by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

“Dairy-free” seems to be showing up more commonly on food labels, in some cases it seems to be used instead of “vegan.” What does it mean when a product is labeled “dairy-free”?

Terms such as “dairy-free” or “milk free” or even “vegan” or “vegetarian” are not defined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the FDA, when claims like these are made, they must be truthful and not misleading.

The FDA recently released results of a study they conducted in which samples of dark chocolate and products containing dark chocolate, all of which were labeled as “dairy-free,” were tested for the presence of cow’s milk. Products tested included chocolate bars, chocolate chips, chocolate chip cookies and chocolate syrup. A total of 210 samples were collected in stores in Pennsylvania and Michigan in 2022 and 2023. Of these, 13 samples, made by three different companies, tested positive for cow’s milk. Names of companies were not released but 1 product was a cookie and the other 12 were chocolate bars. All of the products that tested positive for milk had “dairy-free” on the label and had advisory statements that are supposed to indicate the possible presence of milk to consumers such as “made in a facility that also processes milk.”

The cow’s milk that was detected in the samples could have been due to a labeling error or to cross-contamination from dairy ingredients being produced on the same equipment. FDA met with the three companies whose product or products tested positive. Two companies removed “dairy-free” from the label of their products. The other company agreed to remove “dairy-free” from the label if they could not determine where the milk came from and eliminate the source of milk from their products.

It seems clear that “dairy-free” on a product label is not an absolute guarantee that there is no cow’s milk in that product. The FDA suggests that consumers for whom the presence of dairy is a concern to “contact the manufacturers and inquire about how the product is made, including whether the product is made on equipment dedicated to making dairy-free chocolate, whether the ingredients used are free of milk, and whether the manufacturer tests its products with ‘dairy-free’ claims for the presence of milk.”

To read more about this study see FDA’s Summary Report: FY 22/23 Sample Collection and Analysis of Retail Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate and Chocolate-Containing Products for Milk Allergen.