Content supplied by Fonterra
On the eve of the 13th Annual World Milk Day new consumer research has revealed that 72 per cent of people in Asia see dairy as an important part of a balanced diet.
However, the research also shows that less than half of the 9,000 people surveyed in nine countries are eating dairy on a daily basis.
Fonterra Group Director Strategy, Maury Leyland, said today’s results clearly demonstrate growing awareness of the importance of dairy nutrition across the region and the opportunity this presents to the New Zealand dairy industry.
“With a fast-growing and increasingly affluent population, people across Asia are becoming more focused on their families receiving the right nutrition. Fonterra is well-positioned to help meet this demand."
“Our strategy outlines our focus on the Asian markets, where we see big potential for growth. In New Zealand the average person consumes the equivalent of 245 litres of milk each year, but in Asia this average is only 30 litres,” she said.
Dairy demand across Asia has grown rapidly over the last 10 years, with demand for high quality dairy nutrition increasing by 49 per cent. This trend is set to continue with global demand expected to increase significantly in the coming years.
“This is a real opportunity for Fonterra. We have teams in 11 markets across Asia educating food companies and consumers about the benefits of dairy, and looking at ways to make dairy more accessible as part of daily diets and a core ingredient in commercial kitchens – and this hard work is paying off."
“Our high-calcium milk brand, Anlene, is helping hundreds of millions of people maintain good bone health with one billion serves sold in 2012; our Anmum brand reaches more than one million mothers-to-be in Asia every year, serving over 300 million glass of maternal nutrition; and every day Anchor provides top quality nutrition to people in 83 countries,” said Ms Leyland.
“We’re also making the most of opportunities in the fast-growing global foodservice industry. In 2013, our dairy ingredients will be used in four billion meals, 12 million cheesecakes, 1.6 billion burgers, 675 million pizzas, and 30 million smoothies.”
Of those surveyed in the research released today, Chinese and Thai consumers were the most aware of the benefits of dairy nutrition, with 84 per cent saying they believed it was an important or very important part of a balanced diet. Recognition was the lowest in Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam at just over 60 per cent in each country.
Chinese consumers are eating the most dairy with over 60 per cent of people eating at least one serving a day, followed by the Philippines where 53 per cent of people enjoy dairy on a daily basis.
“Dairy is one of the world’s most nutritious foods – a single glass of milk provides 15 essential vitamins and nutrients, contains as much protein as an egg, as many carbohydrates as a quarter cup of rice and the same amount of calcium as sixteen cups of spinach."
“It is fantastic to see such a high level of recognition of its benefits ahead of this year’s World Milk Day,” Ms Leyland said.
10 Comments
Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest the milk sugar lactose, causing gastrointestinal symptoms of flatulence, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea in some individuals. This results from a shortage of the lactase enzymes which break down lactose into its simpler forms, glucose and galactose.
Virtually all infants and young children have the lactase enzymes that split lactose into glucose and galactose, which can then be absorbed into the bloodstream. Prior to the mid-1960s, most American health professionals believed that these enzymes were present in nearly all adults as well. When researchers tested various ethnic groups for their ability to digest lactose, however, their findings proved otherwise. Approximately 70 percent of African Americans, 90 percent of Asian Americans, 53 percent of Mexican Americans, and 74 percent of Native Americans were lactose intolerant.1-4Studies showed that a substantial reduction in lactase activity is also common among those whose ancestry is African, Asian, Native American, Arab, Jewish, Hispanic, Italian, or Greek.5
In 1988, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported, "It rapidly became apparent that this pattern was the genetic norm, and that lactase activity was sustained only in a majority of adults whose origins were in Northern European or some Mediterranean populations."6 In other words, Caucasians tolerate milk sugar only because of an inherited genetic mutation.
Overall, about 75 percent of the world's population, including 25 percent of those in the U.S., lose their lactase enzymes after weaning.7 The recognition of this fact has resulted in an important change in terminology: Those who could not digest milk were once called "lactose intolerant" or "lactase deficient." They are now regarded as normal, while those adults who retain the enzymes allowing them to digest milk are called "lactase persistent."
