The Kroger Co., one of the nation’s largest retail grocery chains, has launched a new cholesterol-reducing, fat-free milk, and announced plans to go rBST-free. The fortified product will be sold under the company’s expanding Active Lifestyle in-house brand. The new milk contains Coro-Wise plant sterols. Kroger said two 8-ounce servings of the milk, when consumed with meals, provide the minimum daily amount recognized by the FDA as providing a heart-healthy benefit.

Cincinnati-based Kroger said this month it will complete the transition of milk it processes and sells in its stores to a certified rBST-free supply by February 2008. The decision was based on customer feedback in the markets it serves, Kroger said in a news release.

Earlier this year, Kroger transitioned the milk it sells in the western half of the U.S. to a certified rBST-free supply. This move includes milk it processes and sells in its City Market, Dillons, Fry’s, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith’s divisions and Kroger stores in Louisiana and Texas.