White isn’t the only colour any more.

The once-elementary bottle of milk has gone kaleidoscopic if you judge from

its tops and its labels, with various shades of blue, green, yellow, red, orange,

brown and gold the codes for “original”, “standard”, “reduced-fat”, “extra lite”,

“superlite trim”, “slim”, budget, calcium-added, protein-plus, A2, UHT, long-

life, zero-lacto, non-homogenised, palm-kernel-free, full-cream, half-and-half,

ultra-pasteurised, and a multiplicity of other inventions.

Milking

It

Time was, one of the staffs of life was delivered to our gates in exchange for an empty glass bottle and a plastic token. These days, milk in multiple guises fills a wall of chiller cabinets in every supermarket.

As JIM TUCKER found out, there’s now another big shift in how we get our daily

pinta:

With growing new ranges of flavoured varieties, it’s changed colour in other ways, too.

Fancy a coffee in your milk?

Most significant of all, there’s a newly revived alternative whose slightly yellow hue is part

of its appeal: organic. Up to 10 percent or more of our supermarket milk cabinet displays are

now taken up with seven or eight different versions.

And beyond the supermarket, there’s another burgeoning development - raw milk, or “real”

as its vendors like to say. From March, we’ll be able to buy as much milk in the form nature

intended as we want, even though an alarmist headline in the NZ Herald asked recently: “Is

this the world's most dangerous drink?”

“Organic” and “raw” milk are not really new, as such (farmers and their kids have been

drinking straight from the cowshed vat forever). They’re more newly trendy, for those

concerned about the environment - their own internal one and the one we all live in - those

grown wary of big factory food, and people who’ve caught on to that vogue word,

sustainability.

Importantly for the dairy industry and our economy, the overseas demand for organic milk

products in markets like South Korea, China and Taiwan has taken off. Fonterra is now

getting up to $15,000 a tonne for organic milk powder offshore, which is nearly seven times

the price for conventional milk powder.

As a result, our milk giant is reported to be desperate for more organic milk. Yet four years

ago it abruptly pulled back from the organic industry, leaving some certified organic dairy

farmers in Taranaki, Northland and other provinces outside Waikato with little prospect of

renewing their supply contracts.

So what’s going on?

Stand by the milk wall at any of New

Plymouth’s half dozen supermarkets and

you’ll notice something surprising: few if

any shoppers seem bemused by the big

choice of options. There’s little browsing.

Most go straight to the variety they know and

want, and they’re quickly on their way.

To the uninitiated, the array is bewildering.

There seems to be a milk for every whim,

every health concern, every price preference,

with the cost per litre varying between $1.48

and $4.40. There’s even dairy products that

haven’t been anywhere near a cow (try non-

dairy mozzarella cheese).

Kathryn Coles of New Plymouth gets a bottle of Lewis Road Creamery organic milk from a cabinet at New World supermarket: “I like the taste of it.”

Labels provide a detailed rundown on what’s gone into every variety – for instance, organics

tend to say they’re “permeate-free” (see Milk Facts) and didn’t come from cows fed on palm

kernel extract (see Milk Facts).

But it’s debatable whether many shoppers care or even understand, unless they’ve read the

internet jumble of consumer, government, lobby group or scientific reports whose confusing

terms are often buried in a mashup of scientific jargon and fanciful buzzwords that have long

been de rigeur among marketeers.

This last point is important. Because to all intents and purposes, organic milk came and went

in the first decade of this millennium, virtually disappearing as quickly as flared pants and

hula hoops. Now it’s back, big time, and the power of clever marketing seems to be as

significant a reason for its revival in New Zealand as anything to do with social trends and

growing environmental awareness.

Leaving offshore markets aside for the moment (a different story), organic dairying’s new

growth spurt in New Zealand seems linked to a particular market coup that exploded into

public consciousness in late 2014.

It all had to do with chocolate. You may remember the news reports. Matt Rilkoff in the

Taranaki Daily News began his story: “Even in the outwardly sensible and unflappable

province of Taranaki, Lewis Road Creamery's fresh chocolate milk is inexplicably causing

people to lose their heads.”

