Milk comes from animals. Period.

Re “Is it milk or something else?” Editorial, Jan. 4

One key reason the federal government has standards of identity for foods is so that consumers are not deceived by products purporting to be something they are not. Standards ensure a consistent product that meets a clear legal definition of what is inside the package. The Times believes consumers understand such definitions, but shoppers are most often not getting the same high-quality nutrition offered by real milk when they buy imitation products.

Until recent years, products labeled as milk in grocery stores delivered a uniform package of protein, calcium, vitamins and other minerals because they met the legal definition for milk. Today, milk imitators derived from vegetable sources use dairy-friendly words, images and packaging, but peel away the label and you’ll find widely inconsistent and usually inferior nutrients inside.

The recent effort in Congress to prod regulators to enforce milk labeling standards isn’t asking for anything more than for the government to act upon existing regulations. Interestingly enough, Canadian and British consumers of the same popular brand of almond “milk” that is also sold in the U.S. won’t find the term “almond milk” on the carton. It’s not legal to use that label in many other countries, as regulators there recognize you don’t get milk from beans, grains or seeds.

The irony here is that that if a dairy processor did what purveyors of these fake milks are doing — mix milk powder with water and sell it in the dairy case as “milk” — then consumer advocates would rightfully object to such a ruse. Why, then, is it OK for soy, almond and other non-milk beverages to be marketed that way? Jim Mulhern

Washington The writer is president and chief executive of the National Milk Producers Federation.