Chocolate BEVERAGE?? EH!?

The issue of Canadian Dairy processing companies replacing (quietly) 1 % chocolate milk with chocolate beverage has been driving me slightly batty. In the usual fashion of the industry the farmers have been discussing this new wrinkle with the processors trying to get them to pay attention. Meanwhile, the consumer who has been buying this product with confidence has been cruelly tricked!!

I was roaming the web to see what I could see and came across this really good article from another website (Another Talking Head) " Chocolate Milk Beverage", WTF? This cheeky slightly irreverent title is the opener for a well done blog posting about this issue. Even better, this is another consumer who is not happy and wants answers. Even better than that, there are lots of comments posted about this messy business.

I was intrigued to see the Sealest/Parmalat response that claims the formulation change is a result of a federal regulation change. What hogwash!! They are saving mega dollars and can still discount this stuff in the stores. They don't have to use as much milk from Canadian Dairy farmers. Many consumers do not realise what the differences are. The packaging they are using is a blatant abuse. Shame on you Parmalat!

The author is quite right when he discusses the length of the listed ingredients fotr the 'beverage' versus milk. The company can source its Modified milk ingredients from the cheapest available product. It does not have to be Canadian product at all.

There is more...... Chocolate Dairy Beverage, Where’s The Follow-up (WTF)?? is the next round. More good fodder here, too!!! Better watch out Parmalat.

I have gone searching to find 'other' companies that DO provide us with the real thing. In particular I was looking for 4 litre bags of the good stuff.

I found 4 litre bottles of 1% Chocolate milk from Macs Milk and I found 1, 2 and 4 litres of the good stuff from Dairy Oh! a Neilsons Brand.

Macs Milk provides the 4 litre and 1 litre plastic bottles of the good stuff.

Someone needs to take the time to educate the public about what the differences are. Trying to fob off the changes as necessary to meet regulations is horse manure. The regulations state what can be called milk so if a processor wants to goof around with any milk or cream product they can not call it milk any more. This is the reason for the change. The regulation was intended to protect the public and standardize our products.

And apparently we need regulations more than ever........ look what they are trying to do with our chocolate milk.-CG

Feb 12th is Food Freedom Day!

The article below is reprinted from Dairy Farmers of Canada's Feb Action FAX.

On February 12, 2010, the average Canadian will have earned enough income to pay his or her individual grocery bill for the entire year, making it Food Freedom Day!

Food Freedom Day occurs on the same day it did last year, due largely in part to the fact that Canada’s food costs have risen by less than 1% over the past year. This is very low, especially when compared to the United States and the European Union where food prices have gone up by 4% and in some cases over 5%.

Despite the low rise in food prices for Canadian consumers, the Farmers' Share, a recent study commissioned by prairie members of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), showed that, on average, only 27 per cent of the cost of an entire week's worth of groceries for a family of four goes back to the farms where the food is produced.

To ensure that consumers are able to identify Canadian food products and support our agriculture sector, DFC supports the position of the CFA that they will continue to advocate for effective ingredient-based 'Product of Canada' guidelines that are both informative to the consumer and practical to the agri-food sector. Additionally, consumers know they can continue to support Canadian dairy farmers by looking for the 100% Canadian Milk logo on dairy products.

Products with this logo ensure that consumers are buying highquality, safe and delicious products made with Canadian milk ingredients. “Farmers are very proud of their role in providing high quality food produced at the highest food safety and environmental standards," - Laurent Pellerin, CFA President

This article is courtesy of information from the Candian Federation of Agriculture. For more information please visit cfa-fca.ca