He went on to describe a frenzy that had

Auckland supermarkets guarding scarce

stock of this new chocolate-flavoured

milk, and buyers putting 750ml bottles on

Trade-Me for as much as $30.

As the NZ Herald explained in a feature

nearly a year later, the Lewis Road

Creamery’s skillfully engineered campaign was largely the work of Peter Cullinane, a Kiwi

who once ran the New York branch of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.

The excitement has since abated, but Cullinane’s coup showed what a small, private company

could do with a food staple traditionally dominated by big players like Fonterra and

Goodman Fielder. Albeit in a manner that was a long way away from purist health views, it

highlighted the potential of alternative approaches – including organic - that had been around

for decades but hitherto relegated to the margins.

Fonterra belatedly re-entered the domestic market (May, 2015) with Anchor Organic, a

lower-price option that undercut Goodman Fielder’s middle-market Naturalea and Meadow

Fresh brands, and has since added organic trim (November, 2015).

Goodman Fielder recently entered the upper end by rushing out Puhoi Valley organic milks

(even before they had certification on their labels), in bottles that look similar to Lewis Road

Creamery’s and whose price is much the same. It’s an organic war, of sorts.

There are more than 200 organic dairy farms in New Zealand, with an estimated 25,000 cows

producing 93 million litres of milk a year, according to the Organic Exporters Association’s

March 2015 report.

A privately owned farm at Mangatawhiri (45 minutes south of Auckland) called Marphona

Farms (Green Valley brand) has become the largest in Australasia. It has its own processing

plant, taking in organic milk from a hub formed by about 30 Waikato farmers who became

disillusioned with Fonterra.

There’s no polite way to put this: Fonterra has until recently not handled the organic milk

phenomenon well.

As the industry began to take off after the turn of millennium, it jumped in with supply

contracts to more than 100 farmers. Its deal was generous, some now say overly so: if you

wanted to convert, the company paid a premium to encourage you during the three years it

takes to transform a conventional dairy farm from the use of standard pesticides, herbicides

and fertiliser like urea to organic remedies and soil enrichment methods.

That seems fair, but during that time, milk from those farms continued to go down the

conventional processing routine, and so many farmers were converting at the same time

Fonterra was able to sell only about 40 percent of the organic (and soon-to-be organic) supply

to overseas markets as certified organic product. That 40 percent had to support the whole

initiative.

These are the organic milk brands most commonly seen on New Plymouth’s supermarket shelves at present. Prices can be three times more than for the cheapest conventional milk ($1.48 a litre), with those pictured above costing (from left) $4.39, $3.66, $4.39 and $2.75 a litre. Puhoi Valley and Naturalea are made by Goodman Fielder (who also have Meadow Fresh trim organic); Anchor Trim is Fonterra’s relatively recent entry to the organic field.

At first, the market was certainly there. Rapidly developing urban populations in Asia -

influenced by a series of baby formula and other milk contamination scandals in China - were

just as rapidly waking up to the appeal of food traceability. New Zealand had a major

advantage over other suppliers – all our milk comes from grass-fed animals.

The significance of that last point has led to the recent growth spurt in international demand.

But it has not always held sway. Towards the end of the first decade, some Asian buyers

turned to cheaper alternatives from the US and Canada. The sudden drop in demand would

have swayed Fonterra’s 2011 decision to pull back from renewing contracts, especially in

provinces a long way from its main organic processing plant at Waitoa (near Morrinsville in

the Waikato, midway between Hamilton and Tauranga).

The company told farmers who would miss out – including some in Taranaki – that transport

costs made the deal unprofitable. Fonterra has since conceded to organic farming groups that

there were other significant factors, as well, one of them being the company’s inability to

handle all the organic milk it was taking each day, and another the rapidity with which it

allowed the organic industry to grow.

But the market was the thing. And now demand has switched back to New Zealand. To find

out why and how that happened, we need to take a trip down Surf Highway 45 to Pihama,

just south of Opunake, to talk to owners of one of the leading organic dairy farms in the

country, one of a cluster of 11 coastal organic operators who have hung in there from the

start.

