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In addition to the celebrations, the seminar also showcased the IDF’s latest project – the development of a Global School Milk Knowledge Hub, to be launched in early 2021.

This interactive online hub will bring together important information on the role of milk and dairy products in healthy diets produced by sustainable food systems and the UN sustainable development goals. It will provide case study examples and data to assist those wishing to implement school milk programmes in their country and will be a source of information for those who want to learn more about school milk programmes worldwide. IDF with its network and knowledge on the topic is a key element in bringing all this information together, it says.

IDF director general Caroline Emond says, “IDF is preparing to take a next step towards achieving its vision of ‘Helping to nourish the world with safe and sustainable dairy’ with an announcement of the imminent launch of our Global School Milk Knowledge Hub. We look forward to sharing further details over the next few months.”

Following on from its previous research into the area, earlier this year, IDF also shared an extensive review of global school milk programmes, introducing data on their important impact on childhood nutrition.

Compiling research from global experts in the field on different programmes around the world, IDF bulletin, The contribution of school milk programmes to the nutrition of children worldwide provides insights on the range of products, along with raw data and a literature review.

The 2020 edition includes a review on the evidence of the nutritional benefits of these programmes, offering new perspectives into the global impact of school milk programmes.

For more about IDF World School Milk Day celebrations, visit www.fil-idf.org

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At the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year, the change in the ordinance also took effect, according to which all elementary school classes can receive free drinking milk for five days – after that, the children can choose from the regional supplier’s offer. The EU school programme for milk provides financial support for the supply of educational institutions with agricultural products.

The added sugar content in dairy products will be reduced to a maximum of 4.5% for the 2020/2021 school year (from 2022/2023: 3.5%). As the plastic drinking straw will be banned in 2021, there are already numerous experiments with other materials. A question has been, if changing the drinking behaviours, where one = opens the container and drinks, would not be the best solution, so no drinking straw would be required.

The well-being of the children has to be at the fore in all measures relating to the EU school programme. The suppliers have taken precautions, attended further training courses in the summer, researched, bought operating materials, further developed labeling and are ready to go. This has meant that committed direct marketers in Austrian had a very good success at the start of the new school year.

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To get a school open and compliant with the rules for social distancing is a logistical nightmare on a good day, but when there’s an international pandemic, it doesn’t bear thinking about. So much has to be looked at – facilities, ventilation, catering, staff and child safety, to name just a few.

My child is enjoying being back at school and the masks and constant handwashing seem like small prices to pay for the joy of seeing his friends again every day, and learning.

Plus, his teachers don’t yell at him as much as his stressed out parents did during home education, I am sure. Our gratitude cannot be over-expressed for the teachers and administrators working hard to keep the children in school and engaged, while untangling all the new regulations that have to be put in place.

As we all know, school milk is a big part of a many countries’ dairy industries, and having the children back in school where they can drink milk and enjoy it is key to this. The dairy industry is going to have to think outside the box a bit when it comes to things like the UN FAO’s World School Milk Day, which is set for this Wednesday, 30 September.

As it celebrates its 21st anniversary, the events held in more than 25 different countries will have a different feel to it, due to social distancing requirements. But I am sure we will still see a variety of educational celebrations for this very important day in the dairy calendar.

I for one look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with, and hope they can continue to have a few people dressed like cows, no matter where they celebrate World School Milk Day.

• Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
  Keep in touch via email: suzanne@bellpublishing.com
  Twitter: @dairyindustries or LinkedIn: Dairy Industries International magazine.

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CEO Miles Hurrell says, as a New Zealand farmer owned co-op, with employees spread right across regional New Zealand, Fonterra is part of many communities. “We’ve taken a good look at what the country is facing into, particularly in the context of Covid-19, and asked if our current way of doing things is supporting the people who need it most.

“We can see there’s a need for us to expand our thinking and take a more holistic approach that reaches more people – which is why we’re making these changes,” says Mr Hurrell.

As part of its new approach, Fonterra will:

Grow KickStart Breakfast alongside partners Sanitarium and the Ministry of Social Development. There are already more than 1,000 schools in KickStart Breakfast, and one of Fonterra’s immediate goals is to work with its partners to have all decile 1 to 5 schools across the country in KickStart Breakfast – reaching another 200 schools – where coming together over breakfast at the start of the school day really makes a difference.

Extend its supply of dairy nutrition further into communities by partnering with NZ Food Network to distribute dairy products to charities, food banks and community partners. Fonterra says it believes it’s not just in schools where it can play a role. During lockdown earlier this year, Fonterra redirected close to one million serves of Fonterra Milk for Schools product into communities through food banks, charities and other partners. The co-op states that working with NZ Food Network will allow it to keep doing this.

NZ Food Network CEO, Gavin Findlay, said: “NZFN is delighted to partner with Fonterra to deliver much needed goodness into the communities of Aotearoa New Zealand. This complements our own desire of ‘getting food to where it’s needed most’. Working together, we will strive to ensure everyone has access to healthy, nutritious food.”

This refreshed approach means Fonterra Milk for Schools, which is for primary school aged children, will wrap-up at the end of this year.

“We’ve got a lot of affection for Fonterra Milk for Schools, but we have to recognise through this refresh there’s a much more efficient, environmentally focused and impactful way to get milk to more kids each day.

