Milk, that all-American food, is taking on some all-American names--like "fat free," "reduced fat" and "light."
Starting Jan. 1, 1998, the labeling of fat-reduced milk products will have to
follow the same requirements the Food and Drug Administration established almost five
years ago for the labeling of just about every other food reduced in fat. From now on:
"I expect that there are going to be many more milk products for consumers to choose from" says Michelle Smith, a food technologist in FDA's Office of Food Labeling. "This is positive for milk consumption in general, and it's likely that consumers will be able to find a lower fat milk product that they like." (See accompanying article.)
FDA issued a final rule in November 1996 that revoked the standards of identity--the prescribed recipes that manufacturers of a particular food must follow--for many fat-reduced milk and other dairy products. This allowed the agency to bring milk labeling in line with existing labeling requirements for nutrient content claims, such as "fat free," "low fat," "high protein," and others.
Lower fat milk products will still need to be nutritionally equivalent to full-fat milk and provide at least the same amounts of the fat-soluble vitamins A and D as full-fat milk. Vitamins A and D are lost when milk fat is reduced or removed.
"[Milk] is just as nutritional as before," says LeGrande "Shot" Hudson, dairy plant manager for the Landover, Md.-based Giant Food Inc. "[The milk industry] just changed the name[s] a little."
Joint Effort
FDA's final rule was prompted in part by a petition filed jointly by the Milk Industry Foundation and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a consumer advocacy group, and a separate petition filed by the American Dairy Products Institute. The petitions asked FDA to lift the labeling exemption provided for in the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 for lower fat dairy products.
FDA agreed to revoke the standards of identity for low-fat milk and 11 other lower fat dairy products, including low-fat cottage cheese, sweetened condensed skimmed milk, sour half-and-half, evaporated skimmed milk, and low-fat dry milk. These products are now bound by the "general standard" for nutritionally modified standardized foods. This means the nutrients that lower fat milk products provide, other than fat, must be at least equal to full-fat milk before vitamins A and D are added.
FDA also agreed to allow manufacturers to use "skim" as a synonym for "fat free" in the labeling of dairy products because, the agency concluded, most consumers realize that skim milk means no fat.
The changes do not affect lower fat yogurt products. FDA decided to keep the standards of identity for the time being to further consider manufacturers' concerns about fortifying yogurt with vitamin A, a nutrient found in full-fat yogurt.
FDA, along with the milk industry and nutrition educators, believes the label changes will give consumers more accurate, useful information about milk. Because claims on milk labels will be consistent with claims on other foods, consumers will know, for example, that "low-fat" milk (formerly known as 1 percent milk) will be similar in fat content to "low-fat" cookies. (Both can provide no more than 3 grams of fat per serving. The serving size for each is listed on their label's Nutrition Facts panel.)
The improved accuracy of milk labeling is particularly important for skim milk, experts say, because "skim" carries a negative connotation for many consumers. "They think it is skimmed of all its good nutrients," says Brad Legreid, executive director of the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association. "That it's flat and tasteless. But that's not it at all."
Or, they view it in the same negative light as dry powdered milk, says Margo Wootan, a senior scientist with CSPI. She coordinates the group's public health campaign to encourage consumers to use milk that provides 4 percent or less of the Daily Value for fat--that is, low-fat or skim milk. She prefers the term "fat-free" to describe skim milk because she says: "It is more recognizable to the public. And "fat-free" better describes the benefits of skim milk."
Dietary Significance
The goal of the labeling changes, as many nutrition experts see it, is to help consumers select milk products that can help them lower their fat and saturated fat intakes to recommended levels. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting fat to no more than 30 percent of calories and saturated fat to less than 10 percent of calories. There is substantial scientific evidence to show that low fat intakes may help reduce the risk of some cancers, and diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Switching from higher fat to lower fat milk products can have a particularly significant impact on lowering fat and saturated fat intakes because milk plays such an important role in the American diet, CSPI's Wootan says. She says that milk is a major contributor of saturated fat to the American adult's diet. Only cheese and beef contribute more.
Considering that 240 milliliters (one cup) of full-fat milk provides 26 percent of the Daily Value for saturated fat, while fat-free milk provides none, switching from full-fat to fat-free milk can drop saturated fat intake considerably, she says.
"It's an easy way to lower fat intake," she says. "It doesn't take a lot of time. No preparation skills are needed. It takes only five seconds at the dairy case to move your hand to the fat-free [skim] or low-fat [formerly 1 percent] milk. It's a good first step towards healthy eating."
Wootan believes that the revised milk labeling will make especially clear to consumers the difference between reduced-fat (formerly 2 percent low-fat milk) and low-fat (1 percent low-fat milk). "A lot of people use 2 percent milk thinking it is the same as 1 percent," she says, because the previous labels referred to both as "low fat." However, reduced-fat milk provides almost twice the amount of fat and saturated fat as low-fat milk.
The new labels will "show a difference," she says, "and, [I think,] more people will go to drinking 1 percent or skim milk."
New Names in the Dairy Case
But first, they'll need to get used to milk's new names. Joan Taylor, consumer affairs manager for Schnuck Markets Inc., of St. Louis, recalls the confusion that arose when manufacturers began relabeling ice milk as "low-fat" ice cream in 1994, under another FDA rule. The company received a number of calls from shoppers wanting to know why they had stopped selling ice milk, she says. "We hadn't," she says. "We only changed the name."
Some groceries and milk processors plan to educate consumers about the label changes. Schnuck Markets, for example, was planning at press time to post signs at their stores' dairy cases explaining what the new names mean. And its dairy plant planned to label, at least at first, lower fat milk with both the new name, followed by its former name or the milk's fat content. An example might be "reduced-fat milk, contains 2 percent milk fat."
Efforts such as these should help consumers catch on quickly to the new names, but nutrition and industry experts hope the new labels' potential benefits will be longer lasting.
"This is not just a cosmetic change," CSPI's Wootan says. "This is an important strategy to healthier eating."
Paula Kurtzweil is a member of FDA's public affairs staff.
While the new labels may promote greater consumption of the lower fat milk products,
some nutrition experts--and industry members in particular--hope the changes will
increase milk consumption overall.
LeGrande "Shot" Hudson, dairy plant manager for Giant Food Inc., in Landover, Md., notes that the industry already has taken steps to entice consumers, especially teens and young adults, to drink more milk. It's undertaken major advertising campaigns and, in an effort to make milk more palatable to people who dislike the taste of plain milk, has begun marketing novel flavored products, such as banana, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and mocha milk products.
"We don't all wear the moustache," he says, alluding to the industry's current milk advertisements in which celebrities tout their preference for plain milk.
Michelle Smith, a food technologist in FDA's Office of Food Labeling, believes that milk processors will have even more flexibility to develop products with greater consumer appeal, now that the standards of identity for lower fat milks have been revoked. For example, processors will be able to add fat substitutes, stabilizers or thickeners to give lower fat milks a creamier texture and better sensation in the mouth or coloring to make the products whiter. When added, these ingredients must be listed on the label.
"There are many ways to modify a food," she says. "So, if you come across a reduced-fat product, and you want to know how they did it, look at the ingredient list."
With greater product development comes greater product choices for consumers, she says, and that will allow consumers to make better, lower fat choices that they can enjoy.
--P.K.
FDA Consumer magazine (January-February 1998)
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