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Fact check: Nutritional value of cow's milk and plant-based beverages

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June 30, 2017
By Amée LaTour

In a commentary in The Hill, Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not enforcing the federal law that only allows a product to be called “milk” if it comes from an animal. Referring to plant-based products such as beverages made of soy and almonds, Mulhern claimed, “None of these fake milks match the natural, consistent and high levels of nutrients, vitamins and minerals contained in the real thing.”[1]

Is Mulhern correct?

Without fortification, an 8-ounce serving of cow’s milk—whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free—contains more of the following nutrients than most plant-based products: protein, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, riboflavin (B2), and B12. Whole cow’s milk also contains greater amounts of vitamin A than the other products.[2][3][4][5]

Some unfortified soy products contain comparable levels of protein and potassium to unfortified cow’s milk, and higher amounts of iron, fiber, magnesium, folate, niacin, thiamin, vitamin K, and vitamin B6.[6]

Unfortified almond and rice products do not contain high levels of nutrients. See the table below for specific information on these products.[7][8]

Most of the plant-based products are fortified to increase calcium content to the same or greater levels than cow’s milk and to introduce other vitamins and minerals. [9][10][11]

Labeling standards

The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) of 1938 empowers the FDA to establish “a reasonable definition and standard of identity" for any food.[12]

Standards of identity exist for 21 categories of food, including milk. Plant-based products such as those labelled “almond milk” and “soymilk” have not been issued standards of identity by the FDA.[13]

Under federal law, foods with a standard of identity such as milk must be labelled with their standard name. Products for which a standard of identity has not been issued must be labelled with their “common or usual name” or, if such is lacking, with “an appropriately descriptive term.” According to federal regulations, a food that resembles another but is nutritionally inferior must bear the word “imitation” on its label.[14]

Milk is defined by the FDA in the following way:

“ Milk is the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows. Milk that is in final package form for beverage use shall have been pasteurized or ultrapasteurized, and shall contain not less than 8 1⁄4 percent milk solids not fat and not less than 3 1⁄4 percent milkfat. Milk may have been adjusted by separating part of the milkfat therefrom, or by adding thereto cream, concentrated milk, dry whole milk, skim milk, concentrated skim milk, or nonfat dry milk. Milk may be homogenized.[2][15] ”

The FDA and NMPF

Ballotpedia contacted the FDA for comment regarding Mulhern’s claim, and Press Officer Deborah Kotz responded, “The FDA takes enforcement action in accordance with public health priorities and agency resources.”[16]

The National Milk Producers Federation filed a complaint with the FDA in 2000 asking the agency to disallow soy beverage companies from using the term “soy milk” on their labels, arguing that the products were misbranded in an attempt to compete with cow’s milk.[17] After learning about the complaint, the Soyfoods Association of North America sent a letter to the FDA asserting that use of the term “milk” is not a violation of branding laws because “milk” is qualified on the label by “soy.”[18]

According to Chris Galen, an official with the federation, the FDA did not respond to NMPF following its complaint.[19]

In 2008, the FDA issued a warning letter to the company Lifesoy referencing sanitation violations and also a warning about misbranding related to the term “milk” (referring to the regulatory definition of milk as lacteal secretion from cows). The letter concluded: “[W]e do not consider ‘soy milk’ to be an appropriate common or usual name because it does not contain ‘milk.’ We do consider ‘soy drink’ or ‘soy beverage,’ however, as acceptable common or usual names for such products.”[20][21]

The NMPF sent another request to the FDA in 2010 extending its complaint to some 40 products, including beverages made from almonds and rice that use “milk” on the label as well as plant-based products that use the terms "yogurt," "ice cream," and "cheese." The FDA responded that it would "evaluate the information [NMPF] provided in [their] letter in light of its existing program and enforcement priorities, and consider appropriate follow-up steps."[19]

In 2012, the FDA issued a warning letter to the company Fong Kee Tofu about sanitation violations. As with its letter to Lifesoy, the agency warned the company about using the term "milk," noting that "soy milk" is not the "appropriate common or usual name" for the product.[22][23]

