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Farmers Best monounsaturated milk

The case study on Farmers Best monounsaturated milk is a useful resource in learning about the reasons for developing food products in the core strand, Food product development. By working through the activities you will gain a better understanding of the steps involved in developing food products.

Outcomes
This material addresses aspects of the following syllabus outcomes:
H1.3 The student justifies processes of food product development and manufacture in terms of market, technological and environmental considerations

Source: Board of Studies NSW, Stage 6 Food Technology Syllabus, Preliminary and HSC Courses (1999)

Activity

Why was Farmers Best developed? What was the underlying motivation?
How was the innovation and development of the product achieved?
Was experimentation important? Explain how it was achieved.
What techniques are used to process the milk?
What equipment is needed? Is production computerised, automated or manual? Identify the steps in production and draw a flow chart.
Were prototypes developed? If so, how were they tested?
Is Farmers Best a "me too" or a line extension?
Is there any government legislation that impacts on the design and development of the product?
Identify quality management practices in
- manufacturing
- retailing.
What impact does the product have on the health of the consumer and on the environment?

Farmers Best monounsaturated milk case study

1. Why was Farmers Best developed?

In many westenised countries including the United Kingdom, United States and Australia cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death. Public health campaigns supported by governments are being actively promoted in order to try to reduce mortality and morbidity from this cause. In almost all national dietary guidelines a prime recommendation is to reduce total dietary fat intake and in many a reduction in saturated fat is particularly stressed.

In countries with a well developed dairy industry, dairy products constitute a significant potion of the fat in the average diet and because saturated fatty acids constitute about 60% of the total fatty acids in milk fat, dairy products account for an even larger proportion of the saturated fat consumed.

Such has been acceptance of the consensus view of the role of dietary saturated fatty acids in the aetiology of cardiovascular disease that, irrespective of the validity of the scientific evidence for those views, the dairy industry in those countries has come under pressure. In many such countries liquid milk and butter sales have fallen steadily and the proportion of milk sales represented by low fat milks has increased dramatically.

Numerous clinical trials have shown that when a saturated fat diet is replaced by an unsaturated fat diet there is generally a fall in one of the principal cardiovascular risk factors, namely serum cholesterol. It is widely conceded that total dietary saturated fats cause an increase in cholesterol biosynthesis resulting in an increase in serum cholesterol levels regardless of the cholesterol content of the diet.

Polyunsaturated fats in the diet generally result in a lowering of both low density lipoprotein cholesterol as well as high density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Monounsaturated fats on the other hand have a superior nutritional effect in that they selectively lower the harmful low density lipoprotein cholesterol without altering the high density lipoprotein cholesterol which because of its ability to mobilize the low density lipoprotein serum cholesterol so that it can be removed from the liver, is considered to be healthy. In fact, this has been confirmed by the extensive Framingham study in the United States which inversely relates high density lipoprotein cholesterol and coronary heart disease death.

With these nutritional problems in mind a number of attempts have been made over the years to replace the cholesterol-containing saturated fats in dairy products, particularly liquid milks with polyunsaturated cholesterol-free vegetable oils and fats. Such milks are known generically as filled milks, however these filled milks have never met with success due to the rapid development of oxidized "off-flavours" and characteristically poor mouthfeel.

It was obvious therefore that if consumers were to enjoy healthier dairy products including liquid milks the dairy industry would have to provide milks which not only addressed these serious health issues but at the same time provided a flavour and mouthfeel similar to the original dairy milk.

With this in mind our researchers were able to combine the significant nutritional advantages of monounsaturated fats in dairy products with the normal flavour and mouthfeel found in dairy milks. The result is the world's first monounsaturated milk which is known in Australia as Farmers Best.

2. How was the product developed?

Two major technical problems confronted us in the development of the monunsaturated Farmers Best milk. The first related to the characteristic oxidised rancid flavours which quickly develop when the saturated milk fat is replaced with an unsaturated vegetable oil. This oxidation produces a beany flavour and is totally unacceptable in a dairy product. It was essential then that our researchers determine and isolate the particular fatty acid or acids in these vegetable oils which brings about this oxidative change. After considerable research and experimentation the cause of this flavour change was found to be the 18 carbon chain length fatty acid with 3 double bonds known as linolenic acid. The presence of only small quantities of linolenic acid quickly produce oxidative off-flavours in milk products particularly liquid milk.

The second technical problem which had to addressed related to the nature of the fat globule and its stability in an emulsion. Milk fat exists in liquid milk as a number of discrete small globules each surrounded by a membrane known as the milk fat globule membrane. It is this membrane which contributes to the stability of the emulsion. In substituting a monounsaturated liquid oil for the saturated milk fat it is first necessary to remove the milk fat from the whole milk. It is then necessary to provide suitable ingredients which will form a membrane around the monounsaturated fat globules providing both emulsification, stability as well as required organoleptic qualities such as taste and mouthfeel. This was eventually achieved using a combination of soluble dietary fibre in the form of natural gums, and emulsifier which is in fact the metabolic result of fat digestion in a maltodextrin carrier. This is known as the premix and in fact replaced the normal milk fat globule membrane found in dairy milk.

