If you’re a lover of chocolate milk, but want to watch your weight, you might reach for the carton labeled “reduced calorie.” But dairy manufacturers would rather that the carton simply say “chocolate milk.”
Why? According to a petition submitted to FDA, one reason is that industry groups believe labels such as “reduced calorie” or “no added sugar” are a turn-off to kids who might otherwise reach for flavored milk with non-nutritive (artificial) sweeteners at the school cafeteria or from the grocery store cooler.
The petition from the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) was published for public comment in the Federal Register and has generated much interest—and confusion. It remains open for comment until May 21, 2013.
According to Mary Poos, Ph.D., deputy director of FDA’s Office of Nutrition, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, FDA has received more than 30,000 comments on the issue to date. “Based on these comments, we’re seeing a fair amount of confusion about what the labeling change would actually mean,” Poos says.
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