Pihama is heartland Taranaki

dairy country. Coastal rather than in

the middle, it cops salt-laden winds

from the sea and soils are sandier than

on the other side of the mountain.

Which is one of the reasons Stephen

and Janet Fleming needed plenty of

urea fertiliser when they bought their

rundown farm 3.3km up Watino Rd in

1988.

“We were just like all our neighbours

– we were high urea users,” says Janet. Stephen: “Initially you get a good response, but as

years go by you’ve got to keep upping it. So we looked at the cost of it …that was a big

factor.”

A bigger one was concern over the health of their six children. Three of them were ill with

heart and kidney problems, and that set Janet looking for the best available food. “Once our

second boy was born and was very sick, that’s when I started thinking, well crikey, there’s so

many chemicals going into everything. He needs the purest form of nutrients he can get.”

Janet and Stephen Fleming on their Pihama organic dairy farm.

Stephen was using 245T chemical

spray to kill gorse. They started to

research it, and found it had long

been banned in the US: “In the end,

New Zealand took 18 years longer to

ban it.”

They read up on other things, as

well, which meant lots of trips to the

library. These days, their own book shelves are crammed with texts on organics, but in the

beginning the internet had yet to develop into today’s pre-eminent research tool.

“I think back then we had one sheet of paper on organic alternatives,” recalls Janet.

As they built their home, Stephen started to notice the new organic products available. Soil

tests also set him wondering what was happening to his ground, especially when they bought

a neighbouring runoff property that had never used urea and whose carbon (soil nutrients)

was higher than that on the Fleming’s farm. He concluded urea was depleting their carbon.

So began a passion, and in 2004 they decided to go organic, getting full certification in 2007.

They were closely followed by others on the coast, among them Kevin and Robyn Barrett,

parents of rugby star Beauden. “We used to run into people at school and sports functions,”

says Janet. “We got to comparing notes.”

Today the majority of Taranaki’s 13 organic dairy farms are on the coast between Okato and

Pihama (11), with one at Hawera and another at Waitotara. Three more farmers are known to

be converting, but even when those are operational organic farms will account for less than

one percent of total Taranaki dairy herds (about 1730). The current 13 supply about a fifth of

Fonterra’s organic intake.

The Flemings took a tough route with

their operation, eschewing seasonal

calving and producing milk all year round.

But their winter milk supply became

Fonterra’s biggest, something that

insulated them when the big pullback

came four years ago. They kept their

contract.

They’ve recently gone back to twice-a-day

seasonal milking of their 530 cows (330

Friesian cross on the home farm, and 200

cross-bred Jerseys on a second farm

nearby run by son Jordan Fleming).

They have about 190 hectares of organic

dairy land in all, grassed with a complex

mix of over-sown red/white clover,

chicory, plantain and ryegrass.

Beauden Fleming, champion milk chugger of the family, which gets through 15 litres a day when everyone’s home.

Use of urea (produced at one of the

original Rob Muldoon “Think Big”

petro-chemical projects at Kapuni) is

a distant memory.

When they began converting to

organic 12 years ago they used fish

and seaweed to enrich their pastures,

but now mainly apply an organic

fertiliser that’s been around for 40

years called Osflo.

They treat animal ailments with a

range of natural remedies developed over the past four decades by an American holistic dairy

veterinarian called Paul Dettloff. And weeds? “Grubbers,” they chorus. Occasionally scrub-

cutters. The secret is to get on top of weeds and never let them back in. They apply some

organic sprays from a company called Weedenz.

They use a limited amount of silage bought in from organic farms, but never palm kernel

extract (which Janet says actually meets organic standards when imported, but fails them

through fumigation after arrival).

Janet Fleming has long been treasurer for the New Zealand Organic Dairy and Pastoral

Group, and was closely involved with the Grow Organic Dairy Project, in which Massey

University conducted long-term (2008 to 2012) research (partly funded by DairyNZ). They

await results of final soil tests done on the organic and conventional farms that were

compared.

