Flavored milk

Flavored milk is a sweetened dairy drink made with milk, sugar, colorings and artificial or natural flavorings. Flavored milk is often pasteurized using ultra-high-temperature (UHT) treatment, which gives it a longer shelf-life than plain milk. Pre-mixed flavored milk is sold in the refrigerated dairy case alongside other milk products. Flavored sweetened powders or syrups which are added to plain milk are also available.

Types


Flavored milk is milk that has sugar, colorings and (mostly inexpensive artificial) flavorings added to make it more appetizing, especially to children. It can be sold as a powder to be added to plain milk, or bought pre-mixed alongside other milk products. Flavoring can be included in a straw, and some flavored milk products are designed as dietary supplements by including additional vitamins or minerals.

Bottled spiced (masala) milk is a popular beverage in the Indian subcontinent. Other companies provide flavored beverages in the United Kingdom, which sells packaged beverages to the mobile vendor market. Australia has the highest consumption rate of flavored milk in the world, standing at 9.5 liters per capita in 2004.[1]

Flavoured milk is particularly popular in the Australian states of South Australia and Western Australia. A 2013 Sunday Times article reported Western Australia was the "flavoured milk capital of Australia", with a A$220-million industry, average consumption of 19 litres (5.0 US gal) per person, and more than 40 varieties of iced coffee alone available.[2] Similarly, a 2006 Adelaide Advertiser reported South Australia consumed 45,000,000 litres (12,000,000 US gal) of flavoured milk each year, with 82% of market share held by a single brand, Farmers Union. According to Coca-Cola Amatil, one of the largest bottlers in the Asia-Pacific region, South Australia is the only place where sales of flavoured milk outstrip those of cola.[3]

Controversy and criticism

Jamie Oliver, host of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, brought attention in the United States to public schools that serve flavored milk in the school cafeterias. Flavored milk advocates claim that many children will avoid the nutrition found in milk unless it has been flavored, with the benefits of milk outweighed by a few teaspoons of sugar. Opponents say that with rising levels of obesity and heart disease, flavored milk should be removed from schools and children should be taught to drink regular milk.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/11/1076388435970.html theage.com.au
  2. ↑ Sonia Kohlbacher (9 November 2013). "WA in a flavoured milk war" – PerthNow. Accessed 27 January 2015.
  3. ↑ (24 June 2008). "Coke hopes things go better with - milk" – The Advertiser. Accessed 27 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Hoag, Christina (2011-06-15). "Flavored Milk Banned In LA Schools". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2011-06-27.

External links