The American Butter Institute (ABI) is calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take swift action against what it says is misleading labeling by Country Crock, a brand now selling a product labeled as “dairy-free salted butter.” According to butter makers, it’s not butter - it’s a crock.
In a formal complaint sent to Claudine Kavanaugh, director of the FDA’s office of nutrition and food labeling, ABI alleges the plant-based spread violates the federal standard of identity for butter. While the product prominently features the word “butter” on its front label, the fine print reveals it’s actually a 79% plant-based oil spread.
“Country Crock is attempting to leverage the premium perception of real dairy butter maintained by consumers,” says Christopher Galen, executive director of ABI. “The manufacturer is clearly trying to confuse the consumer about what this product is: an ultra-processed seed oil concoction. This product may indeed be a crock from the country, but it’s certainly not butter.”
Under federal law, butter must be made from milk. ABI argues that letting companies label plant-based spreads as butter erodes consumer trust and the integrity of food labeling. Galen adds that with margarine and oil spreads facing declining sales, companies are trying to ride the coattails of butter’s growing popularity.
The complaint echoes a 2019 objection from the National Milk Producers Federation, which also pushed back on Country Crock’s use of “plant-based butter” in its marketing.
“Butter manufacturers are required to play by the rules,” Galen says. “The increasing number of fake butters on the market not only violates those rules, it misleads shoppers and undermines confidence in what they’re buying.”
The FDA has not yet responded to ABI’s complaint, but America’s butter makers are clear: If it’s not made from milk, don’t call it butter.
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