I 
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 Representa-
tives 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 
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to the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans 
(referred to in this section as the ‘‘Dietary Guide-
lines’’) 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 nu-
merous health benefits, including lowering the risk 
of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular dis-
ease, and obesity. 
(2) The Dietary Guidelines state that dairy 
foods are excellent sources of critical nutrients for 
human health, including vitamin D, calcium, and po-
tassium, 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 per-
cent 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 de-
cline in dairy intake appears to begin in adolescence 
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and intakes persist at very low levels among adult 
females across the age distribution. Less than 5 per-
cent of adult females consume the recommended 3- 
cup equivalents per day. Overall, more than 80 per-
cent of the entire population of the United States 
does not meet the daily dairy intake recommenda-
tion. 
(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 prod-
ucts. 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 yo-
gurt 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 ‘‘lac-
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teal secretion, practically free from colostrum, ob-
tained 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, includ-
ing yogurt and cheese, as specified in sections 131 
and 133 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(8) Given the proliferation of plant-based prod-
ucts in the marketplace that are mislabeled as milk 
despite the standard of identity defined for this sub-
stance, enforcement by the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration against these practices should be improved to 
avoid misleading consumers. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
No food may be introduced or delivered for introduc-
tion 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 sec-
tion 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: 
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‘‘(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 ingre-
dient, 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 de-
scribed 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 Fed-
eral 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 formu-
lated 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 en-
actment of this Act, issue draft guidance on how en-
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