Milk and milk drinks

Fresh milk, nut milk, fruit milk... with hundreds of brands and types on the market, consumers are confused. Which type meets the recommended nutritional needs?

There are many products on the market called "milk" that do not meet the standards for liquid milk - Illustration: QUANG DINH

According to nutrition experts, milk is a good source of micronutrients and calcium for young children. Because of the benefits of milk, many parents add milk to their daily meals to provide the best nutrition for their children.

Drinks that start with the word "milk"?

According to Tuoi Tre, the milk market is currently very diverse with all kinds of labels such as "fruit milk", "fruit nutritional milk", "nut milk"... making it difficult for customers to distinguish which type of milk to choose.

Ms. TP (33 years old, Thu Duc City) said that her family has two small children, and every time she chooses milk for her children to drink, it gives her a headache. Instead of traditional whole milk, children will not like milk with fruit flavors.

"Every time I choose milk for my child, I feel like I'm lost in a maze. Products like soft drinks made from milk combined with fruit flavors are also advertised as nutritious fruit milk. If you choose wrongly, sugary drinks will gradually become unhealthy," said Ms. P.

Having two young children, Ms. Loan (32 years old, Hanoi) always has instant milk in the cupboard. Ms. Loan shared that on average, each child drinks two boxes of milk every day, in the morning and in the afternoon after school.

"Before, my child used to drink sterilized fresh milk, but recently he asked for fruit-flavored milk, so I switched to fruit milk for him. Fruit milk is more diverse, there are types with jelly, my child likes it better," said Ms. Loan.

When asked about the ingredients of fruit milk, Ms. Loan said "it's probably the same as other milks". Like Ms. Loan, many parents believe that products that start with the word "milk" provide similar nutritional ingredients.

According to a survey by Tuoi Tre, many types of fruit milk have very little protein content, less than 2g/100ml. The type "fruit milk K." has nutritional content in 180ml containing 134kcal, 0.98g protein, vitamin A, D3. Or "fruit milk O." has nutritional content in 100ml of 82.2kcal, 0.78g protein and other vitamins and minerals.

Meanwhile, according to national technical standards for liquid milk products, the milk protein content must be at least 2.7g/100ml to meet the standard.

'Maze' with products called milk - Illustration: Q.D.

Is milk drink milk?

According to Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung (National Institute of Nutrition), currently many types of nutritional drinks are called "milk" but are not milk. Meanwhile, consumers habitually consider products with the word "milk" in them as milk. Not only nutritional drinks, people also consider powders from cereals and seeds as milk.

Explaining the concept of milk in more detail, MSc. Bui Thi Duyen, deputy head of the nutrition department at Military Hospital 175, said that animal milk is a white liquid secreted from the mammary glands of animals such as cows, goats, sheep, etc. Animal milk contains all the natural nutrients including protein, fat, lactose, vitamins and minerals, which are beneficial for development and health.

Plant milk is a beverage made from seeds and grains (such as soybeans, almonds, oats, walnuts, etc.) and is often called "milk" because of its similar appearance and nutritional function. Soy milk is rich in good protein, and if calcium is added, the nutritional value of soy milk can be comparable to cow's milk. Other plant milks such as almond, oat, coconut and rice do not have as many nutrients.

Animal milk provides high-quality protein to help develop muscles, is rich in calcium and vitamin D to support strong bones, good for children, pregnant women, and the elderly at risk of osteoporosis. Plant milk can be used for vegetarians and lactose-allergic people because it is rich in unsaturated fats that are good for the heart and easy to digest...

According to Dr. Duyen, currently many drinks are called "milk" but have a low milk content, under 20% - 30%, and are often mixed with sugar, flavorings or additives. This product line has little nutritional value and is mainly used to quench thirst.

Milk drinks can provide quick energy because they contain sugar, but the high sugar content can cause weight gain or diabetes if consumed regularly. In addition, they have a low nutritional value and cannot replace whole milk.

Therefore, when choosing milk, consumers need to check the nutritional composition such as milk ratio, protein, calcium and sugar content. Especially avoid products with too many additives or flavorings.

In addition, it is necessary to determine nutritional goals such as needing to supplement calcium and protein, then choose animal milk or supplemented plant milk. If you are on a diet or losing weight, you should choose skim milk or unsweetened plant milk.

Children or people who need to gain weight should prioritize pure, nutritious milk. "People should avoid being lured by advertising, not all products labeled "milk" are truly nutritious. Some milk drinks may have very little nutritional value but are disguised by attractive advertising," Dr. Duyen warned.

Mr. Hung recommends that when choosing milk for children, parents should carefully check the ingredients. Nutritional drinks are only supportive and cannot replace daily foods such as carbohydrates, protein, fat and vitamins from vegetables and fruits.

Especially for children under 5 years old, protein, calcium and zinc supplementation should be consulted by a nutritionist. Children with reasonable weight and height can use nutritional drinks according to their preferences. However, parents should control the amount of drinks their children consume and should not use them instead of filtered water.

There are standards for liquid milk.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, the leader of the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) said that there is currently a circular guiding national technical regulations for liquid milk products.

Including fresh milk group (pasteurized/sterilized whole fresh milk, pasteurized/sterilized whole fresh skim milk, pasteurized/sterilized fresh milk, pasteurized/sterilized skim milk), pasteurized/sterilized reconstituted milk, pasteurized/sterilized mixed milk, condensed milk and sweetened condensed milk groups (condensed milk, sweetened condensed milk, condensed skim milk with added vegetable fat, sweetened condensed skim milk with added vegetable fat).

According to this standard, the milk protein content must be at least 2.7g/100ml to qualify as liquid milk. The product must meet microbiological standards.

According to this person, the Ministry of Health is the unit that issues the standards for liquid milk according to international recommendations. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for receiving announcements, managing circulation, and labeling products.

In fact, there are many types of milk labeled as "milk" such as fruit milk, nut milk, jelly milk... but they do not have enough protein content to meet the standards of liquid milk. Fruit milks only have 0.5 - 2g of protein/100ml but are still named "milk", causing many consumers to misunderstand these fruit and nut juices as liquid milk.

“Milk drinks” are products that do not contain enough milk to be called “fluid milk”. According to experts, these products should be labeled as “fruit-flavored milk drinks” or “milk and fruit nutritional drinks”, depending on how the product is fortified. This will avoid confusing consumers. Currently, some brands are labeling with this name.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lap-lo-sua-va-nuoc-uong-tu-sua-20241121224814034.htm