Organic returns

Arla is set to roll out its unhomogenised Organic Farm Milk in the UK, following good results in its home country of Denmark, where up to 30 per cent of overall milk sales are now organic. I think this is the logical outcome of the drive for sustainability – and anything that will get hipsters and their children to drink their milk is to be welcomed. The only problem I ever have with organic is that I think non-organic farmers should be getting a decent price for milk as well. Still, we are seeing a lot of proactive moves from the bigger processors and if it gets more people to drink milk, it is to be lauded.

Travelling is high on the list for me this week. I went along to Food Innovations here at Excel in London on Tuesday, and discovered that matcha (powdered green tea) is being put into everything, from tea to ice cream. Ditto B-complex vitamins and endless varieties of berries and fruit. There weren’t a lot of dairy products on offer, but those that were there were very tasty. I am not sure whether ingesting all the energy boosting products made a difference or not, but I had a very good swimming session that evening.

Heading off to the Health Ingredients Europe on Tuesday, where there will no doubt be more treats in store on the nutraceutical front, both within and outside of dairy. What does worry me is when products are being promoted on the basis of being dairy-free, as if that’s a benefit, not a drawback. The non-dairy drinks and forces are certainly aligned against dairy, and we have to be ever vigilant about getting the good nutrition story out to the public. It is important that we keep pointing out the benefits and the very key nutritional aspects of our favourite ingredient and products.