FrieslandCampina Germany discontinues school milk sales
German school children in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate will not receive school milk and cocoa from the coming school year 2017/18. FrieslandCampina Germany is compelled to completely discontinue sales in the two federal states due to the new state requirements for school milk.
The background is that the EU provides more funding for school milk and cocoa, but the distribution of these funds and the implementation of the new EU guidelines is a matter for the states.
Some of the German states have decided to fundamentally change the distribution of school milk in schools and kindergartens.
For example the state of Baden-Württemberg envisages that the daily, price-favourable school milk is deleted for all pupils. The milk is to be free in the future, but only given twice a week and primarily at selected primary schools.
75% of the costs are to be covered by the EU funding, and sponsors or the dairies are to be responsible for the remaining 25%. The cocoa, which is popular with children, is no longer continued.
The regional government of Rhineland-Palatinate plans a similar course: Elementary school children and/or kindergarten children are to drink H-milk instead of the daily fresh school milk (milk and cocoa) only once a week.
This H-milk should, if possible, be delivered to the schools/kindergartens together with the school fruit/vegetable.
“The guidelines of the two regional governments are probably well-intentioned, but it gives the dairy industry as well as the schools and kindergartens difficult logistical tasks. Hygienic, refrigeration and, in particular, logistical the ideas of the regional governments are hardly compatible with the school day and school milk sales. We sincerely regret this decision, because the school milk has been part of the school day for generations”, says Gabriele Johag, head of School Milk at Friesland Campina Germany in Cologne.
