Almond Milk: Not Just Another Dairy Product

Ever wonder how to milk an almond? It is a question we here at Abnormal Use ask every time we mistakenly find ourselves in the middle of a health food conversation and someone urges us to try almond milk. Contrary to our suspicions, extracting milk from an almond is possible.  However, the process may be fudged from time to time according to a new lawsuit.  As reported by Time, Tracy Albert and Dimitros Malaxianis have sued Blue Diamond alleging that its Almond Breeze milk is made with far less almonds than advertised. Interestingly, the Almond Breeze packaging does not list what percentage of the milk is made from almonds; however, its website states that it only contains 2 percent almonds. Based on “extensive” Internet research, the plaintiffs allege that the majority of almond milk contains 25-33 percent almonds. The Almond Breeze packaging contains pictures of almonds and the phrase “made from real almonds,” which allegedly deceives customers into believing that the product is made “mostly” from almonds. (While we can understand how there can be a discrepancy between 2 percent and 25-33 percent if that is what it takes to make authentic almond milk, we question how 25-33 percent equals “mostly” in any mathematical universe.)

We have no idea whether there is a standard recipe for the creation of almond milk. Nonetheless, we question whether consumers can actually be deceived by an artificial milk substitute. As discussed in the Time report, this same almond milk issue has been discussed in the United Kingdom just three short years ago. The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority stated:

We considered that, whilst consumers might not be aware of exactly how almond milk was produced, they were likely to realize . . . that the production of almond milk would necessarily involve combining almonds with a suitable proportion of liquid to produce a ‘milky’ consistency.

In other words, almond milk is not actually “milk” at all. It takes a certain amount of processing to make consumers think they are drinking milk in the first place. Whether it is 2 percent or 25 percent almond, consumers should simply be amazed that you can, in fact, “milk” an almond.