“It will be an end of an era and we’re proud of what Fonterra Milk for Schools has achieved – but times have changed and so will we, to ensure we’re always doing our best for those who need it the most,” said Hurrell.

Papatoetoe North School principal, Stan Tiatia, said: “our school community makes high use of the KickStart Breakfast programme and for us it is a time for whanau, staff and children to connect and start the day in a positive state. The programme helps to build community and in times affected by anxiety and isolation the KickStart breakfast time provides an opportunity for connection and care. We are grateful for the work by the KickStart team and know that our community is strengthened by their efforts.”

Fonterra will now talk with schools in Fonterra Milk for Schools, who aren’t also already members of KickStart Breakfast, to see if joining KickStart Breakfast is right for them for the 2021 school year.

“These changes reflect our co-operative heart – good things happen when people come together,” commented Hurrell.

For more information on what Fonterra and partners are doing in New Zealand communities, click here.

[Image source: www.kickstartbreakfast.co.nz/breakfast-clubs]

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Approximately 10% of drinking milk in Japan is diverted to school meal use. The support programme is budgeted at $21.5 million (€19.9m) and will provide price supports for excess milk diverted to further processing and non-fat dry milk (NFDM) diverted to animal feed.

Dairy processors will receive payments for NFDM sold for animal feed. NFDM stocks are already at near-historic highs in Japan due to lower than expected consumption in 2019. In March 2019, approximately 22 million litres of school lunch milk was produced, accounting for 8% of total drinking milk production in Japan that month. Most Japanese public primary and middle schools offer students 200ml of milk as a part of the school lunch every day.

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After contacting the dairy company and presenting their concerns about the environmental impact of plastic straws in 2018, Müller has committed to removing all plastic straws from its products by 2020.

The Scottish school accepted an offer to work with the dairy company to trial Müller’s new paper straw, which is attached to their recyclable school milk cartons.

Having already removed 10,000 tonnes of plastic from Müller Milk bottles since 2016, the initiative builds upon Müller’s continued work to drive down plastic use. Müller’s fresh and flavoured milk bottles are 100% recyclable, and having secured appropriate supplies of recycled HDPE, up to 40% of the plastic in Müller’s fresh milk bottles is made from recycled material. The dairy company has also removed a further 700 tonnes of plastic per annum by lightweighting it’s recyclable fresh milk bottles and milk caps.

Müller’s new paper straw is fully recyclable, it has been developed in partnership with Tetra Pak over the last 18 months and is made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paperboard.

The company is currently undertaking further trials at its Bridgwater site, using the new paper straws.

If successful, Bridgwater will begin the permanent roll out of the paper straws by the end of March 2020. Müller’s other school milk producing sites would follow by the end of 2020, eliminating 48 tonnes of plastic every year.

Lisa Perrie, principal teacher at Sunnyside Primary School said: “It is wonderful for our young conservationists to get their hands on a product first discussed between the Sunnyside Ocean Defenders and Müller over eighteen months ago.

“Müller keeping the children up to date on developments not only shows our young people that their opinion is valued, but that companies like Müller can be the change in reducing the impact of single use plastic. Our Ocean Defenders appreciate that this took time, investment and quite a bit of elbow grease from the Müller team, but the quality of the product today shows that this hard work has paid off. Our pupils loved it!”

Gareth Budd, head of customer innovation at Müller Milk & Ingredients said: “We’ve already removed 10,000 tonnes of plastic from our packaging in recent years, our fresh milk bottles are 100% recyclable, and they contain up to 40% recycled material.

“But to ensure that future generations continue to benefit from the goodness of fresh school milk, we recognise the need to continually innovate and update our packaging.

“The pupils at Sunnyside Primary School have a real passion for positive change, and were an inspiration. We thank them for their valued participation in the trial, and now we’re fully focused on removing all plastic straws from our school milk by the end of 2020.”

Charles Brand, President of Tetra Pak Europe & Central Asia said: “It is important that we launch a sustainable paper straw that is fully functional, recyclable and does not compromise on food safety. We also recognise our responsibility to provide sustainable solutions to our customers that will enable us, as a collective, to move towards a low carbon circular economy.

“We believe this trial is a fantastic way to truly test and receive feedback, and it’s great to receive such a positive reaction to using the new paper straws. We are happy to work together with Müller to roll out paper straws and help them realise their commitment to drive down plastic.”

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The canteen was opened at a school in Thailand in September 2018 and showcased how companies and communities can work together. The 170 children at the school can now drink their milk from cartons in a canteen made of cartons, taking a clear message of recycling home to their families.

Chatramol Intrasorn, school director at Nikom Sang Ton Eang school said: “The eco-canteen is a great way to bring recycling to life by showing children – and their parents – what happens to the cartons after they drink their milk. Helping children understand how recycling can help the environment is really important because they are the consumers of tomorrow.”

SIG teamed up with Kasetsart University, the food manufacturer Ampol Foods and the Fiber Pattana recycling plant to design and rebuild the canteen at the primary school near the company’s production site in Rayong, Thailand.

