DAIRYREPORTER.COM TOP STORIES OF 2013....SO FAR

Top 5 Stories of the Year So Far: Chobani isn’t Greek, consumer concerned about aspartame in flavoured milk, and zits….

By Mark ASTLEY

- Last updated on GMT

DairyReporter.com Top 5 Stories of the 2013 So Far

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2013 has been an eventful year for the dairy industry, and we’re only four months in. The top five most popular stories of the year so far take the reader right across the sector – from US consumer opposition to a dairy industry petition, to UK restrictions on the use of the term ‘Greek yogurt’.

In February, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a petition in the US Federal Register. The petition requested an amendment to the standard of identity for milk to allow optional characterising flavouring to be sweetened with approved sweeteners such as sucralose or aspartame.

chocolate milk (2)

According to the petition, which was filed by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in March 2009, the amendment could help to stem the current milk consumption decline in US schools.

Consumer response to the requested amendment was largely negative, and a counter petition was even launched, urging the FDA not to approve the dairy industry request.

The IDFA and the NMPF spoke with DairyReporter.com in March in an attempt to dispel consumer “confusion” ​surrounding the petition.

Chobani: It’s Greek, but it’s not Greek

Also in March, New York-based Greek yogurt manufacturer, Chobani, was handed a permanent injunction by the UK High Court​ preventing its use of the term ‘Greek yogurt’ to market its product range in England in Wales.

chobani (3)

The injunction permanently restrains Chobani from marketing its popular yogurt range as ‘Greek yogurt’ in the UK unless it is, or contains a yogurt product, produced in Greece.

The case centred on claims made by Athens-based Greek yogurt manufacturer, Fage, that only yogurt made in Greece should be labelled as ‘Greek yogurt’.

Danone’s Danio Greek yogurt brand also fell afoul of Fage’s crusade against non-Greek, Greek yogurt brands.

Prior to the High Court decision against Chobani, Danone was handed an interim injunction ​ preventing its use of the term ‘Greek yogurt’ in the UK.

Eat dairy? Got Zits?

zit face

Completing the DairyReporter.com top five stories of the year so far is our article, National Dairy Council blasts ‘sensational’ PETA ‘Got Zits?’ anti-dairy campaign.

DairyReporter.com spoke to the US National Dairy Council (NDC) in April following the launch of a new anti-dairy billboard campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

PETA’s ‘Got Zits?’​ campaign featured a teenage girl sporting a milk moustache and several zits.

PETA made its claims on the back of a study that reported evidence of a connection between diet and acne – particularly consumption of high glycaemic load and dairy foods.

Speaking with DairyReporter.com, the NDC slammed the “sensational assertions” ​made by PETA​, and advised the US public to seek out advice on acne from dermatologists, not animal rights groups.

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