Got diet chocolate milk?

The milk industry is dealing with a crisis, with sales evaporating to their lowest level since 1984. Sports drinks and bottled water are taking the place of dairy as consumers worry about calories and some schools cut back on serving chocolate milk to kids.

But now, the dairy industry is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the use of low-calorie sweeteners -- including aspartame -- in milk products. So, the agency last week asked for comments and data about the issue. 

The reason? Allowing low-calorie sweeteners in milk would "particularly benefit school children" who tend to drink chocolate and strawberry milk at school, according to the petition from the National Milk Producers Federation and the International Dairy Foods Association. 

Chocolate milk sold by companies such as Nestlé (NSRGY) is already available in options like Nesquik's "no sugar added" flavored drinks, but the dairy industry is arguing that labeling terms such as "reduced calorie" don't appeal to kids.

Chocolate milk is already something of a lightning rod among parents, with the sugar-laden drinks cited as one contributing factor to a rise in obesity among children. Some school districts have sought to ban chocolate and strawberry milk from their cafeterias, while celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has singled out sweetened milk as "really bad for [kids'] health."

The milk industry's options are currently limited because the FDA now allows "milk" only on beverages with added ingredients containing calories, according to the Huffington Post. That means ingredients such as sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. 

Nevertheless, aspartame-sweetened milk might not make parents feel any better. The sweetener, sold under the brand names Equal and NutraSweet, has been rumored to be linked to a number of health issues including cancer, although the American Cancer Society says "no health problems that have been consistently linked" to its use.

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