Consumers' health perceptions of three types of milk: a survey in Australia

A survey was conducted among 345 randomly selected shoppers in Melbourne, Australia, to identify their perceptions of the healthiness of whole milk, reduced fat milk and soy milk and to investigate demographic influences on health perceptions and types of milk consumption. The survey revealed major differences in shoppers' perceptions of the three types of milk along the themes of bone health, weight control, disease prevention, and, allergy and disease causation. Generally whole milk was perceived more negatively than soy or reduced fat milk. There were few demographic differences in the shoppers' perceptions of the three products. Reported consumption of reduced fat milk was more frequent among women and elderly people, and whole milk consumption was positively related to parenthood. The findings suggest that previous marketing and education campaigns have been effective but the widespread uncertainty and erroneous beliefs about milk products suggest that many consumers have not assimilated new findings about milk products. This represents a challenge for industry and public health practitioners.

Sources of Sodium in Australian children's diets and the effect of the application of sodium targets to food products to reduce sodium intake

The average reported dietary Na intake of children in Australia is high: 2694 mg/d (9–13 years). No data exist describing food sources of Na in Australian children's diets and potential impact of Na reduction targets for processed foods. The aim of the present study was to determine sources of dietary Na in a nationally representative sample of Australian children aged 2–16 years and to assess the impact of application of the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) Na reduction targets on Na intake. Na intake and use of discretionary salt (note: conversion of salt to Na, 1 g of NaCl (salt) = 390 mg Na) were assessed from 24-h dietary recall in 4487 children participating in the Australian 2007 Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. Greatest contributors to Na intake across all ages were cereals and cereal-based products/dishes (43 %), including bread (13 %) and breakfast cereals (4 %). Other moderate sources were meat, poultry products (16 %), including processed meats (8 %) and sausages (3 %); milk products/dishes (11 %) and savoury sauces and condiments (7 %). Between 37 and 42 % reported that the person who prepares their meal adds salt when cooking and between 11 and 39 % added salt at the table. Those over the age of 9 years were more likely to report adding salt at the table (χ2 199·5, df 6, P < 0·001). Attainment of the UK FSA Na reduction targets, within the present food supply, would result in a 20 % reduction in daily Na intake in children aged 2–16 years. Incremental reductions of this magnitude over a period of years could significantly reduce the Na intake of this group and further reductions could be achieved by reducing discretionary salt use.

Vitamin D intake and vitamin D status of Australians

The main source of vitamin D for Australians is exposure to sunlight. Thus, levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, the indicator of vitamin D status, vary according to the season and are lower at the end of winter.

In Australia and New Zealand, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency varies, but is acknowledged to be much higher than previously thought. One study found marginal deficiency in 23% of women, and another frank deficiency in 80% of dark-skinned and veiled women. The groups at greatest risk of vitamin D deficiency in Australia are dark-skinned and veiled women (particularly in pregnancy), their infants, and older persons living in residential care.

Only a few foods (eg, fish with a high fat content) contain significant amounts of vitamin D. In Australia, margarine and some milk and milk products are currently fortified with vitamin D.

The average estimated dietary intake of vitamin D for men is 2.6–3.0 µg/day and for women is 2.0–2.2 µg/day. The estimated dietary requirement of vitamin D is at least 5.0 µg/day and may be higher for older people.

Adequate intake of vitamin D is unlikely to be achieved through dietary means, particularly in the groups at greatest risk, although vitamin D-fortified foods may assist in maintaining vitamin D status in the general population.

An appropriate health message for vitamin D needs to balance the need for sunshine against the risk of skin cancer.

Dietary intakes and food sources of Omega-6 and Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Both n−6 and n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are recognized as essential nutrients in the human diet, yet reliable data on population intakes are limited. The aim of the present study was to ascertain the dietary intakes and food sources of individual n−6 and n−3 PUFA in the Australian population. An existing database with fatty acid composition data on 1690 foods was updated with newly validated data on 150 foods to estimate the fatty acid content of foods recorded as eaten by 10,851 adults in the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey. Average daily intakes of linoleic (LA), arachidonic (AA), α-linolenic (LNA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosapentaenoic (DPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids were 10.8, 0.052, 1.17, 0.056, 0.026, and 0.106 g, respectively, with longchain (LC) n−3 PUFA (addition of FPA, DPA, and DHA) totaling 0.189 g; median intakes were considerably lower (9.0 g LA, 0.024 g AA, 0.95 g LNA, 0.008 g EPA, 0.006 g DPA, 0.015 g DHA, and 0.029 g LC n−3 PUFA). Fats and oils, meat and poultry, cereal-based products and cereals, vegetables, and nuts and seeds were important sources of n−6 PUFA, while cereal-based products, fats and oils, meat and poultry, cereals, milk products, and vegetable products were sources of LNA. As expected, seafood was the main source of LC n−3 PUFA, contributing 71%, while meat and eggs contributed 20 and 6%, respectively. The results indicate that the majority of Australians are failing to meet intake recommendations for LC n−3 PUFA (>0.2 g per day) and emphasize the need for strategies, to increase the availability and consumption of n−3-containing foods.

