The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will reopen the comment period for the draft guidance entitled “Labeling of Plant-Based Milk Alternatives and Voluntary Nutrient Statements; Draft Guidance for Industry” that appeared in the Federal Register on Feb. 23. The new deadline for comments will be determined when the reopening notice publishes.
FDA is reopening the comment period in response to requests from stakeholders to allow additional time for interested persons to develop and submit comments. Comments should be submitted to Regulations.gov and identified with the docket number FDA-2023-D-0451.
In February, FDA issued for comment draft guidance to help ensure appropriate labeling of plant-based products that are marketed and sold as alternatives to milk (plant-based milk alternatives, or PBMA). This draft guidance will provide industry with recommendations that will result in clear labeling to empower consumers with information to help them make more informed purchasing decisions, says FDA. It also clarifies that the common or usual names of some PBMA have been established by common usage, and these names include “soy milk” and “almond milk.”
The FDA recommends that PBMA products that are labeled with the term “milk” in their names, such as “soy milk” or “almond milk,” and that have a nutrient composition that is different than milk, include a voluntary nutrient statement that conveys how the product compares with milk based on USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) fluid milk substitutes nutrient criteria. These statements will help consumers make informed dietary choices when it comes to understanding certain nutritional differences between plant-based products that are labeled with “milk” in their names and milk, says FDA.
If a PBMA is not labeled with “milk” as part of its name, but instead is labeled with another term like “beverage” or “drink” and does not make a claim comparing the product to milk, then the voluntary nutrient statement recommendations in the draft guidance do not apply.