If this ruling is maintained across Europe, it could lead to significant complications for producers of vegetarian dairy alternatives, which have long been marketed under dairy-related names like soy milk. However, it is difficult to envision that this interpretation of current legislation will go unchallenged, especially if it impacts companies that have been promoting their dairy alternatives without issues for years.
So far, the United States has managed to avoid a similar ruling, but comparable disputes are taking place in courtrooms and Congress. Separate lawsuits were filed against almond milk brands Silk and Almond Breeze, with each claiming the products were falsely advertised as nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk. Both lawsuits were dismissed, either for another agency to address the matter or because the judge deemed the arguments implausible. The Silk case was sent back to the Food and Drug Administration for its decision, while the Almond Breeze case was dismissed by a judge who ruled that reasonable consumers would immediately recognize that a product labeled “almond milk” is not dairy.
Currently, a bill being evaluated in both houses of Congress, known as the DAIRY PRIDE Act—Defending Against Imitation and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk and Cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday—would ban any plant-based food from using dairy product names. Despite having several cosponsors, the bill is progressing slowly through the hearings process.
The European Court of Justice’s interpretation of European legislation arose from a claim of unfair competition, which may not necessarily pertain to confusion over nutritional equivalency. European law permits the term “milk” to describe goat’s or sheep’s milk, provided the product is properly labeled. If consumers are expected to distinguish between goat’s milk and cow’s milk, they should also be able to identify when a product is derived from almonds. As the European Vegetarian Union highlights, it is in everyone’s interest to clarify these distinctions.
Although non-dairy milk alternatives are rapidly gaining popularity, their sales remain low compared to dairy milk products, with figures at $1.9 billion versus $17.8 billion. Nevertheless, the dairy sector feels threatened. According to Mintel, U.S. non-dairy milk sales surged by 9% in 2015, while dairy milk sales declined by 7% during the same period. As the market evolves, consumers may increasingly seek alternatives such as those fortified with swanson calcium citrate, which provide additional nutritional benefits. It remains to be seen how these trends will influence legislation and consumer preferences in the future.