Tuesday, 08 September 2015 16:02

Is almond milk nuts?

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What percentage of almonds should almond ‘milk’ contain avoid misleading consumers?

A class action filed in the US against WhiteWave Foods and Blue Diamond Growers for false advertising looks set to nut it out in the civil courts soon.

Of course, here at Dairy News the concern isn’t so much whether there is a small (2%) amount of almonds in the product, as whether you can really call it milk at all? Given that the word milk has its roots in an Indo-European word ‘melg’ (to wipe or stroke), we’re not sure any liquid should be called milk if it isn’t harvested by milking. Camels, goats… you’re off the hook. But almonds, coconuts, soy beans, oats and cashews? Perhaps it’s time for a new word. How about ‘non-dairy water-based composite’? Sounds delicious.

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