More than 1.4 million cartons were used into the canteen. Fiber Pattana supplied the tiles for the roof and panels for the walls, made out of aluminium and polymers from used cartons collected mainly from schools. The chipboard tables and chairs were produced from cartons recycled by Ampol Foods, a SIG customer that runs its own recycling plant for beverage cartons.

Increasing recycling rates is part of SIG’s mission to go Way Beyond Good – to put more into the environment and society than it takes out – and awareness raising is a key focus for the company’s community engagement activities.

Navapol Chuensiri, head of cluster Asia-Pacific south at SIG, said: “The eco-canteen serves as a model for SIG’s cartons and collaborative approach to bring benefits to communities and raise awareness of how recycling can help the environment. This innovative approach offers exciting opportunities for similar projects to extend positive impacts in other regions.”

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New research carried out on behalf of Dairy UK showed that over three-quarters of parents in the UK are concerned about the funding of school milk schemes after Brexit, with 87% of parents rating the schemes as ‘incredibly valuable’ to children.

Currently UK children receive subsidised milk through two schemes; the Nursery Milk Scheme and the EU School Milk Scheme. Regarding the latter, Dairy UK has called on the British government to commit to funding a replacement scheme post-Brexit, to ensure British children continue to receive subsidised school milk.

Chief executive of Dairy UK, Dr Judith Bryans says, “Milk is so important to the growth and development of children – just one carton provides calcium, protein, iodine, B vitamins and other vital nutrients. School milk schemes mean that children from all backgrounds can access nutritious foods, like milk. In light of rising levels of childhood obesity it is paramount that funding for these schemes continues, so that we educate the next generation about healthy food and diets.”

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In addition to providing milk and/or dairy products, school milk programmes include food education to help foster a better understanding of dairy products, including where they come from, how dairy products are made, their nutritional composition, and how they fit into the overall diet.

“Globally, school milk programmes play a key role in ensuring that young children have access to nutritious foods. This is vital given the role nutrition plays in long-term growth and development,” says IDF president Dr Judith Bryans.

“This celebration of school milk programmes demonstrates the importance of milk and dairy foods which are essential in a healthy and balanced diet, particularly for young children,” IDF director general Caroline Emond adds.

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As a part of the celebration, NFN distributed flavoured milk in a Zilla Parishad School, Medchal district of Telangana state. An awareness program was also organised on the benefits of regular consumption of milk for the children.

In China, Tony Chai, school milk manager from Tetra Pak China, notes, “A Special Activity, as part of Yili Nutrition 2020, targeted poverty alleviation with a public welfare project by Yili Group. It was successfully held in the West Ulan Bu Lang School in Wuchuan County, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Yili Group had transferred RMB21 million (€2.8m) of school milk and learning supplies to the China Red Cross Foundation, which will be used in 130 cities and counties from 25 provinces such as Yushu of Qinghai, Liangshan of Sichuan, Lantian of Shaanxi and Xibaipo of Hebei, where the Yili project has targeted for its poverty alleviation project.”

Meanwhile, in the UK, sports stars came out to support dairy on the day. The UK Dairy Council partnered with five of Britain’s top sports people with an initiative to ‘Make Milk Your Goal’ which celebrates the nutritional merits of milk and its important role in athletes’ diets. Olympians such as hockey player Sam Quek MBE, gymnast Nile Wilson and track and field athlete Perri Shakes-Drayton shared their own World Milk Day messages on Twitter alongside The Dairy Council, raising a glass of milk and encouraging everyone to ‘Make Milk Your Goal’ when it comes to training and recovering from exercise.

World Milk Day, which is now in its 18^th year, was founded by the United Nations’ FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organisation). Over 80 countries participate worldwide, joining together to celebrate the nutritional benefits of milk.

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The proposal is an extension of the colour-coded UK traffic light system but with reference values including portions. However, according to the European Dairy Association (EDA), the proposed system includes only the content of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt and ignores positive nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals.

The organisation goes on to say that such a selective approach does not recognise the importance of nutrient-dense foods as recommended in dietary recommendations nor does it help consumers to compose a balanced and varied diet with nutritious foods.

Traffic light-style schemes such as ENL are not in line with the principle of providing “objective and non-discriminatory” food information required by the EU legislation because the introduction of colour-coding is a non-objective judgment of the nutritional quality of products and unnecessarily discriminate certain foods, the EDA says.

In addition, the UK traffic light system has not shown to change the consumer behaviour, and no study so far proves that colour-coded and ‘negative nutrient’ based schemes indeed help to improve public health, as e.g. by reducing obesity, according to the EDA.

EDA secretary general Alexander Anton highlights that it is well established that milk and dairy products are an important part of the dietary guidelines and recommendations across the EU5.

The health benefits of milk and dairy have been continuously recognised in the recently evaluated European School Milk Scheme. In a Western diet, dairy products provide between 40% and 70% of the recommended daily calcium intake. In some member states dairy is also one the main natural sources of iodine in the diet – the intake of iodine from milk and dairy products is up to 37%.

Milk and dairy products are also natural sources of high quality protein and many essential vitamins and minerals. According to the EDA, the proposed ENL scheme as currently presented has not been adapted to acknowledge the nutrient-rich foods and therefore is not adequate to milk and dairy products.

