When was the last time that you remember drinking a cool glass of milk and thinking how much better it would be if it had a nice sweet shot of aspartame? The Food and Drug Administration recently announced a petition form the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) that would allow them to add artificial sweeteners to dairy products.According to the petition "IDFA and NMPF state that the proposed amendments would promote more healthful eating practices and reduce childhood obesity by providing for lower-calorie flavored milk products. They state that lower-calorie flavored milk would particularly benefit school children who, according to IDFA and NMPF, are more inclined to drink flavored milk than unflavored milk at school. As further support for the petition, IDFA and NMPF state that the proposed amendments would assist in meeting several initiatives aimed at improving the nutrition and health profile of food served in the nation's schools. Those initiatives include state-level programs designed to limit the quantity of sugar served to children during the school day."
If this petition passes, milk manufacturers could use non nutritive sweeteners in milk without indicating the artificial sweeteners have been added in the packaging. While this may seem ridiculous to some of you, it is already allowed with ice cream.
So what do you think? Should milk manufacturers be able to add "safe and suitable" sweeteners to their products without having to indicate it on the label? Do you want your kids drinking milk with aspartame if it makes them more likely to drink milk instead of soda? Leave your comments below.
The FDA has requested responses to this petition. You can let the FDA know what you think here.
~Michael~
My kids don't drink soda or even flavored milk. They don't even drink those over sweetened "fruit" drinks.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a horrible idea. Regardless of what you think about the artificial sweeteners people need to be allowed to make educated decisions about what goes into their and their kids bodies.
Allowing food manufacturers to not label ingredients going into their foods flies in the face of this completely. It is at the very least completely misplaced and at worst grossly negligent and deceptive.
If they truly believed this was a healthy move, a move that would benefit the common good, why wouldn't they shout it from the rooftops? At the very least, put it on the label? The fact that they're making attempts to hide it shows that they recognize that artificial sweeteners are not a good, healthful choice.
ReplyDeleteMaking a healthy thing unhealthy to improve health? The fact that they don't want to label it pretty much says it all. It amazes me that raw milk is attacked while "regular" milk is being filled with artificial stuff. Something is very wrong here.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even sure what to say anymore. We're being bombarded on all fronts lately. They continue to push fluoride as an additive to water around the world, they are trying to push an anti-psychotic additive to the water now, GMO salmon and other foods. There has to be an initiative by the drug companies to expand their markets. The thing that disgusts me the most is the FDA. Shame on them! They are so easily bought. Sad that we can't trust them with the job we charged them with. How do we protect our families without buying a farm of our own?
ReplyDeleteI am a chocolate milk connoisseur. I love it and I love comparing brands, some excellent, some good, and some not so good. The best chocolate milk I have ever had is from Reed's Dairy in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It has a very good chocolate taste but it is also incredibly thick, rich, and smooth. The key ingredient is "potato solids" - dehydrated potato flake. It is right on the label. They don't try to hide it and some how it makes sense for Idaho, the potato capital of the world.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely believe that every ingredient should be listed clearly and truthfully on every food product.
What a horrible idea. What are the people allergic to those sweetners supposed to do if they aren't labeled as being in the product?
ReplyDeleteIf they want to add it, fine. But they should be required to put it on the label.
Doesn't aspartame turn to a low grade formaldehyde when heated to above 90°?
ReplyDeleteHere's a crazy idea, how about they stop jacking with our food and let people consume the healthy nutrients nature intended?
We don't drink cow's milk, but it's insulting to know that the FDA thinks that we don't care to know what's in our food, as long as it tastes good. Thanks for the link to the petition.
ReplyDelete