She was invited by Fonterra to represent Taranaki on its newly formed Organic Farming

Advisory Group, and says she and her Taranaki colleagues probably have the loudest lobby

voice the company hears.

It seems to be listening. Fonterra originally treated organic dairying as a separate operation

within its management structure, but now includes it in the mainstream. Organics have direct

access to the board and top management, and Fonterra has made it clear to Janet and her

colleagues that it’s keen to listen.

“They need to,” she says. “They need us big time.” Her advocacy has been effective, eliciting

from the company, for instance, the fact it is now getting between $14,000 and $15,000 a

tonne for organic milk powder, compared with about $2200 for conventional milk.

She says the company has promised a new deal in 2016, and she expects it to be a lot better

than the $1.75 a kilogramme premium it currently pays on top of the standard price of about

$4.50.

“They’re also going to really monitor the growth of organic dairying this time. They’re going

to limit the annual supply to 600,000 kilos a year that they’ll take on as new supply. So

they’re going to make sure they keep it in check.”

Fonterra currently has more than 60 organic milk suppliers in Taranaki, Waikato, Bay of

Plenty, Manawatu and Northland, and organic processing plants at Waitoa, Palmerston North,

Hautapu, Morrinsville and Eltham, which are used when required.

The company says other farmers in all those regions are showing strong interest in

converting. “The reasons for switching differ from farmer to farmer,” the company said in

response to questions from Live magazine. “But mostly it is because they enjoy the challenge

of farming organically, some believe it is more sustainable, for others organics is more

profitable and for some it’s because that’s how they have always farmed.”

Organic foods – including cheese, butter, milk powders, proteins and fresh milk both as

ingredients and Fonterra branded consumer products - were still very much a niche product

and accounted for less than one percent of Fonterra’s milk supply, said the company.

However, more people were choosing organic dairy products and it expected the trend to

continue, particularly in South-East Asia, China and in the US.

Of its 2011 reorganisation, Fonterra said its priority “was to ‘right size’ our organics

business. We have achieved this and are now focused on adding greater value for the benefit

of our organic farmers, as well as for our other Fonterra farmers. Our strategy is customer-

led and is based on our customers’ requirements for organic dairy products.”

At present, demand exceeded supply and this was expected to continue for the medium term.

“As a result, customers want to secure their organic milk supply. They will pay a premium

and enter into long-term contracts to secure supply.”

On the matter of how much its premium should be, Fonterra said it lifted this season’s

organic premium by 66 percent and continued to review the organic premium regularly.

So what do the Flemings know about the rise in international demand for New Zealand

organic milk?

Stephen says he found out from one of the regular stream of Asian organic auditors who visit

the farm to check it is sticking to the organic rules, especially the one about how much

supplementary feed is bought in (the Taiwanese, for example, expect it to be no more than

five percent).

“I asked one of them why they’d suddenly come back to New Zealand milk and he said it was

because customers could taste the difference between our grass-fed products and the grain-

fed stuff from America. It was as simple as that.”

Do people still think they’re a bit too alternative? Janet: “No, I think that’s gone. Probably

because I end up with my photo in the paper a bit with organic stories, people in town often

stop me and say ‘You’re the organic lady, eh’.

“I think initially town people thought it was great even before neighbouring farmers did.

Definitely in the early days some in the industry thought of us as the dreadlock, Roman

sandals brigade, and waited for us to crash and burn. People were waiting to see how long we

played the game and then went back to what they were doing.”

Toja Guerra (left) is

surprised whenever she steps

up to the milk cabinet at New

Zealand supermarkets.

The Swiss tourist, travelling

our country in a van with her

partner, says she can’t believe

the high price of milk here.

“In Europe it is so much

cheaper. But we know New

Zealand as the home of milk,

so how come it costs so

much?” asks the committed

organic milk drinker.

Good question? We’re knee-deep in the white stuff, yet we seem to be paying over the odds.