The EDA considers that colour-coded systems, especially those focusing exclusively on nutrients ‘to limit’ and ignoring the overall nutrient contribution of foods, give misleading information to consumers. The ENL scheme has not reached its target of improving the UK traffic light scheme to give consideration of particular nutrition qualities of milk and dairy and therefore the EDA finds it unsuitable for dairy products.

The organisation goes on to say that it also induces confusing messages and possible errors in consumer understanding: a same product in the same shelf can display different results; it will encourage consumption of soft drinks compared to milk, or salted biscuits compared to cheese, and generally encourage more turning to less nutritionally interesting options compared to consumption of wholesome foods.

The EDA stresses that it is aware that there are alternative positive labelling systems which consider the overall nutritional quality of foods in a more balanced way, without harmful discrimination of basic foods. The organisation believes that systems which are worth further discussion and consideration by the interested stakeholders could be the Australian Health Star Rating scheme or Choices International logo, for example.

Anton concludes, “There is seriously something wrong with a scheme where a diet soda drink ranks better than drinking milk.”

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The EDA believes that voluntary labelling schemes used in addition to the nutrition declaration required by the EU law can be a useful additional tool for consumers if they fulfill a number of important criteria, such a scheme should look at the food as a whole and support foods rich in essential nutrients.

A good voluntary labelling scheme should be thoroughly evaluated, have a significant positive impact on consumer behaviour and public health, be compatible with EU legislation and be supported by relevant stakeholders, the EDA says.

Unfortunately, the latest traffic lights scheme proposal by six multi-national food companies grouped in the Evolved Nutrition Labelling Initiative (ENL) does not fulfill these requirements and is therefore not an adequate system for milk and dairy products.

The European dairy sector has closely followed the recent discussions on the proposal for a new labelling scheme developed by six international food and drink companies, so called ‘Evolved Nutrition Label Initiative’ (ENL). The proposal is an extension of the colour-coded UK traffic light system but with reference values including portions (and not only on 100g).

The proposed system includes only the content of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt and fully ignores any positive nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals. Such a selective approach does not recognise the importance of nutrient-dense foods as recommended in dietary recommendations nor does it help consumers to compose a balanced and varied diet with nutritious foods.

Traffic light-style schemes such as ENL are not in line with the principle of providing “objective and non-discriminatory” food information required by the EU legislation because the introduction of colour-coding is a non-objective judgment of the nutritional quality of products and unnecessarily discriminate certain foods. In addition, the UK traffic light system has not shown to change the consumer behaviour, and no study so far proves that colour-coded and ‘negative nutrient’ based schemes indeed help to improve public health, for example by reducing obesity.

Alexander Anton, EDA secretary general, highlights that it is well established that milk and dairy products are an important part of the dietary guidelines and recommendations across the EU5.

The health benefits of milk and dairy have been continuously recognised in the recently evaluated European School Milk Scheme. In a Western diet, dairy products provide between 40% and 70% of the recommended daily calcium intake. In some member states dairy is also one the main natural sources of iodine in the diet – the intake of iodine from milk and dairy products is up to 37%.

Milk and dairy products are also natural sources of high quality protein and many essential vitamins and minerals. The proposed ENL scheme as currently presented has not been adapted to acknowledge the nutrient-rich foods and therefore is not adequate to milk and dairy products.

The EDA considers that colour-coded systems, especially those focusing exclusively on nutrients ‘to limit’ and ignoring the overall nutrient contribution of foods, give misleading information to consumers. The ENL scheme has not reached its target of improving the UK traffic light scheme to give consideration of particular nutrition qualities of milk and dairy and therefore the EDA finds it unsuitable for dairy products.

It also induces confusing messages and possible errors in consumer understanding: a same product in the same shelf can display different results; it will encourage consumption of soft drinks compared to milk, or salted biscuits compared to cheese, and generally encourage more turning to less nutritionally interesting options compared to consumption of wholesome foods.

“There is seriously something wrong with a scheme where a diet soda drink ranks better than drinking milk”, underlines Anton.

The EDA states that there are alternative positive labelling systems which consider the overall nutritional quality of foods in a more balanced way, without harmful discrimination of basic foods, for example, the Australian Health Star Rating scheme or Choices International logo.

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The launch of Arla Organic Milk in the UAE forms part of the farmer-owned company’s ambitious business strategy, which is to become the number one organic dairy brand in the Middle East and North Africa by 2020. Arla also has plans to expand into Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in 2018.

“We see a growing appetite for organic products in the Middle East, and we are responding to this consumer demand with the first of many organic product launches in the region. As the world’s leading producer of organic dairy products, we look forward to introducing more Middle Eastern consumers to our organic range by adding Arla Organic to our existing portfolio in the region,” says Rasmus Malmbak Kjeldsen, senior vice president of Arla’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa.

The UAE is typically a first-mover country in the region when it comes to consumer trends and it is where Arla first spotted the organic trend in the region, the company says.

“We have noted a general trend towards organic especially in the fruit and vegetables category. Now we are seeing this unfold into dedicated organic shops, cafés and restaurants. By launching Arla Organic milk in UAE first, we look to tap into this growing trend and gather crucial information about organic consumers, which we can utilise as we enter neighbouring markets,” says Malmbak Kjeldsen.