Dietary sources and sodium intake in a sample of Australian preschool children

OBJECTIVES: To assess dietary sodium intake and the food sources of sodium in a sample of Australian preschool children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Mothers were followed up when children were approximately 3.5 years of age after participating in a cluster randomised controlled trial: the Melbourne Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial Program. PARTICIPANTS: 251 Australian children aged 3.5±0.19 (SD) years. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The average daily sodium intake was determined using three unscheduled 24 h dietary recalls. The contributions of food groups, core, discretionary and processed foods to daily sodium intake were assessed. RESULTS: The average sodium intake was 1508±495 (SD) mg/day, (salt equivalent 3.9±1.3 (SD) g/day) and 87% of children exceeded the Australian Upper Level of Intake (UL) for sodium of 1000 mg/day (salt equivalent 2.6 g/day). Main food sources of sodium were cereal/cereal products (25%), milk products (19%), meat, poultry/game (17%) and cereal-based products (15%). Core foods contributed 65%, and discretionary foods 35% of total daily sodium intake, and within the total diet, minimally processed, processed, processed culinary ingredient and ultraprocessed foods contributed 16%, 35%, 1% and 48% of sodium, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Within this sample, most children exceeded the recommended UL for sodium. Core and ultraprocessed foods were key sources of sodium which suggests that reductions in the sodium content of these foods are required to reduce sodium intake in young children. These data also provide further support for public health campaigns that seek to reduce consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods.

Effects of a free school breakfast programme on school attendance, achievement, psychosocial function, and nutrition: a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial

BACKGROUND: Approximately 55,000 children in New Zealand do not eat breakfast on any given day. Regular breakfast skipping has been associated with poor diets, higher body mass index, and adverse effects on children's behaviour and academic performance. Research suggests that regular breakfast consumption can improve academic performance, nutrition and behaviour. This paper describes the protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial of a free school breakfast programme. The aim of the trial is to determine the effects of the breakfast intervention on school attendance, achievement, psychosocial function, dietary habits and food security.

METHODS/DESIGN: Sixteen primary schools in the North Island of New Zealand will be randomised in a sequential stepped wedge design to a free before-school breakfast programme consisting of non-sugar coated breakfast cereal, milk products, and/or toast and spreads. Four hundred children aged 5-13 years (approximately 25 per school) will be recruited. Data collection will be undertaken once each school term over the 2010 school year (February to December). The primary trial outcome is school attendance, defined as the proportion of students achieving an attendance rate of 95% or higher. Secondary outcomes are academic achievement (literacy, numeracy, self-reported grades), sense of belonging at school, psychosocial function, dietary habits, and food security. A concurrent process evaluation seeks information on parents', schools' and providers' perspectives of the breakfast programme.

DISCUSSION: This randomised controlled trial will provide robust evidence of the effects of a school breakfast programme on students' attendance, achievement and nutrition. Furthermore the study provides an excellent example of the feasibility and value of the stepped wedge trial design in evaluating pragmatic public health intervention programmes.

Biotechnology in U.S. agriculture: Trade consequences for dairy products

The emergence of synthetic bovine Somatotropin (bST) is one of the most widely discussed advances in biotechnology. Its potential impacts on milk production around the world could be significant. However, the exact economic impacts of bST in any one region depends on a number of factors, some of which are still highly controversial.

This article sets out to estimate the economic impacts of the adoption of bST in the United States, the single largest milk producer in the Western world. A quarterly econometric model of the U.S. dairy sector is used to forecast the total production, consumption, and excess supply of milk to 1995. The preliminary results indicate that under the assumption of a gradual rate of adoption and a 15 percent milk production response, the United States could be exporting as much milk as New Zealand by 1995. Should the production response rate or the adoption rate be higher, the United States could indeed become a major competitor in the world dairy market by 1995.