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/what-is-lactose-intolerance
Got milk? Many people couldn't care less because they can't digest it. A new Cornell University study finds that it is primarily people whose ancestors came from places where dairy herds could be raised safely and economically, such as in Europe, who have developed the ability to digest milk.
."On the other hand, most adults whose ancestors lived in very hot or very cold climates that couldn't support dairy herding or in places where deadly diseases of cattle were present before 1900, such as in Africa and many parts of Asia, do not have the ability to digest milk after infancy.
Aj, Fonterra makes some lactose-free products specifically for the Asian market. It's website states:
Lactose intolerance: Lactose is the carbohydrate present in milk. Normally lactose is digested by the lactase enzyme in the gut. Some people have lower levels of the lactase enzyme and are unable to break down all the lactose from their diet. Lactose intolerance is not an allergic reaction to dairy, but can result in uncomfortable tummy pains, bloating or diarrhoea. Most people can still enjoy the goodness of a serve of dairy by choosing foods with lower levels of lactose such as hard cheeses or yoghurt.
http://www.fonterra.com/nz/en/Dairy+and+Nutrition/Dairy+Facts+and+Myths
AllergiesAround 2-3 per cent of babies suffer from cow’s milk protein allergy.
This means that in these babies their digestive system categorises the protein as a foreign substance and causes an allergic reaction. This can show up as eczema or skin rashes in formula fed babies. For babies potentially at risk of cow’s milk protein allergy, an infant formula that uses hydrolysed proteins may assist. We are able to hydrolyse the proteins in cow’s milk to the extent that the baby’s immune system no longer recognises them as foreign. This means they can be digested and absorbed normally by the infant without causing an allergic response.
http://www.fonterra.com/nz/en/Dairy+and+Nutrition/Paediatric+Nutrition
CO, I dont drink milk, I don't believe my body needs it or its good for me, Im not intolerant. I think there are better ways to get your calcium. I also don't believe Asians are doing themselves a favor drinking milk.
I do eat cheese mostly french, also for good reason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET_2w9OOdtY
i wouldn't trust a self interested organisation like Fonterra when it comes to what I eat. I think we will struggle as Asians realise that milk is not going to make them into Football players, but fat and lazy with wind.
What's with Chaston?- we cannot make financial decisions based upon spinmeisters' opinion - He bemoans the likes of HGW spewing forth rubbish and yet we are constantly inundated with drivel that is incomprehensible when it comes to making real life investment decisions (do I buy FSF or not?). This added value nonsense has yet to surface in discernible income required to retire Fonterra's debt - am I wrong? - if so produce the #'s, not talk.
Oh Fonterra, you second link in your press release goes to a "Sorry, the page you’re looking for can’t be found. Try searching for something else."
p.s. Since you say "research released today" could you release the research- by adding a link to how (and how many) people were surveyed, otherwise to be honest it looks rather like a vanity puff piece.
That would have been a reading comprehension fail on my part. Mea Culpa then.
The more spinach than 16 cups of spinach in the press release is a bit odd. By my math, the bio available calicium in raw spinach is about 10% of that of milk, but cooking spinach removes most of the oxalis acid binding to the calcium, giving it about the same or slightly higher bioavailable calcium than the equivalent cups of milk. Either one ain't 16 cups, unless they were packing their cups of raw spinach really loosely (one third air)
It's not just Fonterra. An interesting read.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/ap625e/ap625e.pdf
Rapid globalization has occurred in the food industry over the last 20 years, and diets have changed significantly over the same period, with processed foods now accounting for 80 percent of global food sales. Globalization trends, including globalization of media and marketing strategies, have accelerated the adoptionof non-traditional diets. There is some (limited) evidence to indicate that the globalization of supermarkets and foodmanufacturers and the consequent economies of scale have reduced the price of packaged foods relative to fresh produce, and made available a larger variety of products, particularly semi-processed and processed products. While it is difficult to show causation between globalization trends and changes in diet, there is convincing circumstantial evidence that companies create these changes rather than simply responding to latent demand. The impact on nutrient intakes is not well-established, even in developed countries, though processed foods, fast foods and soft drinks have been linked to the nutrition transition and the obesity epidemic, and they are also likely to influence nutrition outcomes in poorer countries
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