Truth in labelling: Australian dairy calls for milk branding reform

Plant-based products can use the term ‘milk’ in Australia. But a dairy leader says we need to get up to speed with other countries.

Australia needs to follow the lead of American lawmakers by clearly defining the term ‘milk’ a leading dairy advocate says.

Democrat and Republican senators have rallied in a rare show of bipartisan support in recent months to back the US Dairy Pride Act.

EastAUSmilk co-chief executive Shaughn Morgan said there was similar cross-party support to clearly define milk to consumers.

But he said many in the industry were frustrated by the lack of action in Canberra.

“There has been a noticeable lack of public progress by the federal government to safeguard iconic dairy terms such as ‘milk,’ Mr Morgan said.

“This is simply not good enough.

“The federal Labor Party took to the last election a promise to improve existing regulations

that deliver accurate and clear food labelling for products but still no action by the federal

government. Why?”

American lawmakers have called for changes to US labelling laws around milk and other dairy produce. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Both Labor and the Coalition have expressed support for labelling reform but little progress has been made under either the Morrison or Albanese governments.

The Weekly Times has contacted the office of Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt.

Queensland Nationals Senator Susan McDonald, who chaired a 2021 inquiry into the issue, last month said the Albanese government was being “flat-footed” on truth in labelling.

An early advocate for ‘truth in labelling’ reform, Mr Morgan first raised the need for labelling change in January 2017.

“At that time I said consumers could be confused between the nutritional value of plant-based drinks and milk,” he said.

“Milk was a premium quality, short shelf life product of immense nutritional value and that plant-based products should not be sold as something they are not.”

Mr Morgan said the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code stated that dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt are derived from the “mammary secretions of milking animals.”

“The code does not define ‘milk’ as crushed nuts mixed with water and fortified with

nutrients,” he said.

“Yet there has been no action to enforce the definition within the code.”