DAIRY PRIDE Act

The DAIRY PRIDE Act would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stronger tools to police the labeling of foods that use terms tied to traditional dairy products (like milk, yogurt, and cheese). Specifically, it adds a new enforcement provision to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) making it misbranded to market a product in interstate commerce under a name for a standardized dairy product if the product does not meet the FDA’s dairy-product criteria or the rules for imitation of another food. The bill defines what counts as a “dairy product” and which product names count as standardized dairy terms, focusing on milk-like products derived from lacteal secretions of hooved mammals (e.g., cows, goats, sheep). It also requires the Health and Human Services Secretary (through FDA) to issue guidance on how enforcement will work, to ensure previous guidance aligns with the new rule, and to report to Congress within two years on enforcement actions and penalties. In practical terms, the bill is aimed at preventing non-dairy beverages and foods from using dairy names (such as “milk,” “yogurt,” or other standardized dairy product terms) unless they actually meet dairy-product standards or properly imitate another food. It could lead to tighter labeling rules for plant-based alternatives and other imitations marketed with dairy terminology.