing intake of
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dairy for youth ages 2 through 18 to be ‘‘notable
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and concerning’’. Overall, approximately 90 percent
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of the entire population of the United States does
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not meet the daily dairy intake recommendation.
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(5) The Dietary Guidelines state that the nutri-
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ent composition of dairy foods highlights the impor-
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tance of adequate consumption, finding this to be es-
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pecially relevant for the intake of calcium and vita-
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min D throughout an individual’s life. The Dietary
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Guidelines note that calcium and vitamin D are im-
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portant at any age, that adolescents have an in-
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creased need for these nutrients to support accrual
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of bone mass, and that adults should give particular
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attention to consuming adequate amounts of foods
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with these nutrients to promote optimal bone health
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and prevent the onset of osteoporosis. Yet, close to
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30 percent of men and 60 percent of women older
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than age 19 do not consume enough calcium, and
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more than 90 percent do not consume enough vita-
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•HR 1462 IH
min D. According to the Dietary Guidelines, dietary
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patterns that do not meet recommended consump-
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tion amounts for food groups and subgroups which
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include sources of calcium and vitamin D, such as
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dairy foods, contribute to low intake of these nutri-
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ents.
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(6) The Dietary Guidelines state that many
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products sold as ‘‘milks’’ but made from plants (e.g.,
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almond, rice, coconut, oat, and hemp ‘‘milks’’) do
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not have an overall nutritional content similar to
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real milk and that most have significantly less pro-
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tein than real milk and are not always fortified with
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calcium and vitamin D. The amount of calcium per
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calorie is lower for most plant-based alternative milk
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products. To obtain the amount of calcium contained
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in one cup of nonfat fluid milk from a plant-based
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milk alternative, the portion size and calorie intake
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must be greater.
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(7) Similarly, imitation dairy products, such as
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plant-based products derived from rice, nuts, hemp,
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coconut, algae, and other foods that imitate milk,
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yogurt, and cheese, often do not provide the same
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nutrition content as real cheese and yogurt derived
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from dairy cows.
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(8) Plant-based products labeled as milk are
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misleading to consumers.
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(9) The Food and Drug Administration has
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regulations that define milk and cream as the ‘‘lac-
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teal secretion, practically free from colostrum, ob-
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tained by the complete milking of one or more
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healthy cows’’ (section 131.110 of title 21, Code of
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Federal Regulations). This definition further applies
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to milk used to create other dairy products, includ-
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ing yogurt and cheese, as specified in sections 131
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and 133 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations.
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(10) Given the proliferation of plant-based
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products in the marketplace that are mislabeled as
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milk despite the standard of identity defined for this
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substance, enforcement by the Food and Drug Ad-
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ministration against these practices should be im-
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proved to avoid misleading consumers.
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SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
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No food may be introduced or delivered for introduc-
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tion into interstate commerce using a market name for
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a dairy product if the food does not meet the criterion
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set forth for dairy products under paragraph (z)(2) of sec-
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tion 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
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(21 U.S.C. 343) (as added by section 4(a)).
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SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT OF DEFINITION.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Federal Food,
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Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by
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adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(z)(1) If it uses a market name for a dairy product
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described in subparagraph (3) and the food does not meet
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the criterion for being a dairy product, as described in
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subparagraph (2).
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‘‘(2) For purposes of this paragraph, a food is a dairy
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product only if the food is, contains as a primary ingre-
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dient, or is derived from, the lacteal secretion, practically
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free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of
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one or more hooved mammals.
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‘‘(3) A market name for a dairy product described
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in this subparagraph means the dairy product terms de-
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scribed in parts 131 and 133 of subchapter B of chapter
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I of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, and sections
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135.110, 135.115, and 135.140 of title 21, Code of Fed-
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eral Regulations (or any successor regulations), or any
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other term for which the Secretary has promulgated a
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standard of identity with respect to a food that is formu-
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lated with a dairy product (as described in subparagraph
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(2)) as the primary ingredient.’’.
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(b) GUIDANCE.—
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(1) NEW GUIDANCE.—The Secretary of Health
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and Human Services, acting through the Commis-
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sioner of Food and Drugs, shall—
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(A) not later than 90 days after the date
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of enactment of this Act, issue draft guidance
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on how enforcement of the amendment made by
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subsection (a) will be carried out; and
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(B) not later than 180 days after the date
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of enactment of this Act, issue final guidance
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on such enforcement.
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(2) EFFECT
ON
CERTAIN
PREVIOUS
GUID-
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ANCE.—Effective on the date of enactment of this
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Act, any guidance issued by the Secretary of Health
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and Human Services, acting through the Commis-
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sioner of Food and Drugs, that is not consistent
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with paragraph (z) of section 403 of the Federal
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Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343), as
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added by subsection (a), shall have no force or ef-
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fect.
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(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years
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after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
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Health and Human Services, acting through the Commis-
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sioner of Food and Drugs, shall report to Congress on en-
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forcement actions taken under paragraph (z) of section
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403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
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•HR 1462 IH
U.S.C. 343), as amended by this Act, including warnings
1
issued pursuant to such paragraph and penalties assessed
2
under section 303 of such Act (21 U.S.C. 333) with re-
3
spect to such paragraph. If food that is misbranded under
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section 403(z) is offered for sale in interstate commerce
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at the time of such report, the Commissioner of Food and
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Drugs shall include in such report an updated plan for
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enforcement with respect to such food.
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Æ
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