Miyoko’s has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Food and Agriculture, after the state agency sent a letter demanding the plant-based creamery stop using the word “butter” on the Miyoko’s butter, a cashew cream that is fermented with live cultures. The agriculture department says the term butter is restricted to products containing at least 80% milk fat. The department also told Miyoko’s to drop the terms “lactose-free,” “hormone-free” and “cruelty-free” from their packaging because “the product is not a dairy product.” In addition, the department also wants Miyoko’s to remove an image on their website of a woman hugging a cow because “dairy images or associating the product with such activities cannot be used on the advertising of products which resemble milk products.”
In response, Miyoko’s points out that the front of their butter label uses the terms “Made from plants,” “Vegan” and “Cashew Cream,” so consumers are not confused whether or not the butter is made from cow’s milk. A change would cost the company $1 million. Miyoko’s added: “The Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch may be tasked with supporting the State’s agricultural industries, but it is prohibited by the First Amendment from taking sides in a contentious national debate on the role of plant-based foods and leveraging its power to censor one emerging industry’s speech in order to protect a more powerful and entrenched industry.”
Read more (Food Navigator)