Arla currently produces non-organic dairy products under global brands such as Lurpak, Castello and particularly Puck, which has become a household staple in the Middle East. Fronting the Arla brand on products like organic milk and Arla Protein milk drink will build the dairy company’s presence even further.

To celebrate the launch of Arla Organic Milk in UAE and to coincide with World School Milk Day, Arla hosted an interactive pop-up farm event in Dubai on 24-27 September, offering primary school children, government officials and the media a unique opportunity to learn more about organic farming. Two organic Arla farmer owners from Europe were present for the launch in Dubai to share their experience and dedication directly with consumers.

Arla Organic Milk is now available across all key retailers in the UAE, including Union Coop, Choithrams, Spinneys, Carrefour, Geant and Lulu Hypermarket.

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The purpose of the campaign, launched by The Dairy Council and backed by Dairy UK, is to celebrate the nutritional benefits of drinking milk, as well as educating pupils about the important role it plays in their diet.

Schools across the country have been submitting ‘milky’ videos, photos and messages onto a dedicated ‘Milk Memo’ website for the chance to win outdoor sports equipment for their schools. Entries so far include milk poems, collages and a ‘milk carton’ cow.

Erica Hocking, senior nutrition scientist at The Dairy Council, says, “We’re delighted that schools have got involved with this initiative. Milk is an easy, tasty and affordable way to help children to get their recommended daily allowance of calcium, protein and iodine, and we hope pupils have enjoyed taking part.

“Once all the entries have been sent in, The Dairy Council will select the most creative entry to win outdoor games for their class.”

Dr Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK, adds, “Good nutrition and physical activity are key to ensuring children have healthy bodies. Milk is a nutrient rich food and a staple part of most children’s diets. Consuming milk is an easy way to help children meet their recommended daily intake of calcium.

“Schools play a vital role in ensuring children have milk to drink and helping them to understand why it’s good for them.

“The Dairy Council’s initiative is the perfect way to have a bit of fun, interact as a class and learn about why making healthy eating and drinking choices matters.”

In its 18th year, World School Milk Day celebrates school milk programmes globally. It is organised by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (UN FAO) and is celebrated by over 30 countries worldwide.

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Cows generally prefer a temperate climate but in hotter climates are reared at higher altitudes or housed in air-conditioned accommodation, in order to provide a fresh milk supply. Milk reconstituted from powder is an important option in non-milk producing locations. Distinguishing between fresh and reconstituted milk is an important challenge for the analyst, especially where fresh milk commands a premium price.

There are some parts of the world where milk was not widely consumed, although the convenience factor and wider availability of UHT milk is also changing this.

Milk composition

Foods composition tables show that cow’s milk contains a wide range of nutrients. Such tables are useful for obtaining nutritional information on most of the foods that we consume. However, one drawback is that they only report average values and do not account for variations in composition arising from season, diet, breed of cow and stage of lactation. As an example, Chen et al. (2014) reported variations in composition and properties of bulk milk collected on 25 occasions over a complete year. A selection of data is shown in Table 1, which includes the mean value and the range found for pH and the main components in milk. It needs to be more fully appreciated that milk, being of biological origin, is variable in composition. There is potential for employing variations of raw milk to make “best use “ of milk and this is starting to receive more attention ( Chen et al., 2017a, 2017b)

Production and use

The top four bovine milk producers in the world are the US, India, China and Brazil. Table 2 shows some of the major milk producers worldwide and also their populations. The amount of milk produced per head of population has been calculated and this reveals who is producing surplus to national requirements and those countries which are not, ie, the major exporters and importers of milk products.

The situation in the UK is worth further discussion. We are approximately the tenth largest milk producer in the world and we consume about 50 per cent of this as liquid milk. This is the highest in the world and the vast majority of this is pasteurised. In the US it is approximately 20 per cent and in Ireland about 10 per cent. Thus we are the foremost nation of milk drinkers.

Options for using milk are relatively simple. The simplest is to consume it as liquid milk, or it can be converted it into a range of products. In the UK, cheese production accounts for about 30 per cent of the milk produced. The main by-product is whey. Industries have evolved to utilise whey and this is a now a valuable revenue stream for cheese manufacturers and whey processing specialists. It takes about 10 kg milk to make 1 kg of a hard cheese like cheddar, which will generate about 9 kg of liquid whey. Whey protein concentrates and isolates are widely available for a wide variety of health related uses, including sports nutrition.

Milk composition can be easily modified by physical separation processes. The fat in milk can separated by centrifugation and recombined with skim milk to produce milk with a variety of fat contents and creams ranging from 12 per cent to upward of 50 per cent. Protein may also be concentrated by ultrafiltration for high protein drinks.

In recent times, semi-skimmed milk has become popular. Its fat content has been reduced from about four per cent to about 1.5 per cent but it retains a reasonable mouthfeel. Skim milk, which contains about 0.1 per cent fat, is also a popular option, but it has a more watery mouthfeel. However, the mineral and water soluble vitamin contents of both these reduced-fat milks is approximately the same as the original milk.

Heat treatment

Milk is usually heat treated, primarily to make it safe for consumption. In the UK it is predominantly pasteurised. This is the simplest way to use milk and we do this exceptionally well in the UK.