The market

Consumption of fluid cow's milk (including flavored and buttermilk) has declined 37 percent on a per capita basis between 1975 and 2015 (from 247 pounds per person to 155 pounds per person), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, consumption of milk as a component in a variety of products increased in the same period, from 539 pounds per person to 627 pounds per person.[24]

Michele Simon, executive director of Plant Based Foods Association, which represents over 80 member companies selling plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs, told Ballotpedia the following in response to Mulhern’s claim: “NMPF is making general statements about a $2 billion industry that represents a wide range of products. Often consumers are seeking out plant-based milks precisely because they lack certain characteristics they wish to avoid, such as saturated fat. Or they may be allergic to dairy.”[25]

Nutritional requirements

The FDA has uniform nutritional labeling standards for most packaged foods.[26] Labels must report the percentage of the recommended daily value (RDV) of 13 nutrients that a serving size of the product contains.[27]

The FDA may set nutritional standards for foods with standards of identity. The FDA has set milk fat content standards, and requires that manufacturers add vitamins A and D to milk that has had milk fat removed to make the product nutritionally equivalent to whole milk. [28]

Because soy, almond, and rice beverages do not have standards of identity, they do not have specific nutritional requirements.

Nutrients in products

We present standard reference information from the USDA’s Food Composition Database in the table below.[29][30][31]


Daily values of nutrients per one cup of product
Nutrient Whole milk (unfortified) Soy (unfortified)[32] Almond (fortified)[33] Rice (fortified)[34]
Calories 7% 7% 2% 6%
Protein 15% 16% 3% 1%
Total fat 12% 7% 4% 4%
Carbohydrate 4% 5% 0% 7%
Fiber 0% 6% 0% 3%
Minerals
Calcium 28% 6% 48%* 28%*
Iron 0% 9% 5% 3%
Magnesium 6% 15% 4% 7%**
Phosphorus 21% 13% 2% 13%*
Potassium 9% 8% 5%* 2%
Sodium 4% 5% 7% 4%
Zinc 6% 2% 1% 2%
Vitamins
Vitamin C 0% 0% 0% 0%
Thiamin 7% 10% 10%** 4%
Riboflavin 24% 10% 7%** 20%*
Niacin 1% 6% 1% 5%**
Vitamin B6 4% 9% 2% 5%**
Folate 3% 11% 1% 1%
Vitamin B12 18% 0% 0% 25%*
Vitamin A 8% 0% 7%* 10%*
Vitamin E 1% 1% 23%* 4%
Vitamin D 1% 0% 25%* 25%*
Vitamin K 1% 9% 0% 1%
Lipids
Saturated fat 23% 2% 0% 0%
Cholesterol 8% 0% 0% 0%
Daily values based on daily intake of 2,000 calories.
*Nutrient present through fortification.
**Undetermined whether present through fortification.


Conclusion

In a commentary in The Hill, Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not enforcing the federal law that only allows a product to be called “milk” if it comes from an animal. Referring to plant-based products such as beverages made of soy and almonds, Mulhern claimed, “None of these fake milks match the natural, consistent and high levels of nutrients, vitamins and minerals contained in the real thing.”[1]

Without fortification, an 8-ounce serving of cow’s milk—whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free—contains more of the following nutrients than most plant-based products: protein, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, riboflavin (B2), and B12. Whole cow’s milk also contains greater amounts of vitamin A than the other products.[2][3][4][5]

Some unfortified soy products contain comparable levels of protein and potassium to unfortified cow’s milk, and higher amounts of iron, fiber, magnesium, folate, niacin, thiamin, vitamin K, and vitamin B6.[6] Unfortified rice and almond products do not contain high levels of nutrients.[8][10][7][11]