Although such a development could adversely impact on other dairy exporters, such as New Zealand, the precise economic impacts on world prices and trade would depend crucially on the position that other major dairy producers, especially the EC, adopt with respect to the use of bST.

Functional similarities between pigeon 'milk' and mammalian milk : induction of immune gene expression and modification of the microbiota

Pigeon ‘milk’ and mammalian milk have functional similarities in terms of nutritional benefit and delivery of immunoglobulins to the young. Mammalian milk has been clearly shown to aid in the development of the immune system and microbiota of the young, but similar effects have not yet been attributed to pigeon ‘milk’. Therefore, using a chicken model, we investigated the effect of pigeon ‘milk’ on immune gene expression in the Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue (GALT) and on the composition of the caecal microbiota. Chickens fed pigeon ‘milk’ had a faster rate of growth and a better feed conversion ratio than control chickens. There was significantly enhanced expression of immune-related gene pathways and interferon-stimulated genes in the GALT of pigeon ‘milk’-fed chickens. These pathways include the innate immune response, regulation of cytokine production and regulation of B cell activation and proliferation. The caecal microbiota of pigeon ‘milk’-fed chickens was significantly more diverse than control chickens, and appears to be affected by prebiotics in pigeon ‘milk’, as well as being directly seeded by bacteria present in pigeon ‘milk’. Our results demonstrate that pigeon ‘milk’ has further modes of action which make it functionally similar to mammalian milk. We hypothesise that pigeon ‘lactation’ and mammalian lactation evolved independently but resulted in similarly functional products.

Targeting viral hepatitis using natural milk protein and traditional medicinal herbs

Hepatitis is a major health related disease spread worldwide with frequent occurrence of epidemics. It is a zoonotic disease which leads to jaundice, anorexia, malaise and death. Although, vaccines have been developed against hepatitis A and hepatitis B, it is a challenge to generate vaccines against other prevalent forms of hepatitis which are equally harmful and spread worldwide. Natural products that are obtained from living organisms and found freely in nature have proven to be effective against several types of hepatitis due to presence of pharmacologically important bioactive compounds. Since they are natural products they do not cause much harm to body and can be easily applied or consumed. Our main focus is on hepatitis E virus (HEV) which is an opportunistic pathogen and leads to acute jaundice. This virus is mainly present in developing countries with poor sanitation facilities and effects individuals having weak immune response, mainly children, old people, organ transplant patients and pregnant women. HEV infection makes the patient more susceptible to infections from other viruses as well as HIV. In this review, we discussed about the natural protein known as lactoferrin which is isolated from milk colostrum and extracts of some medicinal plants that have proven to be effective against various forms of hepatitis. Such form of natural therapies forms the basis of modern medicine and major pharmaceutical discoveries.

Short communication: Influence of labeling on Australian and Chinese consumers' liking of milk with short (pasteurized) and long (UHT) shelf life

Sixty percent of milk consumed in China has a long shelf life (UHT), presumably because milk with a short shelf life (pasteurized) is comparatively expensive. This in contrast to Australia, where 10% of consumed milk is UHT and the price between UHT and pasteurized milk is equivalent. Whether UHT is actually more liked than pasteurized milk by Chinese consumers is unknown. However, the potential positive halo around the expensive pasteurized milk might result in Chinese consumers liking milk more when it is labeled as "short shelf-life milk." To test these hypotheses, Chinese (n=48, 20 males, 28 females, 23±7.2 yr) and Australian (n=93, 11 males, 82 females, 24±5.6 yr) consumers tasted and rated (9-point hedonic scale), in a randomized order, 3×30-mL samples of UHT milk (labeled as "long shelf-life milk," "short shelf-life milk," or "milk") and 3×30-mL samples of pasteurized milk (also labeled as "long shelf-life milk," "short shelf-life milk," or "milk"). Australian participants' liking of milk was not influenced by labeling. Regardless of what the label stated, they always preferred the taste of pasteurized milk over the taste of UHT milk. This was different for Chinese participants, who preferred the taste of UHT milk over the taste of pasteurized milk, but in general had a higher liking for any milk that was labeled "short shelf-life milk." Both Australian and Chinese were more positive about pasteurized than UHT milk. In conclusion, Chinese, but not Australian, consumers' liking of milk was guided by the positive expectations of pasteurized milk and the negative expectations of UHT milk. Further research is needed to investigate if the present findings can be extrapolated to a larger and more varied group of Chinese and Australian consumers.