Heat treatment ranges from pasteurisation and extended shelf-life, which both require refrigerated storage, through to sterilisation. Again sterilisation can be performed in the container at 115 -120 ^oC for 15 to 30 min or by ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing. This involves heating product up to 140 ^oC and holding it at that temperature for a short period of time. It is then cooled and packaged aseptically, to maintain it sterile. In the UK, most milk is pasteurised and distributed and stored chilled. In contrast, in France and Belgium, over 90 per cent of liquid milk is UHT processed.

Sterilisation provides a product that can be stored without refrigeration and which may have a shelf-life of six months or longer. Most of the plant protein beverages are UHT sterilised.

Worldwide, white milk still dominates the dairy beverages sector. In 2015, 216 billion litres were consumed. In contrast, soya milk was 17.8 billion litres and the emerging RNGS (rice, nuts, grain and seeds) category was 8.3 billion litres. In a recent article it was stated that there are over 15 products in this latter category. The most common are almond, coconut, oats and rice. All of this is heat treated.

Nutrients

Milk contains an essential range of minerals and vitamins. When milk is converted to products, the aim is to ensure that the nutrients that are found in milk are retained in the products.

Milk provides a very cheap source of protein, something which should be more widely appreciated. Table 3 has been compiled by purchasing products in a local supermarket. The cost of the purchase, its weight or volume and its declared protein content allow the cost of purchasing one gram of protein to be calculated. The table contains the approximate price we pay for protein for a variety of popular products in the UK diet. It shows that those two staples of the English diet, namely bread and milk, are the cheapest protein sources and eggs are not far behind.

Many nutritional studies show that people are more likely to benefit from including milk and milk products in their diet than excluding them. At one time free school milk was supplied to every child in the UK, and at that time childhood obesity was not the problem that it now is. Some things which are of current concern are increases in obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Rickets is also on the increase. One of the main problems in the elderly is muscle wastage. Protein and calcium are very important nutrients to reduce this.

Milk intolerances

A small proportion of the population may show intolerance to milk. However, it is often considered to be more of a perceived problem than a real problem. It is estimated that only 0.01 per cent of Northern European populations lacks the enzyme to digest lactose.

“Almost 12 million people in the UK consider themselves to be lactose intolerant” ( Bee, 2016). For many Britains, milk phobia has little medical basis. Formally diagnosed problems are a fraction of the figure who think they have a problem. More common is secondary lactose intolerance, which is temporary and might occur after a bout of illness. There are some strategies for tolerating dairy products and it is accepted that people can also learn to tolerate lactose

Breast milk is the first food to be naturally available to babies. It has had an eternity to evolve in order to provide adequate nutrition at the start of life. Infant formulations aim to mimic breast milk in composition. It is an undisputable fact that breast milk contains more lactose than bovine milk. From this, one might assume that all infants are born with the ability to digest lactose, but in many parts of the world, lactose intolerance is widespread. One explanation is that the ability to digest lactose is easily lost quite quickly in some populations and it is not clear (to me) why this is the case.

Some people may be intolerant to protein, the most common and fashionable at the moment being gluten (wheat protein) intolerance. The main protein fraction in milk is casein, but there are different types of casein. One casein fraction is β-casein and most bovine milk contains both A1 and A2 forms of β–casein. Some individuals may be intolerant to A1 β-casein and this can be overcome by consuming milk containing only the A2 B-casein milk. Such milk is available and sold as A2 milk. In Australia, about 10 per cent of milk consumed is A2 milk. Such A2 milk is now available in the UK, but is in its infancy, with about two million litres a year being consumed. It is still milk with nothing added, as the cows have been selected to produce milk containing only the A2 variant of β-casein. Another strategy is to switch from cow’s milk to goat’s or sheep, buffalo or donkey, depending on where you are living.

Another interesting development is the availability of melatonin milk in Ireland (Lullaby milk). Melatonin is a natural sleep-inducing hormone and cows which are milked at night time produce milk containing higher amounts of melatonin, thus providing a natural sleeping potion. It is well known that milky drinks consumed before bedtime help many people to sleep well, but there has not been any scientific basis for this.

Internet and social networking

The internet is now a very important source of information about food and nutrition. However, it is not only an excellent means of disseminating information, but also disinformation. In the political world, the term “fake news” is applied, but false information also abounds about milk and milk products. Unlike scientific literature it is not regulated, scrutinised and subject to peer review.

Through the internet and social networking, there is a worrying movement aimed toward removing milk and milk products from our diet and replacing them with a range of products. One category that might appear to be in direct competition are plant protein beverages, such as soya, almond, coconut, rice and oat products. It is important to question why this is happening and the wisdom of such advice. Some information about the cost of purchasing protein from these drinks is shown in Table 3.

There is nothing inherently wrong with these products and as part of a balanced diet they provide variety. However, many of them are very low in protein and in some other important nutrients and provide an expensive means of providing protein to the diet. Thus they should not be considered as substitutes for milk. For example, protein from a coconut beverage is almost 70 times more expensive than that from milk.

