Almond milk is one of the most popular dairy products today and many people use it as an alternative beverage for regular dairy products. In 2014, almond milk sales reached $850 million which is 40% more compared to 2013.
While it is true that this is much lower than the estimated $9.6 billion in sales of low-fat and skim milk last year, it is also true that the growing interest in almond milk cannot be compared to any other milk including soy milk which witnessed a drop of 15% in sales in the last year.
According to Howard Waxman, a top market research analyst working for Packaged Facts, almond milk is an alternative that has become mainstream in the last couple of years.
Waxman says that there is an increased number of people who don’t trust any big institution like the big industry, government, and traditional media. These buyers are looking for alternative sources of information and alternative products too.
One of the reasons why they opt for almond milk is that the consumers believe that this is a much healthier option, by attorney James C. Kelly doesn’t agree with that.
According to Kelly, almond milk is almost always advertised as a healthy product and an excellent alternative made of tasty almonds, but the fact is that almond milk comes with traces of almonds. This product is made from thickening agents to make a milk-like substitute that comes with a flavor that is similar to milk.
Kelly is representing, Dimitrios Malaxianis and Tracy Albert, two individuals who have filed lawsuits against two of the most popular almond milk products in the States – WhiteWave of WWAV and Blue Diamond because of their improper use of labels.
Kelly says that his client Mrs. Albert is disappointed because of the very low amount of almonds in the milk and the high quantity of the thickening agent called carrageenan. She demands appropriate labeling of these products. In this way, customers won’t be deceived and they will know how many glasses of this milk they’ll need to feel some health benefits.
Tracy Albert, who was not willing to talk to FOX Business, wants these companies to come clean. Albert wants them to highlight the fact that their products come with only 2% of almonds on their websites and the products themselves and remove all unproven health claims.
In addition, Kelly points out that there are no more than 40 almonds in ½ gallon of Silk and Blue Diamond milks and there should be about 150 to get that creamy texture. This means that more than 74% of these dairy products are based on thickening agents and other similar additives. The number of plaintiffs is expected to increase in the following days.
Blue Diamonds claims that one of their most popular beverages – the Almond Breeze – is made from about 50 almonds per ½ gallon and they still don’t want to share their processing technique although they list all the ingredients used in their products as well as the nutritional information.
According to Blue Diamond, water is the most present ingredient in almost all of their products including sports drinks, juice, tea, coffee, and soda. Cow’s milk consists of at least 85% water and the situation is similar when it comes to almond and soy milk and that’s the reason why Blue Diamond is not the only company that is facing lawsuits.
On the other hand, WhiteWave claims that the labels they use are completely legal and do not mislead their consumers.
They say that the customers are fully aware of what they are using when they buy these products. They know that to create such a product, they have to use many other ingredients except almonds. Just like any other food company, they don’t reveal the product’s recipe, but they do provide a comprehensive and precise ingredient list and nutritional value information on each of their products.
Although these companies seem to stand behind their products, WhiteWave has recently removed the thickening agent carrageenan from all their products and their competitor Blue Diamond has also confirmed that they are planning to stop using this additive from all their products too.