Australia’s dairy producers intensify fight against plant-based milk labeling

AUSTRALIA – Australia’s dairy industry has intensified calls to restrict the use of the word milk exclusively to animal-derived products, arguing that plant-based alternatives mislead consumers and dilute the dairy brand value.

The campaign gained fresh momentum after a UK Supreme Court ruling barred the Swedish oat drink maker Oatly from using the term milk in its marketing, a decision dairy advocates say reinforces the need for tighter regulations in Australia.

Dairy producers, represented by groups such as the South Australian Dairy farmers Association, assert that products labeled almond milk, soy milk or similar non-dairy drinks obscure differences between true dairy milk and plant alternatives.

Leaders argue that such terminology leverages the reputation of dairy’s nutritional profile and unfairly competes with animal milk in consumer perception.

The Australian Government has responded by allocating $1.5 million to revise labelling guidance for plant-based and alternative protein products.

Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins announced the development of a voluntary Industry Code of Practice, led by the Alternative Proteins Council, which aims to discourage misleading animal imagery, clarify product descriptors and establish a complaints mechanism to improve transparency.

Proponents of the voluntary code argue it will make packaging clearer for consumers, encouraging qualifiers like plant-based to be more prominent and reducing reliance on dairy terminology.

However, critics within the dairy sector remain sceptical that a non-mandatory framework will be enough, with some farmers insisting that without legally enforceable rules, plant-based producers will continue to capitalize on dairy language to market their products.

Debate persists over whether consumers are genuinely confused by current labelling.

Food labelling experts cite research suggesting that visual cues and animal imagery, rather than words alone, are more likely to mislead shoppers, indicating that clearer presentation standards may be as crucial as terminology restrictions.

Almond Board of Australia chief executive Tim Jackson said consumers were savvy enough to know the difference between dairy and plant-based products.

“You’ve got a growing awareness around people who have got various needs for plant-based products. So whatever they’re going to call them, I think that genie’s out of the bottle in regard to calling them a milk or a cheese or a yoghurt,” Mr Jackson said.

For the international dairy community, this episode highlights ongoing global tension over labelling, consumer expectations and how best to differentiate animal milk from plant-derived alternatives in an evolving marketplace.

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