There may also be intolerances to many of the plant protein beverages. Many of them provide allergen advice. For example, the main component of soymilk, which is the soybean, is a declared allergen on the label. Many people have severe allergies to some nut products. In almond drinks, the main ingredient is listed (in bold) as an allergen and in oats, gluten is listed as allergen. Rice and coconut beverages list no allergens, but there will inevitably be some people who will be allergic to these products.

Reasons for milk

A person giving up dairy products or thinking about doing so should seriously consider their reasons for taking this course of action. It should be monitored in some objective way as to whether it is improving their health and wellbeing, especially if they are going to advocate that others follow their example. Between the age of 10 and 20, bone mass increase is at its maximum. Unfortunately, failure to achieve adequate bone mass at this time may only become evident 20 to 30 years later, when osteoporosis may set in. Calcium and vitamin D are two important nutrient requirements at this stage of life. Dairy products will provide the calcium, and outdoor living and sunshine the vitamin D.

If it is because the dairy substitute product is providing the person with a cheaper and better source of protein, then this is not correct. The cost of protein is considerably higher in coconut and rice beverages, compared to cow’s milk, and there is less information about protein quality and anti-nutritional compounds in these other products. As a strategy for consuming alternative protein sources, this is an expensive and impractical solution. Further, the person may well be allergic to some of the proteins in these products, or they may contain other dietary allergens or irritants.

It may be because the person considers them to be more natural than milk. In fact the reverse is true. They are usually fortified with minerals and vitamins. Therefore, if a person is one of the “ anti-additive” brigade and switches from milk to these beverages, then wires have really been crossed. Dairy milk can be labelled as milk and nothing else, while the first ingredient declared on most of these plant beverages is water.

The fact that milk has no added water can be verified by its freezing point, which is consistently about -0.52ºC across the world. In a recent survey the freezing point of 14 different soymilks on the UK market ranged between -0.09ºC down to -0.65ºC. In beverages, the freezing point reflects the amounts of small molecules in the product, eg, sugars, salts and vitamins. This wide range found for the freezing point of soymilk reflects large variations in its composition. Its freezing point will depend upon the soybean source and the amounts of other additives. So, when buying soymilk, its composition is going to be much more variable than that of cow’s milk.

If the concern is that milk is heat treated, then so are all these other plant protein beverages. In fact most plant protein beverages are UHT processed. In contrast, most milk in the UK is pasteurised and is consumed within seven to 10 days.

Milk is a very important source of minerals, especially calcium. However, it is much less appreciated that calcium in milk from different species varies. Human milk contains about 7.5 mM calcium, cow’s and goat milk about 30 mM, sheep milk about 50 mM and some animals such as bears contain over 100 mM.

The content of calcium and some other minerals of feed materials used in plant protein beverages are also given in Table 4. These are presented on a dry weight basis (ie, in powdered form) to help to make comparisons. This shows that most of the raw materials used for plant protein beverages contain much less calcium than milk. Thus when they are used to produce beverages, they need to be fortified with calcium, which is another additive. It is interesting that calcium is fortified to levels found in bovine milk, and not to levels found in human milk.

Most plant protein beverages contain added sugar. Some of these are not very palatable without added sugar and sugar may be added as fruit juices in some products. Recent health guidelines recommend that no more than five per cent of our calories should be derived from added sugar.

Some confusion is evident about how the plant protein beverages are described, and for some the term milk is applied, especially for soy products. It is curious that they wish to use “milk” as a descriptor. Where it is used as marketing tool, it suggests that there is a grudging respect for those attributes of milk that are considered worthy of emulating. But rather than buy a product that would like to be milk, why not consume the real thing?

According to information provided on the labels, most plant protein beverages are not suitable for consumption by babies and infants. Why ever not? Some typical labelling advice is that they are not suitable for children under two years old or that they can be introduced as part of a balanced diet from six months of age, or that they are suitable as a main milk alternative from two years.

They also have very different ratios of K /Na to milk and also to bodily tissue, which may also be an important issue.

The main ingredient in plant protein beverages is water. Water itself is not just water, as it may contain variable amounts of minerals. For some products, water quality is crucial to product quality. For example, in brewing and beer production the water is “Burtonised” to modify its mineral content to that found in water from Burton on Trent. To date, I have seen no mention of the role of added water quality and composition of these products.

Conclusions

Milk and milk products are facing a hostile assault on-line. Often, much of this is pure science fiction. For example it does not appear in the alkaline diet, while it is closer to being alkaline than most foods recommended on that diet.

One should look closely at those who advocate and practice a dairy-free diet and judge whether they both are and look healthy and at the science underpinning their hostility to milk.

Like all foods, plant protein beverages are produced to be enjoyed. However, they are expensive ways to purchase water and protein and they are usually fortified with calcium, minerals and vitamins. Thus, they are much less natural than milk. Many profess to contain allergens and some are not suitable for babies and younger children. One should think very carefully about using these exclusively to replace milk from the diet. Some of the possible adverse effects may take a long time to be noticed. Replacing something natural with something that is not natural is not a logical thing to do.

There is increasing evidence that increased milk consumption will decrease risk factors associated with coronary heart disease, artereal stiffness, type 2 diabetes, rickets and even colorectol cancer. There is no such evidence yet for plant protein beverages.

