Dairy industry trying to hide presence of aspartame from consumers

I know that I like to bitch about everything that’s wrong with the food industry, but this latest development coming through the news is one that people should really know about, especially if they drink milk.  In an attempt to keep concerned consumers from knowing about the presence of questionably healthy sugar alternatives, the dairy industry is trying to get the FDA to redefine “milk” to include any artificial sweeteners added.  They do this so that they will not have to advertise, as is required now, that they use aspartame or sucralose in their products.

The deceptive culprits consist of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).  Normally, they are required to list the presence of so called non-nutritive additives.  This excludes things like sugar and high fructose corn syrup (another potentially dangerous additive), but they want to take it further.  They also want to extend this change to a variety of dairy products, including yogurt, sour cream and more.

So what is their excuse for trying to deceive the people who buy their products?  They say they want to help combat obesity in children and that children won’t want their diet dairy products if they claim to be “low-calorie.”  Or, as they put it in their petition:

“…consumers can more easily identify the overall nutritional value of milk products that are flavored with non-nutritive sweeteners if the labels do not include such claims.”

OK, say what?  So a lack of knowledge is better for making an informed decision?  This reminds me way too much of Orwell’s 1984 and the infamous saying “Ignorance is strength.”  Though I think the book was supposed to be a warning against such things, not a guidebook for the U.S. dairy industry.

You’d think that if they really felt that aspartame and sucralose are healthy that they’d be proud to display the contents of their diet dairy products.  Instead they wish to hide them and have legal backing to do so.  The only thing this says to me is that they don’t have faith in the studies that say these sweeteners are safe. 

If you want to get a look at some of the health claims made about aspartame, and what the dairy industry is trying to hide, check out this article.  And make sure to keep your eyes open and maybe even send the FDA an e-mail or two concerning this potential deception.

Milk photo courtesy of Stefan Kuhn via Wikicommons