The Role of Product, Process, and Package in Driving Milk Consumption Among Children
By Caitlin Zaring 

Tuesday evening symposium Dairy Foods: Nourish to Flourish — The Role of Product, Process, and Package in Driving Milk Consumption Among Children was lead by Dr. Hari Meletharayil of Dairy Management Inc. and Dr. Rohit Kapoor of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and National Dairy Council. Participants heard from Dr. Katie Wilson of the Urban School Food Alliance, Dr. Helene Hopfer of Penn State, and Timothy Lott. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell University. It was repeated by each speaker that dairy consumption in schools is on a downward trend. Mr. Lott stated that in 1978 there was a 76% milk consumption rate in adolescents, but by 2006 that number had dropped to 48%, and this number is still decreasing. One reason for this decline in consumption is the push against sugars, particularly in flavored milk, even though regular milk has sugar in the form of lactose. Dr. Hopfer’s lab works to find alternatives that might decrease this extra sugar to please consumers while not sacrificing taste or texture. Another reason stated by Dr. Wilson was that soy and other plant-based diets are becoming more popular. Another challenge to dairy foods is the common problem of perishability. Dr. Wilson’s talk focused on these challenges to dairy, particularly fluid milk, in schools. Dr. Wilson discussed both in her presentation and in the Q&A section possibilities to promote children drinking milk. Among these were to research the packaging of fluid milk and how children perceive it. Many school districts that still serve milk do so in the paperboard cartons that have changed little since I grew up. Simply changing colors and imaging on the carton could encourage students to drink milk. This topic was also hit on by Mr. Lott in his presentation about identifying risks for post-pasteurization contamination of school milk. He surveyed different fluid milk packaging facilities that supplied schools. The equipment used to fill cartons has many components, but the main one that seemed to cause issues was the mandrels that help form and seal the bottom of milk cartons. This is the only piece of equipment that has direct contact with the interior of the milk carton. Shockingly, it is also what most often fails the test to determine whether the equipment is clean or not. It was found that these were difficult and time-consuming to clean, and often the automatic spray sanitation systems failed. This potential site of contamination can create poor quality milk, which might deter a child from drinking milk in the future. One of the final questions asked was quite possibly the most impactful of all. “How has COVID impacted this issue?” Each speaker had a different perspective and answer. Dr. Wilson said that many school districts asked to stop serving milk because it was a hassle to keep cold when students were being fed in tents outside. People are less likely to drink warm milk, and a warm glass of milk might ruin milk for a child. Dr. Hopfer found it to bring many logistical concerns with performing sensory research into sweetener alternatives. Still, she felt it may have given her more realistic results because participants were conducting the test and survey at home. This placed participants in a comfortable and more realistic setting. Finally, Mr. Lott argued that many schools sent half or whole gallons of milk home with kids. He postulated a two-fold positive effect (1) ” monkey see, monkey do” and (2) extra quality control. The first is that children could be positively influenced to drink milk if they see their parents doing so. The second is that the parents are likely checking the milk for quality before serving it to their children, which again prevents the potential for a bad experience with milk. Overall, this symposium offered relevant and insightful thoughts towards the declining consumption of dairy among children, especially in schools. Dr. Wilson drove home the critical point that the dairy industry can learn from other industries’ marketing techniques. Using mascots, commercials, and games involving dairy may encourage children to consume dairy products. Caitlin Zaring is a Master’s student in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Elizabeth Eckelkamp. She holds a B.S. in Animal Science from the same institution and an A.S. in Biology from her local community college. Her survey-based research describes the state of value-added dairy enterprises and consumer preferences for value-added dairy products in Tennessee.