The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the availability of draft guidance for industry on labeling plant-based milk alternatives. The guidance indicates that plant-based milk alternatives can be labeled as “milk” if they are “qualified by the plant source of the food,” such as “soy milk” or “almond milk.”

The guidance notes that a majority of consumers purportedly understand the difference between milk and plant-based milk alternatives, but they might not understand the nutritional differences. To clarify this difference, FDA recommends that labels for plant-based milk alternatives include a voluntary nutrient statement with a comparison to milk, such as “Contains lower amounts of [nutrient name(s)] than milk.”

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