See also

Sources and Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Hill, “Buyer beware: Not all 'milk' is created equal,” February 23, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, “Basic Report: 01211, Milk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, without added vitamin A and vitamin D,” accessed May 8, 2017 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "milk" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, “Basic Report: 01174, Milk, reduced fat, fluid, 2% milkfat, without added vitamin A and vitamin D,” accessed May 9, 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, “Basic Report: 01175, Milk, fluid, 1% fat, without added vitamin A and vitamin D,” accessed May 9, 2017
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, “Basic Report: 01151, Milk, nonfat, fluid, without added vitamin A and vitamin D (fat free or skim),” May 9, 2017
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, “Basic Report: 16120, Soymilk, original and vanilla, unfortified,” accessed May 9, 2017
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, “Basic Report: 14639, Beverages, rice milk, unsweetened,” accessed May 9, 2017
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, “Basic Report: 14091, Beverages, almond milk, unsweetened, shelf stable,” accessed May 9, 2017
  9. ↑ See nutritional information at Soy Dream, “Basic Ingredient: Soy,” accessed April 18, 2017
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 See nutritional information at Almond Breeze, “Product Details,” accessed April 18, 2017
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, "Food Search: Rice Milk," accessed June 8, 2017
  12. ↑ Office of the Law Revision Counsel, United States Code, “21 USC 341: Definitions and standards for food,” accessed March 31, 2017
  13. ↑ U.S. Government Publishing Office, “Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Parts 130-169,” accessed March 31, 2017
  14. ↑ U.S. Government Publishing Office, “Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, 101.3,” accessed April 2, 2017
  15. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  16. ↑ Amee LaTour, “Email communication with Deborah Kotz,” March 31, 2017
  17. ↑ Food and Drug Administration, “Letter to FDA,” February 14, 2000
  18. ↑ Food & Drug Administration, “‘Soymilk’: Response to Letter to FDA from the National Milk Producers Federation,” March 9, 2000
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Amee LaTour, “Email communication with Chris Galen,” March 9, 2017
  20. ↑ Food & Drug Administration, “Lifesoy, Inc. 08-Aug-08,” August 8. 2008
  21. ↑ The FDA subsequently filed for and obtained an injunction for the company to cease operations due to failure to address sanitation violations. See PR Newswire, “FDA Takes Action Against California Soy-Product Manufacturer Lifesoy,” June 7, 2010.
  22. ↑ Food and Drug Administration, “Fong Kee Tofu, Inc. 3/7/12,” March 7, 2012
  23. ↑ The FDA subsequently filed for and obtained an injunction for the company to cease operations due to failure to address sanitation violations. See Food & Drug Administration, “California food company to cease operations for repeated food safety violations,” February 12, 2015
  24. ↑ United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, “Dairy products: Per capita consumption, United States (Annual),” accessed May 3, 2017
  25. ↑ Amee LaTour, “Email communication with Michele Simon,” May 16, 2017
  26. ↑ For a list of exemptions, see 101.9(f). Government Publishing Office, "Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21: Food and Drugs," updated June 27, 2017
  27. ↑ The nutrients are total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, protein, cholesterol, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. Food & Drug Administration, “Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label,” updated April 25, 2017
  28. ↑ U.S. Government Publishing Office, “Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, 130.10(b),” accessed April 2, 2017
  29. ↑ See footnotes 2, 6, 7, and 8.
  30. ↑ Daily value calculations based on Food & Drug Administration, "Guidance for Industry: A Food Labeling Guide, 14. Appendix F," updated August 20, 2015
  31. ↑ The USDA compiles standard reference data from a variety of sources, including analyses done by the USDA, information contributed by manufacturers, and analyses conducted by other government agencies. Amee LaTour, "Phone communication with USDA dietician and nutritionist David Haytowitz," June 27, 2017
  32. ↑ Comparing standard reference data to particular brands, Ballotpedia found that not all soy beverages contain 16 percent daily value (DV) of protein; for example, some Silk and Soy Dream products contain between 12 and 14 percent DV per serving. See Footnote 9 and Silk, “Soymilk,” accessed April 18, 2017
  33. ↑ The USDA standard reference does not contain information on unfortified almond beverages. Comparing the standard reference to ingredients lists of branded products, we determined that calcium, potassium, and vitamins E, D, and A are present via fortification. See Footnote 10 and Silk, “Almondmilk,” accessed April 18, 2017
  34. ↑ Ballotpedia was unable to determine if niacin, magnesium, and B6 were present in rice products via fortification or naturally. None were present in high levels. See Footnote 11.
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