FDA to take ‘fresh look’ at dairy mislabeling

U.S. Food & Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said his agency is taking a “fresh look” at how to address the mislabeling of imitation dairy products, with misbranded plant products using terms such as “milk,” “yogurt,” “cheese” and “ice cream.” Gottlieb recently said FDA announced a request seeking additional information on the agency’s overall approach. In response to questions from Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.) during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday, Gottlieb confirmed that FDA statutes state that “milk is defined as coming from a lactating animal.” He added that he could agree with Baldwin that the term is being used on products "derived from things that are not from a lactating animal.” However, because FDA has not stepped in to prevent the mislabeling, there is now a lot of commercial activity occurring. Baldwin argued that this could be addressed right away if FDA issued guidance to the industry and declared its intent to enforce existing regulations.Gottlieb said the agency has decided that it would be more prudent to develop a careful administrative record since FDA has exercised enforcement discretion up to this point. “For us to reverse our current posture might take more than just issuing guidance,” Gottlieb said, adding that the intent of the recent request for additional insight from stakeholders is to inform a substantial administrative record that could sustain a review.