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September 16, 2024 - Washington, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, along with Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), James Risch (R-ID), and Peter Welch (D-VT), called on the Biden administration to protect America’s dairy industry and ensure that plant-based imitation products are not equated in upcoming dietary guideline changes. The bipartisan group urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to carefully consider any changes to the upcoming Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) that could add plant-based imitation products into the dairy category, despite their nutritional differences.
“We are concerned about potential efforts to add plant-based imitation products to the dairy group within the DGA,” wrote the Senators in a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Existing research has shown that plant-based alternatives are indeed not nutritionally equivalent to dairy.”
“We believe that it is important that consumers understand the nutritional value of the food and beverages that they choose to purchase and consume, and that the federal dietary guidelines they may turn to reflect evidence-based science. As you consider potential updates to the DGA pertaining to dairy, we ask that you ensure sound scientific evidence to support any statements which nutritionally equate plant-based alternatives with real dairy,” the Senators continued.
The Senators expressed concerns that adding imitation products to the dairy category equates the products nutritionally, despite imitation products often containing lower protein and added sugars. Updating the DGA by adding imitation products to the dairy category without sound evidence would only further consumer confusion about the nutritional differences between dairy and ultra-processed plant-based alternatives.
In addition to sending joining this letter, Senator Collins is an original cosponsor of the DAIRY PRIDE Act, bipartisan legislation that would combat the unfair practice of mislabeling non-dairy products using dairy names by requiring non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants, and algae to no longer be mislabeled with dairy terms such as milk, yogurt, or cheese.
The complete text of the letter can be read here.
Source: Senator Susan Collins
