Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easter Recipes
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Pantry staples
    • Load shedding lifesavers
    • Baking tips and tricks
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Kitchen design and appliances
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easter Recipes
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Pantry staples
    • Load shedding lifesavers
    • Baking tips and tricks
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Kitchen design and appliances
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
No Result
View All Result

Can your favourite plant-based alternative say cheese?

Andrea Fedder by Andrea Fedder
August 12, 2020
in Food News
0
Can your favourite plant-based alternative say cheese?
0
SHARES
1.3k
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

If you’ve ever reached for a lookalike item in a grocery store before realising there’s no meat in those nuggets or no dairy in that milk, you aren’t alone. Overseas this has served as the basis for a large-scale legal showdown – the dairy industry accusing the plant-based industry of piggybacking on terms like milk and cheese to sell their products.

Suddenly questioning how those seemingly simple terms are actually defined? According to Merriam Webster, “milk” has always encompassed “food produced from seeds” and the usage of “almond milk” dates back to the 15th century. Cheese has two accepted definitions:

  1. “A food consisting of the coagulated, compressed, and usually ripened curd of milk separated from the whey”, but also
  2. “Something resembling cheese in shape or consistency”.

That second definition has been referenced since the 1920s.

We decided to look under the hood of the global naming furore and what the labeling landscape looks like for South African consumers.

Current legislation

In Europe, the use of dairy terms for non-animal products is mixed, but there is a specification that items like milk, cheese, yoghurt and butter only be used in reference to animal products. In the US, alternative dairy products may contain dairy terminology but must include the word “imitation”. However, this hasn’t been strictly enforced.

In South Africa, the current gazetted classes and standards for imitation dairy products permits the use of the “class” (milk, cheese, cream, yoghurt, etc.) to follow the “name of plant” – almond milk, for example.

What are the main issues?

Misinformation and misdirection

The milk industry is predominantly against it, as it says that plant-based brands benefit from the association of these terms with dairy. There’s also the argument that it creates a misassumption about nutritional information – that someone may assume nut cheese has the same benefits as cow’s milk cheese, for example.

In a Linkage survey of an FDA study, consumers admitted to understanding that descriptor words like “nut, soy and hemp” made them aware that the milk or cheese wasn’t from a cow. So most customers do support the usage of familiar terms, but those who don’t say that the flavour profiles differ too much to be called the same thing. They also point out that it’s misleading, considering items like plant-based cheeses don’t handle cooking methods in the same way (melting, grilling, etc.) as their dairy counterparts.

Interestingly, the local arm of European brand giant Danone sees dairy and plant-based options as “two distinct but complementary pillars” (but only in SA) and continues to reference their plant-based alternatives under the brand Alpro as milk. Other large SA producers of dairy products, like Clover, have branched out to include their own offering of plant-based alternatives.

Alpro milkHow is SA’s dairy alternative market responding?

Resiliently, of course. Though SA isn’t yet affected by a multi-million-dollar dairy industry calling dibs on their favourite words in the dictionary, South African entrepreneurs have gotten creative with naming and labelling. Here are just a few examples of how they’ve navigated the naming of their plant-based dairy alternative products (most still include the words cheese, milk or yoghurt on their product).

Fauxmage

Daniel Boshof, a South African vegan cheese-monger, demonstrated his creative spirit when he founded Fauxmage.

OkJa

OkJa is a clean-label oat milk brand launched by Rui Esteves (of Vida and &Union fame). On their boxes, they call it m*lk. Because they can.

Sheese

Sheese is a certified vegan soy-based cheese that offers nine different types – including blue-style, strong cheddar and mozzarella-style.

TATAMOO Macadamia Nut Cheese

Based in Stellenbosch, TATAMOO makes its aged macadamia nut cheese in the same ways used for traditional dairy-based cheese.

Utterly Udderless Cheeky Vegan Cheeze

Made in the Magaliesburg, Utterly Udderless offers handcrafted organic, non-GMO, vegan-friendly cheese.

Wot No Dairy

Wot No Dairy is a range of tasty yoghurt-style desserts made from highly nutritious pea protein and sweetened with fruit juice.

Tags: cheeseDairy ProductsFeaturesFoodFood NewsFood TrendsmilkVegan


Related Posts

The best chocolate sandwich biscuit: Oreos vs dupes
Featured

The best chocolate sandwich biscuit: Oreos vs dupes

March 17, 2023
grocery basket
Features

The impact that load shedding has on your household’s grocery basket

March 17, 2023
monkey-nuts
Featured

Have you ever eaten monkey nuts? An ode to a favourite childhood treat

March 8, 2023
Next Post
The Food24 team shares their must-know kitchen hacks

The Food24 team shares their must-know kitchen hacks

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Food24 Team Loves

Chefs share 8 trade-secrets to making a fantastic milk tart at home

Chefs share 8 trade-secrets to making a fantastic milk tart at home

February 20, 2023
The 4-ingredient dough recipe that changed my life

The 4-ingredient dough recipe that changed my life

February 13, 2023
We predict 2023’s biggest food trends for home cooks

We predict 2023’s biggest food trends for home cooks

February 1, 2023
The Food24 team shares their 2023 kitchen goals

The Food24 team shares their 2023 kitchen goals

February 1, 2023
Tips on how to pack the perfect picnic

Tips on how to pack the perfect picnic

January 14, 2023

Recent favourites

  • Roast Pear Salad

    Feeling hangry? Here are 12 quick and delicious dinner recipes for when you’re short on time

    14 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 15 perfect potato side dishes that will upgrade any meal

    29 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Genius, quick hacks for easy tomato sauce

    8 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How to make the perfect banana bread

    4 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The best chocolate sandwich biscuit: Oreos vs dupes

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get weekly access to our best recipes, tips and tricks

Sign Up
Footer

Quick links

  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Win

Collections

  • New Recipes
  • Festive
  • Baking
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Braai Recipes
  • Lunchbox
  • South African Recipes
  • Pasta Recipes

Other links

  • Advertise with Food24
  • Editorial Policy
  • How to Pitch
  • Contact us

Not in the mood to cook?

Visit eatout.co.za to find the perfect restaurant near you.

eatout.co.za

© 2020 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

  • About us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • New Media
IAB
No Result
View All Result
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easter Recipes
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Pantry staples
    • Load shedding lifesavers
    • Baking tips and tricks
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Kitchen design and appliances
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win

© 2019 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms below to register

Subscribe to Newsletter

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Close
Food24
Recipe Disclaimer

All recipe content is the responsibility of the party from whom such content originated. You agree that you use the content on Food24 at your own risk. Please read our editorial policy.
Close
Food24
Get the latest recipes delivered to your inbox weekly
Promotional Newsletter

Be the first to receive information about competitions and special offers from Food24 and it's partners.

You have successfully been subscribed!
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Make sure you have completed all required fields.
I don't want to see this again