A26—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 4,1983 Meadow Fresh - some questions still need answers HARRISBURG Fresh Milk.” That’s the name given a product that was offered for sale in paid advertising several weeks ago, in a southern York County weekly publication. In small print, near the bottom of the ad was the fur ther description, “limitation white milk.” Meadow Fresh is not milk. According to federal standards definition, milk is the lacteal secretion product, free from colostrum, that is obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows (or goats, in which case it must be labeled ap propriately). Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Food Chemistry further defines milk under state standards as con- Ag Sec. Hallowell’s statement State Sec. of Agriculture Penrose Hallowell issued the following statement concerning Meadow Fresh: “The department has followed Meadow Fresh closely for more than a year. We have consistently advised schools, hospitals and institutions that this product may not be reconstituted for their use. “The company appears to be trading on local advertising, which is false and misleading. “Consumers should be aware that this is not milk nor is it a dairy product. While we don’t approve of their marketing and advertising techniques, the department has no authority to take action against Meadow Fresh. “Deceptive advertising laws are enforced by the Attorney General.” tainmg not less than 3.25 percent milkfat (for whole milk) or more than 6 percent, and not less than 8.25 per cent soUds-not-fat. Further Pennsylvania standards clarifications define how milk may be separated, or have cream ad ded, be concentrated, a dry whole product, skim, non-fat dry, or have Vitamins A and/or D added. Meadow Fresh is a whey-based •‘imitation milk powder” ac cording to product labeling. The powder product is manufactured by Meadow Fresh Farms, Inc., of Salt Lake City, Utah, and sold through multilevel marketing, sometimes dubbed,. “pyramid” selling. The use of advertising labeling Meadow Fresh a “milk” is illegal, affirms the company’s regional distributor, Sheri Roseberry, of Harrisburg. The advertising, which was run by a York county distributor of the powder, has since been discontinued. Instead, says Mrs. Roseberry, Meadow Fresh is to be considered an “alternate” to milk, aimed at individuals who suffer from milk intolerances. She and her husband Ron, who co-manages the Penn sylvania region of the multilevel marketing establishment moved here about two years ago from Indiana, to handle the distributorship. Major ingredients in the drink powder are whey, the by-product of cheese manufacture, corn syrup solids, partially hydrogenated coconut oil, nonfat dry milk and sodium caseinate, a milk protein. The imitation milk product comes in white, chocolate and orange flavored. "It’s been proven that it’s not nutritionally equal,” contends Ray Weber of Dairy Council of Philadelphia, who adds that there are so many vital trace elements in milk that are necessary to interact in the body, and are not found in imitations. Protein per eight-ounce glass of whole milk is 8 grams, while an equal serving of Meadow Fresh contains 3 grams. Calcium levels also differ, with an eight ounce glass of whole milk containing 30 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance of the mineral, compared to the whey product’s 20 percent. (Figures taken from Meadow Fresh promotional materials.) “Meadow While cost per reconstituted gallon of Meadow Fresh is com parable to that of whole milk, Dairy Council points out that a consumer would have to consume much greater quantities of the imitation product in order to obtain the same protein and calcium levels gotten from whole milk. While only vitamins A and D can be added to milk in Pennsylvania, powder product regulations do allow numerous other vitamin and mineral additives in items like Meadow Fresh. A favored sales angle for the whey drink powder is that it has a lower cholesterol content than does whole milk, or 3 grams cholesterol 8-ounce serving as compared to 32 in whole milk. Meadow Fresh also says in advertising that it has 3 grams of fat per ounce, while whole milk has 8 grams of fat per 8- ounce serving. Calorie com parision is 90 per 8-ounces of the whey-drink, and 150 of whole milk. However, the fat ingredient in Meadow Fresh is coconut oil, a vegetable fat which Dairy Council notes is higher in saturated fats than is butterfat. Sodium (salt) levels are also higher than those in whole milk. Meadow Fresh basically relies on word-of-mouth sales to promote the milk imitation, and an in creasingly high discount on the product to dealers as they handle more volume. A distributor can sponsor others that work under him, and move higher in the sales organization as the volume he handles grows. With , increasing volumes, the price of the product decreases to the distributor. Thus, a bottom level distributor perhaps may get the product with a 10 percent discount, the distributor