The premium on organic is understandable, given market demand and the position some

brands have commanded at the top of the range. In fact, compared with the US, our top-shelf

organic milks are half the price fetched by grass-fed cattle in America ($NZ7.75 a litre).

Organic milk from grain-fed cattle, though, is only $NZ2.25 in US supermarkets, which

reinforces the view that the taste doesn’t compare.

Supermarket staff in Taranaki can’t identify a particular profile among organic milk buyers –

“they come in all ages and appearances” – but it’s noticeable that inner city shops devote

more display space to the more expensive brands than those in the suburbs.

Organic prices suggest our market has developed a clear pricing strata. Goodman Fielder

seems to have the middle and top brackets covered with its range, while Fonterra has gone for

the bottom end with its low-price Anchor Trim Organic. At only $2.75, its down around the

upper end of the conventional milks.

Are we seeing a price war?

Fonterra: “The New Zealand grocery market is highly competitive. We want to put organic

milk in reach of more Kiwis and we’ve set out to achieve this through our nationwide

distribution and providing Anchor organic at an everyday wholesale price.”

Although organics is the main theme of this story, it’s worth looking at the price of

conventional milk in view of Toja Guerra’s comments.

In the US, standard milk is not a lot cheaper than here (about $NZ1.35 a litre, compared with

the cheapest in Taranaki supermarkets at $1.48); but in UK and Australia, milk prices have

been much lower, according to a 2014 Sunday Star-Times article by Dr Keith Woodford,

honorary professor of agri-food systems at Lincoln University.

He said standard supermarket-brand milk in the UK was then selling for $NZ86c a litre,

while it was $NZ1.06 in Australia.

He noted we have little competition in New Zealand, with only two major milk processors

(Fonterra and Goodman Fielder) and two major supermarket chains (Foodstuffs and

Progressive). Also, unlike most other countries, the Government taxes food.

So this question: how much difference will growth in the organic dairy industry make?

Fonterra’s pricing is a step in the right direction, perhaps, but as Janet Fleming points out, at a

mere one percent, organic milk accounts for only a minuscule proportion of Fonterra’s intake.

It has told suppliers like her it wants to double that as soon as possible. “They’re hoping in

the next two years to get to two percent and ultimately four percent, and a dream would be

eight percent. So they’re never aiming for it to be a big percentage of the market.”

How fast will organic dairying grow? Given international prices, there isn’t much doubt more

farms will convert, but Janet Fleming believes it will be more for commercial reasons than

the kind of passion that has driven her and Stephen and the other coasters.

And there’s a complication: farmers driven out by the 2011 blip will not be able to return

unless they buy another farm. International standards dictate that organic farmland that

reverts back to conventional methods can never be re-converted.

Will the industry learn anything from the organic farmers? Janet Fleming thinks so: “My

personal belief is that it lies in the politics. I used to say this when Helen Clark was in there,

now it’s John Key – overnight they will say no more palm kernel, no more urea. And that will

change all farming.”

Ryan Gargan knows a lot about those politics, and plenty about organic farming. But

after doing exhaustive research looking for a more economical way to dairy farm, the Omata

man (whose property sits on land just south of the New Plymouth boundary) chose a different

alternative path – raw milk. Except, he prefers to call it “real milk”, which probably reflects

the controversy that has been attached to this fast-growing development.

Some significant medical and health authorities in the US and other countries – some say

driven by those with massive vested interests in the conventional milk industry – are adamant

that without pasteurisation (heating to kill bacteria) milk is risky.

So, is it the world's most dangerous drink?

Absolutely not, says Gargan and the growing number

of farmers who plan to take advantage of a law

change on March 1 that will lift the limit (previously

five litres per person) on how much raw milk farmers

can sell to people from the farm gate (but not through

supermarkets).

What the critics overlook, says Gargan, are the new

rules being introduced after reviews, investigations

and reports by the Ministry for Primary Industries,

and such luminaries as the prime minister’s special

science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman.

These acknowledge there may be risks for babies, the

elderly (not defined), pregnant women and those with

a weakened immune system, but otherwise any risks

will be managed by sellers

being registered and their

activities and the safety of

their milk regularly monitored

and tested.

