{"id":523319,"date":"2026-03-06T21:46:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/523319\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T21:46:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:46:17","slug":"how-australia-and-nz-rules-on-plant-milks-differ-from-overseas-where-cows-make-the-only-milk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/523319\/","title":{"rendered":"How Australia and NZ rules on plant milks differ from overseas, where cows make the only \u2018milk\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Heather Bray<\/a><\/p>\n

Last month, the United Kingdom\u2019s Supreme Court determined<\/a> that plant-based drink maker Oatly could not trademark the phrase \u201cPost Milk Generation\u201d \u2013 effectively banning the use of the word \u201cmilk\u201d on their cartons.<\/p>\n

The decision marked the end of a long-running<\/a> legal battle between the Swedish drink maker and Britain\u2019s dairy industry. Dairy UK, representing the country\u2019s dairy farmers, objected to Oatly trademarking the \u201cpost milk\u201d phrase on the basis that the use of the term \u201cmilk\u201d was deceptive.<\/p>\n

The UK Supreme Court upheld<\/a> Dairy UK\u2019s case, citing UK regulations that limit \u201cmilk\u201d to only being used to describe food derived from \u201cmammalian secretions\u201d. In the UK and European Union, only cow\u2019s milk can be called \u201cmilk\u201d.<\/p>\n

But what are the rules for plant-based drinks in Australia and New Zealand? And are consumers here confused by the word \u201cmilk\u201d on everything from soy to almond and oat drink cartons?<\/p>\n

What are other countries\u2019 rules on \u2018milk\u2019 labelling?<\/p>\n

The UK regulations referred to in the Oatly case were actually based on European Union rules, adopted by the UK before Brexit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The EU regulations<\/a> have been in place for more than a decade. The words \u201cmilk\u201d, as well as other dairy words such as \u201ccheese\u201d, \u201cbutter\u201d, and \u201ccream\u201d, are all banned from being used to describe plant-based products sold in the EU.<\/p>\n

Under the EU rules, only cow\u2019s milk can be called just \u201cmilk\u201d. Any other species of mammal milk has to be identified \u2013 such as \u201csheep\u2019s milk\u201d or \u201cgoat\u2019s milk\u201d.<\/p>\n

In contrast, in the United States some plant-based drinks are allowed<\/a> to be labelled as \u201csoy milk\u201d or \u201calmond milk\u201d as those names have been established by common usage.<\/p>\n

But there is a long-running<\/a> bipartisan campaign to ban the word \u201cmilk\u201d being used for anything other than dairy there, too.<\/p>\n

Critics argue the US Food and Drug Administration has failed to enforce its own detailed standards<\/a>, defining milk as \u201cthe lacteal secretion [\u2026] obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows\u201d.<\/p>\n

US Democrat Senator Tammy Baldwin, who\u2019s led a nearly decade-long campaign, says:<\/p>\n

calling non-dairy imitation products \u201cmilk\u201d or \u201cyogurt\u201d that do not contain dairy and are instead from a plant, nut, or grain, hurts dairy farmers [\u2026] and causes consumer confusion about the nutritional value of dairy versus imitation products.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s allowed in Australia and NZ?<\/p>\n

Demand for plant-based drinks has been growing in both Australia<\/a> and New Zealand<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Australia and New Zealand have a shared food regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). In 2016, the regulator updated the trans-Tasman Food Code<\/a> to allow plant-based foods and drinks to use terms like milk.<\/p>\n

Using soy milk as an example, the regulations say:<\/p>\n

The context within which foods such as soy milk or soy ice cream are sold is indicated by use of the name soy; indicating that the product is not a dairy product to which a dairy standard applies.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why you\u2019ll see \u201calmond milk\u201d in Australia and New Zealand sold in supermarkets<\/a>. Those same products have to be sold as almond \u201cdrink<\/a>\u201d in the EU and UK.<\/p>\n

However, that decision has been under review<\/a> again in recent years.<\/p>\n

Consumer research on plant milks<\/p>\n

One of the main concerns raised by the dairy industry is that using \u201cmilk\u201d for plant-based drinks can mislead consumers. As Australian Dairy Farmers\u2019 President Ben Bennett said<\/a> last week:<\/p>\n

Words matter. When consumers pick up a product labelled \u2018milk\u2019, it should come from a cow \u2013 not a marketing department.<\/p>\n

Responding to those longstanding concerns, the food regulator undertook several studies<\/a>, including a 2025 consumer research report<\/a>, involving nearly 3,000 Australians aged 18 to 90 years.<\/p>\n

That report found those consumers were generally able to quickly and confidently identify plant-based drinks from their dairy counterparts. It also showed Australians were largely aware of the nutritional value difference between dairy milk and plant-based products.<\/p>\n

So \u2018oat milk\u2019 is here to stay<\/p>\n

On January 30 this year \u2013 less than a fortnight before the UK court ruling \u2013 Australia\u2019s agriculture minister Julie Collins announced<\/a> the government would work with the Alternative Proteins Council<\/a> to \u201cstrengthen existing voluntary labelling guidelines\u201d into a new industry code of practice.<\/p>\n

Those existing guidelines<\/a> give examples of how plant-based drinks can be labelled in Australia and New Zealand, such as \u201coat milk\u201d or \u201calmond milk ice cream\u201d.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re ever out shopping the UK or Europe, look out for oat \u201cdrinks\u201d on the supermarket shelves. But in Australia and New Zealand, expect to see those cartons continuing to say oat milk.<\/p>\n

Heather Bray<\/a>, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, The University of Western Australia<\/a><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Support our Journalism<\/p>\n

No-nonsense journalism. No paywalls.\u00a0Whether you\u2019re in Australia, the UK, Canada, the USA, or India, you can support The Australia Today by taking a paid subscription via\u00a0Patreon\u00a0<\/a>or donating via PayPal \u2014 and help keep honest, fearless journalism alive.<\/p>\n

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