Washington Post Article on Soymilk

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Washington Post Article on Soymilk

 

Dairy Group Has a " Cow " over Milk That Doesn't

 

By Cindy Skrzycki

Washington Post Staff Writer

 

Tuesday, February 29, 2000; Page A01

 

This much is undisputed: Soybeans do not lactate.

 

So soy producers shouldn't be calling their beverages " milk, " according to

the National Milk Producers Federation, which filed a complaint with the

Food and Drug Administration earlier this month seeking to banish the terms

" soy milk " and " soymilk " from grocery shelves and dairy cases.

The milk producers are trying to protect the distinct identity of their

product, which, they point out, comes from " the lacteal secretion " of cows,

compared with soybeans, which come from the ground. " Soy-based beverages

are attempting to directly compete with dairy products and are

inappropriately taking advantage of the familiarity and positive image of

dairy terminology in their labeling, " said Rob Byrne, the association's

vice president of regulatory affairs. " We don't want them using milk's good

name for their product. "

 

True, sales of soy drinks are a drop in the bucket compared with those of

milk, but the popularity of soy drinks has been growing, and milk producers

don't like what they see--namely that soy is showing up in the dairy case

of mainstream grocery stores right alongside the 2 percent and skim.

 

Behind the complaint lies a growing consumer health consciousness that has

set the milk industry on its heels, cutting consumption by about 24 percent

over the past 30 years. The pace of decline has slowed in recent years.

 

It wasn't that long ago that whole milk was perceived as the most healthful

food around, consumed guiltlessly with cookies, cornflakes and peanut

butter sandwiches. Doctors recommended it to ease the pain caused by

ulcers; insomniacs drank it warm as a nightcap.

 

But that was before the medical establishment began warning about

butterfat, cholesterol intake and calories. Suddenly whole milk was shoved

to the rear of the dairy case. Two percent took over, then 1 percent, and

it wasn't long before many milk drinkers became skim drinkers, imbibing

mainly for the calcium and other vitamins. By 1988, the various reduced-fat

varieties outsold whole milk.

 

Add to that trend the legions of lactose intolerant and a proliferation of

people with food allergies and you have a ready-made market for soy milk,

or beverages that now come in refrigerated cartons that look remarkably

like milk.

 

Take Kathleen Bialas. She is the dairy industry's worst nightmare.

 

Bialas, a lawyer who lives in the District, gave up milk entirely for soy.

Every morning she has a big glass of chocolate-flavored soy milk and a

homemade muffin or oatmeal instead of the cereal and milk she used to have.

 

" I sort of have given up drinking regular milk, " said Bialas, who read

about the benefits of soy milk in a health magazine and thought she'd give

it a try. " It tastes slightly grainy, but I like the taste of it. I like

having the calcium and isoflavones. I think milk makes me congested. "

 

Soy and soy beverages used to appeal mostly to fringe health-food devotees

until the lowly legume--in the form of tofu, supplements or drinks--moved

into the mainstream in the last year or so, with advocates saying it could

help with everything from hot flashes to bone loss. They boast that the

good things soy can do are concentrated within the soybean, not in

additives.

 

And the federal government helped things along. The FDA provided a big

boost when it said last year that soy products could be labeled as food

that helps lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease when

consumed in certain quantities--a boast that many cartons now carry. The

government's nutrition guidelines also list a soy-based beverage as a way

to get calcium.

 

The biggest buyers of soy milk are women, Asians and baby boomers trying to

avoid life-shortening diseases. These health-informed consumers are after

the isoflavones, a type of plant estrogen that some researchers and the soy

industry say can reduce cholesterol, build strong bones and ease hot

flashes.

 

These early adopters have boosted sales from 51 million liters in 1996 to

125 million liters last year, adding up to about $300 million in sales.

There are about 35 processors of soy milk, who are now jazzing it up with

chocolate, vanilla, coffee, strawberry and chai flavors.

 

Soy milk, which has a nutty taste, is the combination of extracted whole

soybean solids or other soy proteins and water.

 

The soy invasion comes on the heels of years of effort by the dairy

industry to lure Americans back to drinking milk, spending millions

promoting their products with its milk-mustache and " Got milk? " national

advertising campaigns.

 

Dairy producers are particularly steamed because soy fluids have

metamorphosed from an unrefrigerated brick package relegated to the shelves

with the rice drinks to a sleek quart container displayed prominently in

the dairy case. At Giant and Safeway--even Wal-Mart--you can find a variety

of brands. Cases of the stuff are piled high at Fresh Fields. They offer

low-fat and non-fat varieties, nomenclature associated with dairy products,

and come in quarts and half-gallons.

 

To bolster their case against soy products, the milk producers went on a

shopping spree, tossing into their carts about 10 " violative " cartons of

soy drinks that either called themselves milk as part of a brand name or

listed soy milk as an ingredient. They included with their complaint to the

FDA the labels of such brands as Silk Plain Soymilk, Better Than Milk

Vanilla Beverage Mix and Edensoy's Organic Soy Milk.

 

" Although some non-dairy beverages may resemble cow's milk in appearance,

they are very different in nutritional value and composition from the

standardized product described in the government's regulatory code, " Byrne

said. He said they contain half the protein per serving of real milk.

The milk producers want the FDA to take " appropriate enforcement action, "

from telling makers of soy milk to knock it off to removing their products

from store shelves. They suggested the soy people call their product " soy

beverage " or " soya drink " to reflect that it's from a " non-bovine

species " --as some soy manufacturers do.

 

The FDA did not indicate how it might settle the dispute, but the last time

the agency spoke up on this issue, it went on record stating that the use

of " milk " was " inappropriate " in labeling products that are soy-based.

 

" We believe the terminology is not inappropriate, " said Bob Callanan,

spokesman for the American Soybean Association, " given it clearly states

it's soy milk. It's not milk. It's soy milk. "

 

Soy industry officials say " milk " is a generic term attached to lots of

products. Just think of coconut milk and Milk of Magnesia, said Callanan:

The word is in widespread use.

 

Furthermore, " soy milk " is not newly coined. The term was used in ancient

China, the earliest reference in Europe was in 1665, and it showed up in

the United States in 1896.

 

The product has been around for ages, too. Research by the soy industry

shows that soy milk and tofu were being made in China from A.D. 25 to 220.

It's assumed that soy milk at that time was being used to make tofu. It

wasn't until 1866 that a Frenchman traveling in China noted that hot soy

milk was a breakfast beverage.

 

The Soyfoods Association of North America pointed all this out to the FDA

in 1996 when it filed a petition with the agency to get approval for

standardized content information and labeling of soy milk products. The FDA

has not acted on that petition, the association said.

 

Nancy Chapman, executive director of the association, said the industry is

eager to have a government standard that would settle the dispute over what

soy beverages should be called.

 

" We'll push for a standard that says 'soymilk.' One word, " she said.

 

© 2000 The Washington Post Company

 

 

 

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