3. Importance of and methods of experimentation

In providing consumers with a premium liquid milk we had to ensure that the flavour profile and mouthfeel as well as the emulsion stability of the milk met their demanding expectations. In addressing the first of these that is, flavour and mouthfeel, it was essential that exhaustive taste testing be undertaken. This was carried out both by our own staff as well as expert officers from the NSW Dairy Corporation. This work resulted in a number of flavour and mouthfeel adjustments during the course of the product's development.

The second issue was of a more technical nature and involved experiments which would determine the milk's ability to retain the monounsaturated oil as a permanent emulsion. Apart from laboratory evaluation experiments were actually conducted on both the fresh and the long life milk to satisfy ourselves that the product would continue to be stable without any flavour changes during its use-by period.

4. Processing techniques used in production of Farmers Best milk

The first process carried out is to remove totally the milkfat from whole dairy milk. This is a normal mechanical process practised by almost every dairy throughout the world and results in a virtually fat-free (less than 0.1% fat) milk known in Australia as skim milk. An emulsion is made by solubilising in hot water the premix and then adding the liquid monounsaturated vegetable oil. This produces a product about the consistency and appearance of dairy cream. This is then added to the bulk liquid skim milk and thoroughly mixed in mixing tanks. The milk then follows standard milk processing procedures such as homogenization, pasteurization and the milk is then finally packed as either fresh or long-life product.

5. Equipment needed to process Farmers Best

Farmers Best milk is processed using normal dairy processing equipment such as mixing tanks, homogenizers, pasteurizers and packaging equipment. No change to this equipment is required in its production.

Most dairies produce the milk in batches which involves manually weighing and mixing the ingredients prior to processing. The large Lidcombe plant of Dairy Farmers is now fully automated so that the operator simply selects Farmers Best on the computer control panel and the computer automatically brings on-line the ingredients which are then processed automatically.

6. Prototype

Before any new food product is released to the market considerable testing must be undertaken. This is done for a number of reasons including taste evaluation, shelf life expectancy, colour, aroma, organoleptic qualities, packaging suitability and viability of production procedures.

Consumer panels were established and a series of taste and organoleptic tests were undertaken by specialised marketing research organisations. Prior to this of course, considerable in-house product evaluation was carried out both in our own organisation as well as in the dairy companies themselves.

A number of pre production trials were actually carried out under actual dairy production conditions.

7. How was the demand for the product perceived?

Care was taken in launching this product to stress the unique nutritional characteristics of this product such as no cholesterol, monounsaturated fat etc. In this way we were able to establish in the mind of the consumer that this was a product with unusual health benefits not found in other low fat milks.

8. Government legislation affecting the product

In developing any food product particular attention must be given to the provisions of the Australian Food Standards Code administered by the National Food Authority. This code is intended to protect consumers against the use of foods and food ingredients which have not been thoroughly tested and therefore may produce some health risk.

Dairy products have very stringent requirements in this regard as they represent a significant component of our diet. In carrying out the early research work on Farmers Best milk we had to decide that any component of the milk would be the healthiest available without question and would certainly comply with all the requirements of the food code.

Manufacturers of food products are also prevented from making health or nutritional claims which cannot be substantiated and which do not comply with the labelling and packaging provisions of the Code.

9. How is quality management maintained in manufacturing and retailing

All dairies in producing dairy products of any description must comply with numerous government quality procedures. They also must conduct continuous product evaluation to ensure that no bacterial or pathogenic contamination has occurred.

This is done by regular sampling and standard biological laboratory procedures.

All dairies maintain regular strict hygiene procedures which involve antiseptic cleansing of all production and packaging equipment. Employees too are required to observe careful hygiene procedures such as wearing suitable clothing and regular washing to ensure no bacterial contamination takes place.

To maintain quality, retailing stores are required to take care in maintaining dairy products at correct temperatures, such as refrigeration and also careful handling to ensure that no damage occurs to packaging or containers.

10. Methods of marketing

Farmers Best was launched at a trade dinner and a significant amount of media coverage including each of the television channels resulted.

The television media was based around an advertisement featuring John Newcombe and promoting Farmers Best as part of a Mediterranean healthy diet. Specialised promotional material aimed at the medical profession and nutritionists has been distributed. In addition to this, normal promotional methods such as Prize Giveaways etc on radio are being used. An example of this is the current advertising campaign featuring Clive Robinson of radio station 2GB.

All this has resulted in a very significant market share.

11. Impact on the environment

Farmers Best is produced under normal hygienic conditions in the dairies and does not produce any toxic or harmful products as a result of these production methods.