Controversial ingredient may be added to milk

[Hum]

Got diet milk? In a highly controversial move, the dairy industry wants to market artificially sweetened milk?without any special label to alert consumers.

In a petition filed with the FDA, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) seek to change the definition of ?milk? so that chemical sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose can be used as optional ingredients not listed on the product label.

If the petition?originally filed in 2009 and now under consideration by the FDA?is successful, these hidden additives could also be included in 17 other dairy products?including whipping cream, low-fat and non-fat yogurt, eggnog, sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, and half-and-half?without requiring any special labeling.

The dairy industry contends that using artificial sweeteners like aspartame as optional ingredients in milk and other dairy foods without any special labeling would ?promote more healthy eating? and boost kid appeal. Currently, milk consumption is dropping among both children and adults.

In part, the petition states:

IDFA and NMPF argue that nutrient content claims such as "reduced calorie" are not attractive to children and maintain that consumers can more easily identify the overall nutritional value of milk products that are flavored with non-nutritive sweeteners if the labels do not include such claims. Further, the petitioners assert that consumers do not recognize milk?including flavored milk?as necessarily containing sugar. Accordingly, the petitioners state that milk flavored with non-nutritive sweeteners should be labeled as milk without further claims so that consumers can "more easily identify its overall nutritional value.?

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[Growled Member]

I don't think that's right at all. Every food should be clearly labeled for all to see.

[Hum]

What a sad world.

I guess many of us will be forced to give up milk and other dairy products.

I'll need to import cheese ...

[Buttus]

I wonder what unsweetened milk would taste like? i mean, if they can take out the sugars to replace with the artificial ones, i want to try it with no sweetener!

if milk didn't have all of the carbs in it, i'd drink it all the time!

[Growled Member]

I'll need to import cheese ...

Buy yourself a cow and make your own.

[margrave]

This is just sad.... and BS...

[Hum]

Buy yourself a cow and make your own.

I may get a cow, but making cheese can easily be a full-time job.

Niche businesses will probably emerge -- they will boast of being BST and artificial sweetener-free.

*Bovine somatotropin

[Skin]

This is why humans get themselves into trouble, introduce cancers and diseases at alarming rates, and generally fark things up... hey I know, let's remove what is naturally in there, you know, from nature, and replace it with this man-made slapped together chemical concoction that does... well, we know it does bad things, but heck.. let's do it anyway.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

[The Evil Overlord]

Great, if it wasn't bad enough that I'm lactose intolerant.....

<not trolling>