[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 778 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 778

      To require enforcement against misbranded milk alternatives.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2017

   Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Duffy, Mr. Courtney, Mr. 
  Valadao, and Ms. DelBene) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To require enforcement against misbranded milk alternatives.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Defending Against Imitations and 
Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese To Promote Regular Intake of 
Dairy Everyday Act'' or the ``DAIRY PRIDE Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Dairy products are an important part of a healthy diet 
        for both children and adults, according to the 2015-2020 
        Dietary Guidelines for Americans (referred to in this section 
        as the ``Dietary Guidelines'') published by the Department of 
        Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. 
        The Dietary Guidelines state that most Americans are not 
        meeting recommended intake for the dairy food group. 
        Consumption of dairy foods provides numerous health benefits, 
        including lowering the risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, 
        cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
            (2) The Dietary Guidelines state that dairy foods are 
        excellent sources of critical nutrients for human health, 
        including vitamin D, calcium, and potassium, all of which are 
        under consumed by people of the United States. When consumed in 
        the amounts recommended by the Food Patterns of the Department 
        of Agriculture, on average across the calorie levels, dairy 
        foods contribute about 67 percent of calcium, 64 percent of 
        vitamin D, and 17 percent of magnesium.
            (3) About 30 percent of adolescent boys meet or exceed the 
        recommended 3-cup equivalents per day, but less than 10 percent 
        of adolescent females meet or exceed this recommendation. An 
        age-related decline in dairy intake appears to begin in 
        adolescence and intakes persist at very low levels among adult 
        females across the age distribution. Less than 5 percent of 
        adult females consume the recommended 3-cup equivalents per 
        day. Overall, more than 80 percent of the entire population of 
        the United States does not meet the daily dairy intake 
        recommendation.
            (4) The Dietary Guidelines state that vitamin D and 
        potassium amounts vary across plant-based milk alternatives. 
        The amount of calcium per calorie is lower for most plant-based 
        alternative milk products. To obtain the amount of calcium 
        contained in one cup of non-fat fluid milk from a plant-based 
        milk alternative, the portion size and calorie intake must be 
        greater.
            (5) Imitation dairy products, such as plant-based products 
        derived from rice, nuts, soybeans, hemp, coconut, algae, and 
        other foods that imitate milk, yogurt, and cheese, often do not 
        provide the same nutrition content as real milk, cheese, and 
        yogurt derived from dairy cows.
            (6) Plant-based products labeled as milk are misleading to 
        consumers.
            (7) The Food and Drug Administration has regulations that 
        define milk and cream as the ``lacteal secretion, practically 
        free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or 
        more healthy cows'' (section 131.110 of title 21, Code of 
        Federal Regulations). This definition further applies to milk 
        used to create other dairy products, including yogurt and 
        cheese, as specified in sections 131 and 133 of title 21, Code 
        of Federal Regulations.
            (8) Given the proliferation of plant-based products in the 
        marketplace that are mislabeled as milk despite the standard of 
        identity defined for this substance, enforcement by the Food 
        and Drug Administration against these practices should be 
        improved to avoid misleading consumers.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    No food may be introduced or delivered for introduction into 
interstate commerce using a market name for a dairy product if the food 
does not meet the criterion set forth for dairy products under 
paragraph (z)(2) of section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act (21 U.S.C. 343) (as added by section 4(a)).

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT OF DEFINITION.

    (a) In General.--Section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(z)(1) If it uses a market name for a dairy product described in 
subparagraph (3) and the food does not meet the criterion for being a 
dairy product, as described in subparagraph (2).
    ``(2) For purposes of this paragraph, a food is a dairy product 
only if the food is, contains as a primary ingredient, or is derived 
from, the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained 
by the complete milking of one or more hooved mammals.
    ``(3) A market name for a dairy product described in this 
subparagraph means the dairy product terms described in parts 131 and 
133 of subchapter B of chapter I of title 21, Code of Federal 
Regulations, and sections 135.110, 135.115, and 135.140 of title 21, 
Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations), or any 
other term for which the Secretary has promulgated a standard of 
identity with respect to a food that is formulated with a dairy product 
(as described in subparagraph (2)) as the primary ingredient.''.
    (b) Guidance.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 
through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall--
            (1) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, issue draft guidance on how enforcement of the 
        amendment made by subsection (a) will be carried out; and
            (2) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, issue final guidance on such enforcement.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall report to 
Congress on enforcement actions taken under paragraph (z) of section 
403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343), as 
amended by this Act, including warnings issued pursuant to such 
paragraph and penalties assessed under section 303 of such Act (21 
U.S.C. 333) with respect to such paragraph. If food that is misbranded 
under section 403(z) is offered for sale in interstate commerce at the 
time of such report, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall include 
in such report an updated plan for enforcement with respect to such 
food.
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