— R S Sodhi

protecting dairy. The market will determine the need for any product as long as companies that provide accurate and adequate information to ensure the consumers can make an informed choice.”

The debate on labeling plantbased milk is raging across the world. In the US, for instance, the Food and Drug Administration released a draft regulation in 2018 after dairy producers demanded the term “milk” to be removed from soy, almond and oat beverages. But a survey done by Plant-Based

After several brainstorming sessions with the vegan industry, the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations has come up with some suggestions. It says that adoption of a universal terminology would allow such products to identify the main ingredient as part of the word “milk” or be labeled as “plantbased milk”. The label should have clear disclosure of the main ingredient using the term “dairyfree” or “non-dairy” on the principal display panel. The federation has also called for the creation of a sign for vegan products to end the confusion between plant-based and dairy products.

Nowadays dairy firms have also started investing in newer food categories. For instance, Frontier, an Australian food company, has partnered with farmer groups to produce animal as well as plantbased protein. “They are seeing this new industry as diversification and an opportunity to be a part of future food. This should happen in India too,” says Varun Deshpande, managing director, GFI, India.