He says his A2 milk is snap-

chilled and stored at two

degrees (two less than

required). Regular testing

shows somatic cell counts (an

indicator of mastitis in cows) are well below required levels.

His milk is also checked for the presence of E. coli bacteria and those causing food poisoning

from listeria or campylobacter. When he milks 15 cows in his herd each day to stock up his

new vending machine, he follows strict hygiene procedures, such as washing the udders and

teats.

Why are some people (surveys show about five percent of Kiwis drink raw milk regularly

and another 25 percent are willing to try it) keen to ignore a process French scientist Louis

Pasteur invented in the 1860s and which proved so effective in removing milk as a source of

tuberculosis and other infections?

The problem is that pasteurisation kills “good” germs as well as the bad, reducing milk’s

effectiveness as a booster of health and immunity to ailments like asthma, diabetes and

allergic reactions.

Ryan Gargan and son Taj; at left, New Plymouth’s Mary Hudson buys milk from Ryan’s vending machine.

In Taranaki, farmers Kevin and Cindy Death and

Peter and Margaret Dalziel have converted a timeless

on-farm experience of drinking milk straight from the

cowshed vat into a thriving business, Dolly’s Milk,

which recognises the advantages of raw milk.

Since 2013, they have used vending

machines at their Stratford and Manutahi

Rd (south of Bell Block) farms to sell

milk, operating under a risk management

plan approved by the Ministry for

Primary Industries.

A visit to the Manutahi Rd setup reveals

something noticeable – how relaxed the

cows looked during milking, evidenced

as much as anything by the complete

absence of the cow manure usually

splashed around cowsheds, especially

during the appropriately named spring

flush.

The milker, Robert Wells (left), reckons jittery animals are a rarity because the operation is

small (he milks 30 a day) and run on typically organic farming lines.

Milk at Beach Road Milk and Dolly’s sells for about $2.20 a litre.

Sudden enthusiasm for organic and raw milk – as well as an upsurge in investment

interest in A2 milk (stock price for the A2 Milk company soared 221 percent last year to

$2.49, making it the share market’s top performer) - seems aligned to current thinking about

sustainability, traceability, respect for the environment and concern for health. But is it

backed by scientific research?

The science, of course, seems rather divided. I say “of course”, because the vacillation in

some reports is a reminder of what happened when people in the latter half of last century

began worrying about smoking. Cigarette companies muddied scientific waters for a good 40

years.

For example, look at this conclusion from a 2014 report in the US Journal of Dairy Science:

“Controlled studies investigating whether differences exist between organic and

conventionally produced milk have so far been largely equivocal, due principally to the

complexity of the research question and the number of factors that can influence milk

composition.

“…no ‘organic effect’ exists that can be credited to a holistic combination of factors affected

by the organic system. If animal genetics, health, breed, diet, management, or environment

differ, then so will the composition of the milk produced.”

The authors may have missed a 2010 UK report that found organic milk has higher

concentrations of beneficial fatty acids than conventional milk, “including total

polyunsaturated fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid cis-9, trans-11, and α-linolenic acid”.

And this slightly less positive one published in the US Journal of Dairy Science in 2013:

“Milk fat from organic farms had higher proportions of health-beneficial n-3 fatty acid, but

also higher proportions of total saturated fatty acids, which are regarded to have negative

effects on health.”

If scientists are still ambivalent, why are so many people buying into organic milk?

The preamble to the 2014 US Journal of Dairy Science article quoted probably explains it

best, saying consumers perceive “organic milk products are produced without the use of

antibiotics, added hormones, synthetic chemicals, and genetic modification; and that they

may have potential benefits for human health”.