References

Bee, Peta, What’s wrong with milk from a cow?. The Times, April 26^th, 2016

Chen, B., Lewis, M.J. and Grandison, A.S. (2014), Effect of seasonal variation on the composition and properties of raw milk destined for processing in the UK, Food Chemistry, 158, 216-223.

Chen, B.Y., Grandison, A.S. and Lewis, M.J. (2017) Best use for milk – A Review I-Effect of breed variations on the physicochemical properties of bovine milk. International Journal of Dairy Technology, 70-3-15

Chen, B.Y., Grandison, A.S. and Lewis, M.J. (2017) Best use for milk – A Review II – Effect of physiological, husbandry and seasonal factors on the physicochemical properties of bovine milk, DOI: 10.1111/1471-0307.12355

Deeth, H.C and Lewis, M.J. (2017) High temperature processing of milk and milk products, Wiley Blackwell

McCance and Widdowson’s, Composition of Foods Tables (5^th Edition), 1991, Royal Society of Chemistry, MAFF

Dr Mike Lewis is a recognised academic and has written more than 100 scientific papers, book chapters and textbooks over a period of 45 years. He currently runs food workshops throughout the world and is a consultant to the industry.

Table 1 The pH and composition of bulk raw cow’s milk, taken on 25 occasions over a period of one year (taken from data in Chen et al., 2014)

Table 2 Milk production worldwide ( adapted from data in Deeth and Lewis, 2017)

Adapted from data in Deeth and Lewis (2017)

Table 3 The cost of protein (pence/g) from different food products, based on price paid and declared protein content

Table 4 Nutrient content of milk powdered and some dried ingredients used in plant protein beverages taken from McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of Foods Tables

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In one of his first actions as secretary of Agriculture, Perdue visited a school to announce that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will implement regulations to allow school districts to again offer low-fat (1%) flavoured milk as part of the national school lunch and school breakfast programmes. Under the previous administration, USDA eliminated low-fat flavoured milk as an option in the school meal and a la carte programmes. Since then, consumption of school milk declined, as did overall participation in the school lunch programme.

“In just the first two years after low-fat flavoured milk was removed from the programme, 1.1 million fewer school students drank milk with their lunch,”Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, says. “Secretary Perdue’s action recognises that a variety of milks and other healthy dairy foods are integral to child nutrition programmes in schools.”

“Secretary Perdue took an important step toward bringing back lunchroom favourites – low-fat chocolate and strawberry milk – that students have been missing,” J. David Carlin, senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy for the International Dairy Foods Association, notes.

“When kids don’t drink milk, it’s extremely difficult for them to get the proper amounts of calcium, potassium, vitamin D and other nutrients that dairy foods supply.”

USDA will publish an interim rule to cover the regulatory changes needed to allow low-fat flavoured milk in schools.

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In some ways, we get conflicting trends. The positive is the research. The European Union is funding more school milk, but leaving the guideline implementation to the member states. So, two states in Germany are using the EU funding and cutting their own funding, it seems, and then making logistical demands on the supplying company, FrieslandCampina Germany. Or, not letting children buy milk daily. Instead, they’ll get it free once a week. And skipping out on chocolate milk, which we all know is a winner with school children.

As Gabriele Johag, head of School Milk at Friesland Campina Germany in Cologne, explains, “The guidelines of the two regional governments are probably well-intentioned, but it gives the dairy industry as well as the schools and kindergartens, difficult logistical tasks. The ideas of the regional governments are hardly compatible with the school day and school milk sales. We sincerely regret this decision, because school milk has been part of the school day for generations.”

Indeed it has. We should be working to make dairy available more widely to school children, not less. If people shun dairy, they miss out vital nutrients such as potassium, calcium and vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin and niacin. Dairy is one of the most cost-effective sources of protein going, as the recent study shows. And once a week is not enough to ensure adequate nutrition, particularly for children. I think Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate should revisit the changes, and work with their supplier, to ensure that good nutrition does not get dropped at the school gate.

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The background is that the EU provides more funding for school milk and cocoa, but the distribution of these funds and the implementation of the new EU guidelines is a matter for the states.

Some of the German states have decided to fundamentally change the distribution of school milk in schools and kindergartens.

For example the state of Baden-Württemberg envisages that the daily, price-favourable school milk is deleted for all pupils. The milk is to be free in the future, but only given twice a week and primarily at selected primary schools.

75% of the costs are to be covered by the EU funding, and sponsors or the dairies are to be responsible for the remaining 25%. The cocoa, which is popular with children, is no longer continued.

The regional government of Rhineland-Palatinate plans a similar course: Elementary school children and/or kindergarten children are to drink H-milk instead of the daily fresh school milk (milk and cocoa) only once a week.

This H-milk should, if possible, be delivered to the schools/kindergartens together with the school fruit/vegetable.

“The guidelines of the two regional governments are probably well-intentioned, but it gives the dairy industry as well as the schools and kindergartens difficult logistical tasks. Hygienic, refrigeration and, in particular, logistical the ideas of the regional governments are hardly compatible with the school day and school milk sales. We sincerely regret this decision, because the school milk has been part of the school day for generations”, says Gabriele Johag, head of School Milk at Friesland Campina Germany in Cologne.

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