Australian Dairy Farmers Advocate for Stricter Labeling
Australian dairy farmers are advocating for stricter labeling laws to prevent plant-based competitors from using the term "milk" for their products. This push follows a significant UK Supreme Court ruling last month.
The UK Supreme Court ruling prohibited the Swedish company Oatly from using the phrase "post milk generation" after a legal challenge by Dairy UK.
Australian Dairy Farmers president Ben Bennett has called for the federal government to implement mandatory rules, asserting that milk should be an animal-derived product. Bennett, a dairy farmer in south-west Victoria for 20 years, highlighted that plant-based alternatives have different nutritional values and calcium levels compared to animal milk, describing them as "effectively a juice."
Bennett emphasized the need for consumer transparency, stating that consumers should have informed perspectives on products, which are "distinctly different."
Government Review and Industry Code of Practice
Currently, Australia operates under voluntary labeling guidelines through an industry code of practice. The federal government allocated $1.5 million in the 2024-25 budget to review plant-based and alternative protein labeling.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) was commissioned to conduct a rapid review, market survey, and consumer survey.
The research indicated that Australians are generally able to identify plant-based products accurately. Consumers did not believe plant-based products were nutritionally equivalent to animal counterparts and reported no confusion about ingredient content.
In response to these findings, the government plans to collaborate with the Alternative Proteins Council to enhance the existing code of practice. This initiative aims to provide clearer guidance by:
- Discouraging animal imagery on plant-based products.
- Limiting the use of meat-specific terminology.
- Improving the prominence of plant-based qualifiers.
- Establishing a complaints mechanism.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins stated in late January that Australian consumers should be able to clearly identify both traditional and alternative protein sources. Bennett advised plant-based manufacturers to establish their own product identities rather than emulating dairy products.