Milk Facts

Organic milk Organic NZ Magazine: July/August 2014, by Kyra Xavia

Healthy soil, nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich pasture, and rotational grazing methods provide

cows with an optimal diet, giving organic milk its nutritional advantage, full taste, and

slightly yellow colour. Recent studies show that organic milk has significantly higher levels

of omega 3 essential fatty acids (up to 62%), than conventional milk. Omega-3 EFAs play a

crucial role in development and are particularly important for pregnant women, infants and

children. Organic milk is safer for humans, and better for ruminants and the planet, because

sustainable systems use natural compost and soil enrichment methods, and cows eat a

completely natural diet. Although organic milk is healthier, this applies only to whole

(unhomogenised) milk, not processed products. Nor should truly organic milk be ‘enriched’,

‘fortified’, or contain additives.

Organic milk certification

Companies selling milk branded as organic should display small label

indicating the product is officially certified. The main certifying

organisations are BioGro and AsureQuality, so look for their mark on the

product container, as shown here.

Raw milk Ministry for Primary Industries website: http://www.foodsmart.govt.nz/food-safety/high-risk-

foods/raw-milk/rawmilk.htm

Raw milk is untreated milk that typically comes from cows, goats, or sheep. This means it

has not been heat treated to kill the harmful bacteria (pathogens) and nothing has been added

or removed. Pasteurisation is the process that eliminates almost all harmful bacteria through a

specific heat treatment. Pasteurisation is achieved by heating milk to 72°C for 15 seconds.

Consumers at home can achieve the same result by heating milk to 70°C for one minute.

After an extensive review and public consultation, the Government has agreed to a new

policy around the sale of raw milk to consumers. From March 1, 2016, raw milk can be

bought directly from farmers either from the farm or via home deliveries. In recognition of

the strong demand for raw milk from both rural and urban consumers, the new policy will

continue to allow consumers to buy raw milk, but all farmers who want to continue to sell

raw milk to consumers must meet strict requirements to manage the food safety risks

associated with consuming raw milk.

A2 Ministry for Primary Industries website: http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/beta-

casein-A1-A2-in-milk.htm

About 25 to 30 percent of the protein in cows' milk is β-casein and it comes in several forms

depending on the genetic make-up of the cows. One of the forms is called A1 β-casein and it

has been suggested that it might cause or aggravate one type 1 diabetes (which is the type

seen most commonly in children), heart disease, schizophrenia, and autism. The other main

form of β-casein is called A2 and it has not been implicated in these diseases. The

A1/A2hypothesis is both intriguing and potentially very important for population health if it

is proved correct. Changing dairy herds to more A2 producing cows may significantly

improve public health, if the A1/A2 hypothesis is proved correct, and it is highly unlikely to

do harm. Further research is needed.

Permeate Catherine Saxelby’s Foodwatch website: http://foodwatch.com.au/blog/in-the-

news/item/milk-permeate-the-unfiltered-truth.html

Milk permeate is produced during a process called ultrafiltration which separates the lactose,

vitamins and minerals from the milk protein. Permeate consists mainly of lactose (between

65% to 85%), and is not harmful - you already consume it whenever you drink milk. For a

while now some milk manufacturers have been standardising their milk with permeate, which

is much cheaper than whole milk and so represents a huge cost-saving. It's a way to utilise all

the components of milk and provide a consistent product from season to season, even though

the fat content say may vary over time. The composition of milk is regulated by the Food

Standards Code and milk manufacturers may alter the composition of milk as long as it stays

within the Code’s limits. The problem we have with it is that consumers don’t know they

buying it. Now niche milk companies are cashing in on this with claims that their milk is

"permeate-free" and you'll pay a premium for it.

Palm kernel extract Dairy NZ website: http://www.dairynz.co.nz/feed/supplements/supplement-types/palm-

kernel-extract-pke/

Palm kernel extract (PKE) is a dry, gritty meal with a soapy smell and has low palatability

until cows get a taste for it. It has reasonable levels of energy (ME) and protein. It is a by-

product of the palm oil industry in South East Asia and is derived from the nut of the palm

fruit after the oil is either mechanically extracted (most PKE imported to NZ) or solvent

extracted (lower nutritive value). PKE can have a useful role in a season in ensuring the

welfare of cows and maintaining production. Fonterra has introduced a recommended PKE

maximum of 3kg/per day/per cow as a voluntary guideline for its suppliers.