above him may get a 15 percent discount, and the distributor above them a 20 per cent discount. Final retailer of the product can charge whatever price he chooses, although the company does have suggested retail prices. By enlisting others to sign up and sell under his sponsorship, distributors can earn profits for handling volume. Meadow Fresh’s booth at last year’s Ag Progress Days raised the ire of some dairy farmers. Literature handed out at that exposition advertised Meadow Fresh as “the most exciting breakthrough in dairy science in a century.” "Meadow Fresh is 70 percent dairy derived and 99 percent agricultural ingredients,” says Mrs. Roseberry, who argues that fanners would welcome an ag related product that is trying to win back soft-drink consumers to a more nutritious beverage. She also lays blame on the dairy industry for not responding to a dropping rate of milk sales, beginning back in the mid-1960’5, when some of the medical profession began issuing low cholesterol diet recommendations. And, adds the regional distributor, the dairy industry needs more research and development into foods, in response to the sluggish sales of Sheri Roseberry, regional distributor of Meadow Fresh, arranges a display of the powdered product sold by the firm as a "milk alternate." products that some doctors are still saying should be avoided. Bill Fouse, head of the Penn sylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Foods and Chemistry suggests that the nutrition claims advertised by Meadow Fresh may be somewhat exaggerated. While the product did gam state approval for sale as a powdered drink mix, Pennsylvania’s non alcoholic drink regulations prohibit it from being sold as a beverage. Thus, the whey-based product can be marketed solely as a powder, for mixing in private homes. That ruling prohibits any public institution from purchasing the product and mixing it for a meal service beverage. Such use would put Meadow Fresh under the beverage regulations, which would require it, once liquified, to be Leadfield Associates (Continued from Page A2l) buck’ cows”, according to Doebenener. The other cow he was referring to is “Leadfield Glamorous Eve”, the “Very Good” Elevation daughter of “Allendairy Glamorous Ivy”, the “million dollar cow”. “Eve”, described as “better than her mother” by Doebenener, completes 4 generations of “Excellents” and is the only cow at Queens Manor to make the Elite cow list. Explaining that high cow m- C. Craigo Petro Telstar is the fountainhead of tl and the chief moneymaker of Leadfield Associates. regulated, processed, licensed and labeled by the same standards as milk. If such requirements were met, the product could possibly gain approval for beverage use but would have to be labeled “non dairy”. No one, however, in Pennsylvania has yet met those conditions for selling the product as a beverage. According to Dairy Council’s Weber, the product " has been banned in several states, and several states recommend that institutions not purchase it as a milk replacement product. Although Meadow Fresh ad vertising is rumored to being under scrutinization by the Con sumer Protection Agency, a spokesman at the Allentown office contacted would “neither confirm or denv” that such a study is un- dexes are difficult to make at Queens Manor due to the high herd average of 22,184 lbs. milk, 3.8% and 841 lbs. fat on 14.7 cows, Doeberiener goes on to say that “Eve’s” cow index is +1463 while her dam’s is around +7OO. “Eve” also just finished her 3 year, 8 month record in 365 days with 36,423 lbs. milk, 3.8% 1378 lbs. fat. Flushed to “Columbus”, “Eve” is currently in calf to “Arhnda Chief” and due' in June. When Leadfield Associates purchased MO Maplelawn derway. In recent months, the imitation white milk product is no longer considered a major front-runner sales item, notes Mrs. Roseberry. Instead, flavored diet-drink powders have become focal items. Each |1.50 package of diet drink mix, blended with ice and water, makes an 8-ounce, 150-calorie beverage which is advertised as “tasting like a “shake," and is designed to replace one meal. Dieters following the program are advised to not replace more than two meals per da/ with the mix, and to consult a physician before beginning any diet plan. Major ingredients in the “shake” product are sodium casemate, sweet dairy whey, coconut oil, non-fat dry milk and corn syrup solids. (Turn toPageA27) Marquis Glamour, Ivy’s dam, she was carrying the Osbomdale Ivanhoe, “million dollar” Ivy, whom Leadfield then bred to Elevation to receive “ Eve”. Petro, Linda, and Eve are also joined by several other grand ladies of the Holstein breed. “Leadfield Petro Boots”, who was recently appraised “Excellent - 90”, is the “Bootmaker” daughter of "Petro” and resides at the farm along with her “Columbus” daughter who can boast that 5 of her 7 nearest dams are either scored 96 or 97. Due to the demand for “ Petro’s” offspring, this lanor weens ling program
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers