U.S. product labels can be trusted 50% of the time. You just need to know the milk keywords to lookout for.
There are tons of words that indicate “milk”- See What’s Safe, What’s Not for specific terms to look out for.
For FDA mandated products (all imported or domestic foods within the U.S.) determining if a food item has milk is usually a pretty straight forward process. By simply checking the backs of food labels one is able to get a pretty good idea if something is dairy free or “not safe” as we say in our house.
All products regulated by the FDA are required by law to label for all the top 8 allergens, including milk.
FALCPA is a law that requires any imported or domestic foods within the U.S. to be labeled
“in plain English for any major food allergen” or any ingredient that includes a major allergen’s protein.
What companies do not have to disclose is if the product is made on shared lines with dairy items or if it is made in a facility where dairy items are made.
For most allergic people the “strict cleaning processes” and “testing” that companies do for said allergens are thorough enough were there is little cause for concern, but I always recommend staying within your comfort zone.
IE: We will not buy “safe” dairy-free popsicle-pops from a ice cream manufacturer because I feel the risk is just too much, but we do in fact by crackers and cookies from manufacturers that produce milk cookies in the same facility.
U.S.food products all have labels, usually on the backs of their products. You’ll want to look for statements like:
contains milk
may contain milk
milk (in bold)- listed in the ingredients
Whey protein (milk)
Lactic Acid (milk)
made in a facility with milk products
Where the curve ball is thrown is with non-FDA mandated products.
Products not regulated by the FDA are NOT mandated to label for anything including allergens.
Frustrating is a understatement when it comes to things like: lotions, vitamins, fever reducers, shampoos, hand-soaps, shaving creams etc.. For these products their ingredients are considered proprietary.
Bottom Line: Always call, always always always call the manufacturers.
Explain there is a allergy and usually they can tell you right over the phone whether their products are: made on lines with dairy, or if the product contains milk itself as an ingredient. I’ve made the mistake before assuming a product is safe (FYI: Children’s Blue Raspberry Advil contains milk and DOES NOT state that it does on its label) and had super scary consequences because of that.
What’s Specifics on Safe & Unsafe products?
Check out Favorite Finds & What’s Safe, What’s Not